Cultural Plus
"Northern Koreans" and "Southern Koreans"
Recent scholars have divided Koreans into northern and southern Koreans through genetic analysis. Dr. Kim Wook of Dangook University has stated that 70-80% of Koreans are from the north, while only 20-30% are from the south. Moreover, they are mixed with European or other ethnicities according to investigations of Y-chromosomes. Such research findings are surprising to Koreans. There is also a differing opinion, however, that only 60-70% of Koreans are from the north, while 30-40% are from the south.
As for brain differences between these two types of Koreans, it was found that southern Koreans were mainly left-brained, while northern Koreans were mainly right-brained. This means that, overall, the ratio of left-brain to right-brain dominance among Koreans is about 3:7. In contrast, the ratio for the Japanese has been found to be 7:3; that is, they are left-brain dominant. The fact that Koreans are predominantly right-brained and the Japanese left-brained partly explains why the two countries are so different.