[KS] Montesquieu on Relative Bravery of North and South Koreans

[Ruediger Frank]

Concerning the 'Relative Bravery' issue:

What came up to my mind is that quite naturally, the environment shapes the 
people who have to live in it.
(1) The North was naturally the area of Korea which was hit first and 
hardest in cases of invasions by land (let's for a moment forget about 
Hideyoshi).
(2) The climate is more severe than in the South.
(3) And last but not least, during the Yi-Dynasty (when M.'s observation 
was made) the capital was Seoul and the powerful and wealthy gathered 
there. The upper class doesn't have to struggle for their lives every day 
and become less physically active (sure, there were the factional fights, 
but that's not the same).

Especially reflecting on the last point, I would guess that one doesn't 
need as much bravery in a highly civilized society as it is necessary under 
less favourable conditions (at least not the kind of bravery we are talking 
about). Therefore, couldn't Montesqieu's (or the Chinese's) observation be 
interpreted as indirectly describing different levels of development in the 
mentioned regions of Korea?

Was there in fact a social/economical/general disparity between the North 
and the South in that time?

Just an idea.

Ruediger Frank