East Asia

East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. Geographically, it covers about 6,640,000 km², or 15% of the Asian continent. Culturally, it embraces those societies that are part of the Chinese cultural sphere, displaying heavy historical influence from the Classical Chinese language (including the traditional script), Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Daoism. This combination of language, political philosophy, and religion overlaps somewhat with the geographical designation of East Asia.

Related Topics:
Asia - Geographical - Classical Chinese - Script - Confucianism - Neo-Confucianism - Mahayana Buddhism - Daoism - Language - Political philosophy - Religion

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The following countries are located in geographic East Asia:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• The People's Republic of China, except for the province of Qinghai and the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, which may also be considered to be located in Central Asia
• Republic of China (Taiwan)
• Japan
• North Korea
• South Korea

The following peoples or societies are encompassed by cultural East Asia:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Han Chinese society (which would also include the dispersed Chinese-dominated regions of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan)
• Japanese society
• Korean society
• Vietnamese society

The following countries or regions are sometimes considered part of East Asia. A major reason for disagreement on this question is the difference between the cultural and geographic definitions of "East Asia". Political perspective is also an important factor.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• The parts of China that are not historically Han Chinese: Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet (either East Asia or Central Asia)
• Mongolia (either East Asia or Central Asia)
• Vietnam (either East Asia or Southeast Asia)
• Russian Far East (either East Asia or North Asia)

More than 1.5 billion people, about 40% of the population of Asia or a quarter of all the people in the world, live in geographic East Asia. The region is one of the world's most crowded places. The population density of East Asia, 230 per km², is over five times the world average.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 
East Asia: Other subregions of Asia ►