Magudang, Jonalyn S.

2BSTM-4A

Midterm Exam

1. 'Explain why the citizens of the ASEAN Countries can travel freely within Southeast Asia.

ASEAN was founded half a century ago in 1967 by the five Southeast Asian nations of Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. This was during the polarized atmosphere of the
Cold War, and the alliance aimed to promote stability in the region. ASEAN aims to promote
collaboration and cooperation among member states, as well as to advance the interests of the
region as a whole, including economic and trade growth. It has negotiated a free trade
agreement among member states and with other countries such as China, as well as eased
travel in the region for citizens of member countries. Travellers today want a seamless
experience. Those travelling from afar may also want to visit more than one country in the
region. The 10 ASEAN nations are so culturally diverse and have so many different experiences
to offer, it’s a pity to hide them behind rigorous travel restrictions. Indeed, not many travellers
today would be willing to queue at 10 different embassies to obtain 10 different visas.
Processes such as these act as a deterrent to travel in the region.

2. Describe the 4 Asian destinations included in the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

 The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is a protected area of the
Philippines. The park is located in the Saint Paul Mountain Range on the western coast
of the island of Palawan, about 80 kilometres north of the city centre of Puerto
Princesa, and contains the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River.
 Komodo is one of the 17,508 islands that make up Indonesia. It was made a national
park in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon, an endangered species. It’s also famous
for its pink beaches, one of only a few in the world. Due to its location to Bali, it’s one
of the more visited islands in Indonesia.
 Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking
the city of Cape Town in South Africa. The mountain has withstood six million years of
 erosion and hosts the richest, yet smallest floral kingdom on earth with over 1,470
floral species. It’s a popular tourist attraction in South Africa with people hiking to the
mountain top.
 Jeju Island is a volcanic island that lies 230km from the southern coast of South Korea.
The largest volcano is Hallasan and there are 360 other smaller volcanoes found nearby
on the island. Jeju Island is the only special autonomous province of South Korea and
it’s a popular tourist location for locals and tourists alike.

3. Describe and name the different regions of the Asian continent.

 Central Asia is west of China, south of Russia, and north of Afghanistan. The western
border of this region runs along the Caspian Sea. Central Asia is politically divided into
five countries: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Given
that the name of each of these countries ends in "-stan," Central Asia is sometimes
informally referred to as "The Stans." The region covers a total area of 1,545,741
square miles and has a population size of just over 69.78 million individuals. Central
Asia played an important role in the transportation of goods between China and Europe
during the Silk Road trading era.
 East Asia is located east of Central Asia, with its eastern border running along the East
China Sea. East Asia is politically divided into eight countries and regions: China,
Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. This
region covers a total area of 4,571,092 square miles and has a population size of more
than 1.641 billion, which represents 22% of the global population and 38% of Asia's
total population.
 South Asia has a peninsula-like shape that is bordered by three bodies of water: the
Indian Ocean to the south, the Bay of Bengal to the east, and the Arabian Sea to the
west. The region includes Indian subcontinent and surrounding countries. South Asia is
politically divided into eight autonomous countries: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, and the Maldives. The region covers a total area
of roughly two million square miles and has a population size of more than 1.74 billion,
which is nearly a quarter of the global population. Additionally, South Asia has the
distinction of being the most densely populated area in the world.
  Southeast Asia is located north of Australia, south of East Asia, west of the Pacific
Ocean, and east of the Bay of Bengal. It encompasses several island and archipelago
nations that stretch between the northern and southern hemispheres, making it the
only Asian region located on both sides of the equator. Southeast Asia is politically
divided into 15 countries and territories: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam, Christmas Island,
Cocos Islands.
 West Asia is located in the area between Central Asia and Africa, south of Eastern
Europe. The majority of the region is often referred to as the Middle East, although it
geographically excludes the mainland of Egypt (which is culturally considered a Middle
Eastern country). West Asia is politically divided into 19 states: Georgia, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait,
Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen. It also includes
the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. The region covers a total area of around 2.415 million
square miles and has a population size of 313.428 million.

4. Explain why the countries of the African continent, though one after each other, are different
in language and culture.

Africa is one of the most multicultural countries in the world. In urban areas many different
ethnic groups will make up the population. In addition to the indigenous black peoples of South
Africa colonialism and immigration have brought in white Europeans, Indians, Indo-Malays,
Chinese and many more. As such it is difficult to generalise at all on South African etiquettes
and culture due to the diversity. South Africa has 11 official languages. English is the language
of administration and is spoken throughout the country. The other official languages are:
Afrikaans, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tsongo, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and
Zulu. The basic unit of South African society is the family, which includes the nuclear family and
the extended family or tribe.

In traditional African society, the tribe is the most important community as it is the equivalent
of a nation. The tribe provides both emotional and financial security in much the same way the
nuclear family does to white or coloured South Africans. The coloured and more traditional
Afrikaans cultures consider their extended family to be almost as important as their nuclear
family, while the English-speaking white community places more emphasis on the nuclear
family.

5. Explain the difference between the Western/Central Asia and the Middle East.

More or less, West Asia and Middle East are same region. It is just a talking term, which is not
based on clear geographical boundaries. The difference is only because of who is saying. For
Americans and Europeans, the region is Middle east, because for them, that is neither far east
like China or ASEAN countries nor near east like Africa. For rest of the Asian countries, that is
West Asia, because that is west to them. Australians, Africans do tend to call the region as
Middle East because of wider acceptance of American- European vocab in those countries.