NewsTracker Answers for week of Nov. 28, 2011

Q: Coughing from tear gas sprayed by an opposition legislator in parliament, South Korea's governing party rammed through a free-trade agreement that has sharpened a political divide between the government and the opposition and between big business and voters unhappy with deepening economic inequality. Where is South Korea?

Circle the area on this map

Q: The trade deal is with South Korea's second largest export market . . .

A. North Korea

B. Japan

C. China

D. United States

D. The deal was signed in 2007 and ratified last month by the U.S. Congress. South Korean farmers and some workers oppose the deal, saying it threatens their livelihoods and favors U.S. workers.

Q: South Korean lawmakers ratified the agreement in a 151-7 vote, with most of the opposition abstaining in the 299-member body. The vote was ratified in a snap parliamentary session in the capital of . . .

A. Beijing

B. Hanoi

C. Seoul

D. Taipei

C. With a population of more than 10 million, Seoul also is South Korea's largest metropolis. Thousands of activists marched down an eight-lane boulevard in downtown Seoul after the parliamentary vote, calling it a "violation of democracy."

Q: There was almost $90 billion in trade between the United States and South Korea last year. Which is South Korea's biggest trade partner?

A. North Korea

B. Japan

C. China

D. United States

C. The government argued that the deal would lessen South Korea’s dependence on trade with China and deepen its alliance with the United States at a time of growing military threats from North Korea.

Q: Many opponents of the agreement argue that it will only help South Korea's big businesses and add to economic inequality. Which of these nations has the most income inequality, according to the CIA Factbook?

A. South Korea

B. Japan

C. China

D. United States

D. South Korea actually has the most equal distribution of family income of these four nations, followed by Japan and then China. The United States is the most unequal of the four.