1.
Korean Peninsula
–
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. Until the end of World War II, Korea was a political entity whose territory roughly coincided with the Korean Peninsula. The northern boundaries for the Korean Peninsula are commonly taken to coincide with political borders between North Korea and its northern neighbors, China and Russia. These borders are formed naturally by the rivers Yalu/Amnok and Tumen/Tuman/Duman, taking this definition, the Korean Peninsula has an area of 220,847 km2. The peninsulas names in Korean, Chinese and Japanese all have the origin, that being Joseon. In North Koreas Chosonmal, the peninsula is called Chosŏn Pando, while in China, in Japan, it is either Chōsenhantō or Kanhantō. Meanwhile, in South Korea, it is called Hanbando, referring to the Samhan and they both use Korea as part of their official English names, which is a name that comes from the Goryeo dynasty. Korea Geography of Korea Geography of North Korea Geography of South Korea List of Korea-related topics KOIS, location of the Korean Peninsula — The official Korean Tourism guide website
2.
Korean Demilitarized Zone
–
The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a highly militarized strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula. It was established at the end of the Korean War to serve as a zone between the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. The DMZ is a de facto border barrier that divides the Korean Peninsula roughly in half and it was created by agreement between North Korea, China and the United Nations in 1953. The DMZ is 250 kilometres long, and about 4 kilometres wide, within the DMZ is a meeting-point between the two nations in the small Joint Security Area near the western end of the zone, where negotiations take place. There have been incidents in and around the DMZ, with military. Several tunnels are claimed to have built as an invasion route for the North Koreans. The Korean Demilitarized Zone intersects but does not follow the 38th parallel north and it crosses the parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and the east end lying north of it. The DMZ is 250 kilometres long, approximately 4 km wide, though the zone separating both sides is demilitarized, beyond that strip the border is one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world. The Northern Limit Line, or NLL, is the disputed maritime demarcation line between North and South Korea in the Yellow Sea, not agreed in the armistice, the coastline and islands on both sides of the NLL are also heavily militarized. Upon the creation of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea in 1948, it became a de facto international border, both the North and the South remained dependent on their sponsor states from 1948 to the outbreak of the Korean War. In the Armistice Agreement of 27 July 1953, the DMZ was created as each side agreed to move their troops back 2,000 m from the front line, creating a buffer zone 4 km wide. The Military Demarcation Line goes through the center of the DMZ, the armistice agreement explains exactly how many military personnel and what kind of weapons are allowed in the DMZ. Sporadic outbreaks of violence have killed over 500 South Korean soldiers,50 US soldiers and 250 soldiers from DPRK along the DMZ between 1953 and 1999, Daeseong-dong and Kijŏng-dong are the only settlements allowed by the armistice committee to remain within the boundaries of the DMZ. Residents of Tae Sung Dong are governed and protected by the United Nations Command and are required to spend at least 240 nights per year in the village to maintain their residency. In 2008, the village had a population of 218 people, the villagers of Tae Sung Dong are direct descendants of people who owned the land before the 1950–53 Korean War. To continue to deter North Korean incursion, in 2014 the United States government exempted the Korean DMZ from its pledge to eliminate anti-personnel landmines, inside the DMZ, near the western coast of the peninsula, Panmunjom is the home of the Joint Security Area. There are several buildings on both the north and the side of the Military Demarcation Line, and there have been some built on top of it. The JSA is the location where all negotiations since 1953 have been held, including statements of Korean solidarity, the MDL goes through the conference rooms and down the middle of the conference tables where the North Koreans and the United Nations Command meet face to face
3.
History of Korea
–
The Lower Paleolithic era in the Korean Peninsula began roughly half a million years ago. The earliest known Korean pottery dates to around 8000 BC, and the Neolithic period began after 6000 BC, followed by the Bronze Age by 800 BC, and the Iron Age around 400 BC. According to the mythic account recounted in the Samguk Yusa, the Gojoseon kingdom was founded in northern Korea, the Gija Joseon was purportedly founded in 12th century BC, and its existence and role have been controversial in the modern era. The written historical record on Gojoseon can be found from early 7th century BC, the Jin state was formed in southern Korea by the 3rd century BC. In the 2nd century BC, Gija Joseon was replaced by Wiman Joseon which fell to the Han China near the end of the century and this resulted in the fall of Gojoseon and led to succeeding warring states, the Proto–Three Kingdoms period that spanned the later Iron Age. From the 1st century, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla grew to control the peninsula, in 698, Dae Jo-yeong established Balhae in old territories of Goguryeo, which led to the North South States Period. In the late 9th century, Silla was divided into the Later Three Kingdoms, during the Goryeo period, laws were codified, a civil service system was introduced, and culture influenced by Buddhism flourished. However, Mongol invasions in the 13th century brought Goryeo under its influence until the mid-14th century, in 1392, General Yi Seong-gye established the Joseon dynasty after a coup that overthrew the Goryeo dynasty in 1388. After enjoying a period of peace for two centuries, the Joseon dynasty faced foreign invasions and internal fractional strifes, beginning in 1592 until 1637. Henceforth, Joseon gradually became more and more isolationist and stagnant, by the mid 19th century, with the country unwilling to modernize, and encroachment of European powers, Joseon Korea was forced to sign unequal treaties with foreign powers. However, in 1905, the Korean Empire was forced to sign a treaty and in 1910 Japan annexed the Korean Empire. Korean resistance was manifested in the widespread nonviolent March 1st Movement of 1919, thereafter the resistance movements, coordinated by the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in exile, were largely active in neighboring Manchuria, China and Siberia. Figures from these organizations would become important in post WWII Korea. After the end of WW2 in 1945, the country was divided into an area, protected by the Soviets. In 1948, when the failed to agree on the formation of a single government. The new premier of North Korea, Kim il-Sung launched the Korean War in 1950 in an attempt to reunify the country under Communist rule. After immense material and human destruction, the conflict ended with a cease-fire in 1953, both states were accepted into the United Nations in 1991. While both countries were essentially military rule after the war, South Korea eventually liberalized
4.
Prehistoric Korea
–
The Prehistoric Korea is the era of human existence in the Korean Peninsula for which written records did not exist. It, however, constitutes the greatest segment of the Korean past and is the object of study in the disciplines of archaeology, geology. Geological prehistory is the most ancient part of Koreas past, the oldest rocks in Korea date to the Precambrian. The Yeoncheon System corresponds to the Precambrian and is distributed around Seoul extending out to Yeoncheon-gun in a northeasterly direction, the Korean Peninsula had an active geological prehistory through the Mesozoic, when many mountain ranges were formed, and slowly became more stable in the Cenozoic. The remainder of this describes the human prehistory of the Korean Peninsula. Historians in Korea use the Three-age system to classify Korean prehistory and this terminology was created for the situation in prehistoric Europe, where sedentism, pottery and agriculture go together to characterize the Neolithic stage. The periodization scheme used by Korean archaeologists proposes that the Neolithic began in 8000 BCE and this is despite the fact that palaeoethnobotanical studies indicate that the first bona fide cultivation did not begin until circa 3500 BCE. The period of 8000 to 3500 BCE corresponds to the Mesolithic cultural stage, Korean archaeologists traditionally used a date of 1500 or 1000 BCE as the beginning of the Bronze Age. This does leave Korea with a proper Bronze Age, albeit a short one. The origins of this period are a question but the antiquity of hominid occupation in Korea may date to as early as 500,000 BCE. Yi and Clark are somewhat skeptical of dating the earliest occupation to the Lower Palaeolithic, bifacial chopper or chopping-tools were also excavated. Hand axes and cleavers produced by men in later eras were also uncovered, from Jeommal Cave a tool, possibly for hunting, made from the radius of a hominid was unearthed, along with hunting and food preparation tools of animal bones. The shells of nuts collected for nourishment were also uncovered and those of the chopper tradition are of simpler in shape and chipped from quartz and pegmatite. Seokjang-ris middle layers showed that humans hunted with these bola or missile stones, during the Middle Paleolithic Period, humans dwelt in caves at the Jeommal Site near Jecheon and at the Durubong Site near Cheongju. From these two sites, fossil remains of rhinoceros, cave bear, brown bear, hyena and numerous deer. The earliest radiocarbon dates for the Paleolithic indicate the antiquity of occupation on the Korean peninsula is between 40,000 and 30,000 BP, reports claim that these were carbon dated to some 20,000 years ago. The Palaeolithic ends when pottery production begins c 8000 BCE, the earliest known Korean pottery dates back to c 8000 BCE or before. This pottery is known as Yunggimun Pottery is found in much of the peninsula, some examples of Yunggimun-era sites are Gosan-ri in Jeju-do and Ubong-ri in Greater Ulsan
5.
Jeulmun pottery period
–
The Jeulmun Pottery Period is an archaeological era in Korean prehistory broadly spanning the period of 8000–1500 BC. This period subsumes the Mesolithic and Neolithic cultural stages in Korea, 8000–3500 BC and 3500–1500 BC, respectively. Because of the presence of pottery, the entire period has also been subsumed under a broad label of Korean Neolithic. The Jeulmun pottery period is named after the pottery vessels that form a large part of the pottery assemblage consistently over the above period. A boom in the excavations of Jeulmun Period sites since the mid-1990s has increased knowledge about this important formative period in the prehistory of East Asia. The Jeulmun was a period of hunting, gathering, and small-scale cultivation of plants, archaeologists sometimes refer to this life-style pattern as broad-spectrum hunting-and-gathering. The origins of the Jeulmun are not well known, but raised-clay pattern Yunggimun pottery appear at southern sites such as Gosan-ni in Jeju-do Island, some archaeologists describe this range of time as the Incipient Jeulmun period and suggest that the Gosan-ni pottery dates to 10,000 BP. Samples of the pottery were radiocarbon dated, and although one result is consistent with the argument that pottery emerged at very early date, kuzmin suggests that more absolute dating is needed to gain a better perspective on this notion. The Early Jeulmun period is characterized by deep-sea fishing, hunting, examples of Early Jeulmun settlements include Seopohang, Amsa-dong, and Osan-ri. Choe and Bale estimate that at least 14 Middle Jeulmun period sites have yielded evidence of cultivation in the form of carbonized plant remains and agricultural stone tools. For example, Crawford and Lee, using AMS dating techniques, another example of Middle Jeulmun cultivation is found at Jitam-ri in North Korea. A pit-house at Jitam-ri yielded several hundred grams of some carbonized cultigen that North Korean archaeologists state is millet, cultivation was likely a supplement to a subsistence regime that continued to heavily emphasize deep-sea fishing, shellfish gathering, and hunting. Lee suggests that stress on shellfish populations and the movement of people into the interior prompted groups to become more reliant on cultivated plants in their diets. The Late Jeulmun is roughly contemporaneous with Lower Xiajiadian culture in Liaoning, archaeologists have suggested that Bangudae and Cheonjeon-ri, a substantial group of petroglyph panels in Ulsan, may date to this sub-period, but this is the subject of some debate. Prehistory of Korea List of archaeological periods Jōmon pottery Pit-Comb Ware culture Nelson, Sarah M.1993 The Archaeology of Korea
6.
Mumun pottery period
–
The Mumun period is known for the origins of intensive agriculture and complex societies in both the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago. This period or parts of it have sometimes been labelled as the Korean Bronze Age, a boom in the archaeological excavations of Mumun Period sites since the mid-1990s has recently increased our knowledge about this important formative period in the prehistory of East Asia. The Mumun period is preceded by the Jeulmun Pottery Period, the Jeulmun was a period of hunting, gathering, and small-scale cultivation of plants. The origins of the Mumun Period are not well known, but the megalithic burials, Mumun pottery, 1800-1500 probably indicate the origins of the Mumun Period of Southern Korea. Slash-and-burn cultivators who used Mumun pottery displaced people using Jeulmun Period subsistence patterns, the Early Mumun is characterized by shifting cultivation, fishing, hunting, and discrete settlements with rectangular semi-subterranean pit-houses. Early Mumun settlements are concentrated in the river valleys formed by tributaries of the Geum River in West-central Korea. However, one of the largest Early Mumun settlements, Eoeun, is located in the Middle Nam River valley in South-central Korea, in the latter Early Mumun, large settlements composed of many long-houses such as Baekseok-dong appeared in the area of modern Cheonan City, Chungcheong Nam-do. Important long-term traditions related to Mumun ceremonial and mortuary systems originated in this sub-period and these traditions include the construction of megalithic burials, the production of red-burnished pottery, and production of polished groundstone daggers. A number of features have been excavated in southern Korea. Burials dating to the part of the Middle Mumun contain a few high status mortuary offerings such as bronze artifacts. Bronze production probably began around this time in Southern Korea, other high status burials contain greenstone ornaments. Korean archaeologists sometimes refer to Middle Mumun culture as Songguk-ri Culture, excavations have also revealed Songguk-ri settlements in the Ulsan and Gimhae areas. In 2005 archaeologists uncovered Songguk-ri Culture pit-houses at a deep in the interior of Gangwon Province. The ultimate geographic reach of Songguk-ri Culture appears to have been Jeju Island, during the Mumun people grew millets, barley, wheat, legumes, and continued to hunt and fish. The Late Mumun is characterized by increasing conflict, fortified settlements. A Late Mumun occupation was found at the Namsan settlement, located on the top of a hill 100 m above sea level in modern Changwon City, Gyeongsang Nam-do. A shellmidden was found in the vicinity of Namsan, indicating that, in addition to agriculture, pit-houses at Namsan were located inside a ring-ditch that is some 4.2 m deep and 10 m in width. Why would such a formidable ring-ditch, so massive in size, have been necessary, one possible answer is intergroup conflict
7.
Gojoseon
–
Gojoseon, originally named Joseon, was an ancient Korean kingdom. The addition of Go, meaning ancient, distinguishes it from the other kingdoms called Joseon. The founding legend of Gojoseon, which is recorded in the Samguk Yusa and other medieval Korean books, states that the country was established in 2333 BC by Dangun, said to be descended from heaven. While no evidence has found that supports whatever facts may lie beneath this. In the 12th century BC Gija, a prince from the Shang dynasty of China, however, due to the lack of archaeological evidence, its existence has been challenged since the 20th century, and today no longer forms the mainstream understanding of this period. The historical Gojoseon kingdom was first mentioned in Chinese records in the early 7th century BC. During its early phase, the capital of Gojoseon was located in Liaoning, around 400 BC, it was moved to Pyongyang, while in the south of the peninsula, in 108 BC, the Han dynasty of China invaded and conquered Wiman Joseon. The Han established four commanderies to administer the Gojoseon territory, the area was later conquered by Goguryeo in 313 AD. Their language was probably a predecessor of the equally prehistoric Buyeo languages, Dangun is the legendary founder of Korea. A similar account is found in Jewang Ungi, according to the legend, the Lord of Heaven, Hwanin had a son, Hwanung, who descended to Baekdu Mountain and founded the city of Shinsi. Then a bear and a tiger came to Hwanung and said that wanted to become people. Hwuanung said to them if they went in a cave and lived there for 100 days while only eating mugwort. However, about halfway through the 100 days the tiger gave up, on the other hand, the bear successfully restrained herself and became a beautiful woman called Ungnyeo. Hwanung later married Ugnyeo, and she gave birth to Dangun, while the Dangun story is considered to be a myth, it is believed it is a mythical synthesis of a series of historical events relating to the founding of Gojoseon. There are various theories on the origin of this myth, Lee K. B. believes Dangun-wanggeom was a title borne by successive leaders of Gojoseon. Dangun is said to have founded Gojoseon around 2333 BC, based on the descriptions of the Samgungnyusa, Jewang Ungi, Dongguk Tonggam, the date differs among historical sources, although all of them put it during the mythical Emperor Yaos reign. Samgungnyusa says Dangun ascended to the throne in the 50th year of the legendary Yaos reign, Annals of the King Sejong says the first year, and Dongguk Tonggam says the 25th year. Gija, a man from Shang China, allegedly fled to the Korean peninsula in 1122 BC during the fall of the Shang to the Zhou dynasty and founded Gija Joseon
8.
Jin (Korean state)
–
Its capital was somewhere south of the Han River. It preceded the Samhan confederacies, each of which claimed to be successors of the Jin state, Jin is the Revised Romanization of Korean 진, originally written 辰 in Korean Chinese characters. This was associated with a bearing of 120° but also with the period between 7 and 9 am, leading it to be associated with dawn and the direction east. It is not clear as to how well defined of an organized state Jin was and it seems likely that it was a federation of small states much like the subsequent Samhan. For the state to be able to contend with Wiman Joseon and send embassies to the court of Han Dynasty China, there was probably some level of stable central authority. Korean historian Ki-baek Lee also suggests that the attempt to open direct contacts suggests a strong desire on the part of Chin to enjoy the benefits of Chinese metal culture. However, for the most part Wiman Joseon prevented direct contact between Jin and China, king Jun of Gojoseon is reported to have fled to Jin after Wiman seized his throne and established Wiman Joseon. Some believe that Chinese mentions of Gaeguk or Gaemaguk refers to Jin, goguryeo is said to have conquered Gaemaguk in 26 AD, but this may refer to a different tribe in northern Korea. Records are somewhat contradictory on Jins demise, it became the later Jinhan. Archeological records of Jin have been centered in territory that later became Mahan. Archaeologically, Jin is commonly identified with the Korean bronze dagger culture, the most abundant finds from this culture have been in southwestern Koreas Chungcheong and Jeolla regions. This suggests that Jin was based in the area, which roughly coincides with the fragmentary historical evidence. Artifacts of the culture are found throughout southern Korea and were exported to the Yayoi people of Kyūshū. Jin was succeeded by the Samhan, Mahan, Jinhan and Byeonhan, the name of Jin continued to be used in the name of the Jinhan confederacy and in the name Byeonjin, an alternate term for Byeonhan. In addition, for some time the leader of Mahan continued to call himself the Jin king, asserting nominal overlordship over all of the Samhan tribes, history of Korea List of Korea-related topics Samhan Lee, C. -k. The bronze dagger culture of Liaoning province and the Korean peninsula, tr. by E. W. Wagner & E. J. Schulz, based on the 1979 rev. ed. Seoul, Ilchogak
9.
Buyeo
–
Buyeo or Puyŏ was an ancient kingdom located in parts of southern Manchuria and northern Korea, from around the 2nd century BC to 494. Its remnants were absorbed by the kingdom of Goguryeo in 494. Both Goguryeo and Baekje, two of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, considered themselves its successor nation, although records are sparse and contradictory, it is speculated that in 86 BC, Dongbuyeo branched out, after which the original Buyeo is sometimes referred to as Bukbuyeo. Jolbon Buyeo was a tribal state situated in north of the Korean peninsula. It is also shown that the Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei wished that Buyeo would regain its former glory, in 538, long after the fall of Buyeo, Baekje renamed itself Nambuyeo. Buyeo may also refer to a Baekje surname or Buyeo County in South Korea, the founder of the Buyeo kingdom was probably Dongmyeong, having no relations with Jumong who founded Goguryeo. After its foundation, Hae Mo-su brought the court to his new palace. Hae Mo-su called his new kingdom Buyeo to show that he was the successor to the Kings of Buyeo. Generally, this Buyeo is often known as Bukbuyeo, Jumong is described as the son of Hae Mo-su and Yuhwa, who was a daughter of the Habaek. In the early 3rd century, Gongsun Du, a Chinese warlord in Liaodong, supported Buyeo to counter Xianbei in the north, after destroying the Gongsun family, the northern Chinese state of Cao Wei sent Guanqiu Jian to attack Goguryeo. A squad of the force led by Wang Qi, the Grand Administrator of the Xuantu commandery, was welcomed by Buyeo. It brought detailed information of the kingdom to China, after that, Buyeo was torn between big powers, and ravaged during the waves of movement of northern nomadic peoples into China. In 285 the Murong tribe of the Xianbei, led by Murong Hui, invaded Buyeo, pushing King Uiryeo to suicide, considering its friendly relationship with the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Wu helped King Uira revive Buyeo. Goguryeos attack sometime before 347 caused further decline, having lost its stronghold on the Ashi River, Buyeo moved southwestward to Nongan. Around 347, Buyeo was attacked by Murong Huang of the Former Yan, a remnant of Buyeo seems to have lingered around modern Harbin area under the influence of Goguryeo. Buyeo paid tribute once to Northern Wei in 457-8, but otherwise seems to have been controlled by Goguryeo, in 494, Buyeo were under attack by the rising Wuji, and the Buyeo court moved and surrendered to Goguryeo. According to the Samguk Sagi and other accounts, the kingdom of Dongbuyeo branched out to the east of Bukbuyeo, bukbuyeos King died, and his brother Hae Buru succeeded him and became the king of Bukbuyeo. Hae Buru found a golden frog-like child under a large rock, Hae Buru named the child Geumwa, meaning golden frog, and later made him crown prince
10.
Goguryeo
–
Goguryeo was an active participant in the power struggle for control of the Korean peninsula and was also associated with the foreign affairs of neighboring polities in China and Japan. The Samguk Sagi, a 12th-century text from Goryeo, indicates that Goguryeo was founded in 37 BCE by Jumong, a prince from Buyeo, after its fall, its territory was divided among the states of Later Silla, Balhae and Tang China. The name Goryeo, a form of Goguryeo, was adopted as the official name in the 5th century. In the geographic monographs of the Book of Han, the word Goguryeo was first mentioned in 113 BCE as a region under the jurisdiction of the Xuantu Commandery, page 33. In the Old Book of Tang, it is recorded that Emperor Taizong refers to Goguryeos history as being some 900 years old, in 75 BCE, a group of Yemaek who may have originated from Goguryeo made an incursion into Chinas Xuantu Commandery west of the Yalu. At its founding, the Goguryeo people are believed to be a blend of people from Buyeo and Yemaek, as leadership from Buyeo may have fled their kingdom and integrated with existing Yemaek chiefdoms. The Records of the Three Kingdoms, in the section titled Accounts of the Eastern Barbarians, implied that Buyeo, the earliest mention of Jumong is in the 4th century Gwanggaeto Stele. Jumong is the modern Korean transcription of the hanja 朱蒙 Jumong, 鄒牟 Chumo, the Stele states that Jumong was the first king and ancestor of Goguryeo and that he was the son of the prince of Buyeo and daughter of the Yellow River deity Habaek. The Samguk Sagi and Samgungnyusa paint additional detail and names Jumongs mother as Yuhwa, Jumongs biological father was said to be a man named Haemosu who is described as a strong man and a heavenly prince. The river god chased Yuhwa away to the Ubal River due to her pregnancy, Jumong was well known for his exceptional archery skills. Eventually, Geumwas sons became jealous of him, and Jumong was forced to leave Eastern Buyeo, the Stele and later Korean sources disagree as to which Buyeo Jumong came from. The Stele says he came from Buyeo and the Samgungnyusa and Samguk Sagi say he came from Eastern Buyeo, Jumong eventually made it to Jolbon, where he married Soseono, daughter of its ruler. He subsequently became king himself, founding Goguryeo with a group of his followers from his native country. A traditional account from the Annals of Baekje section in the Samguk Sagi says that Soseono was the daughter of Yeon Tabal, a wealthy influential figure in Jolbon and married to Jumong. However, the same source states that the king of Jolbon gave his daughter to Jumong. She gave her husband, Jumong, financial support in founding the new statelet, Jumongs given surname was Hae, the name of the Buyeo rulers. According to the Samgungnyusa, Jumong changed his surname to Go in conscious reflection of his divine parentage, Jumong is recorded to have conquered the tribal states of Biryu in 36 BCE, Haeng-in in 33 BCE, and Northern Okjeo in 28 BCE. Goguryeo developed from a league of various Yemaek tribes to an early state, in the time of Taejodae in 53 CE, five local tribes were reorganized into five centrally ruled districts
11.
Samhan
–
The Samhan period of Korean history comprises confederacies of Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan in central and southern Korean peninsula, during the final century BCE and the early centuries CE. These confederacies were eventually absorbed into two of the Three Kingdoms of Korea by the 4th century CE, the Samhan period is generally considered a subdivision of the Three Kingdoms Period. Sam is a Sino-Korean word meaning three, and Han is a Korean word meaning great, grand, large, much, many. Han was transliterated into Chinese characters 韓, 幹, or 刊, but is unrelated with the Han in Han Chinese, ma means south, Byeon means shining and Jin means east. The names of these confederacies are reflected in the current name of South Korea, the Samhan are thought to have formed around the time of the fall of Gojoseon in northern Korea in 108 BC, around when the state of Jin in southern Korea also disappears from written records. By the 4th century, Mahan was fully absorbed into the Baekje kingdom, Jinhan into the Silla kingdom, and Byeonhan into the Gaya confederacy, main articles, Byeonhan confederacy, Jinhan confederacy, Mahan confederacy The Samhan are generally considered loose confederations of walled-town states. Each appears to have had an elite, whose power was a mix of politics. Although each state appears to have had its own ruler, there is no evidence of systematic succession, the name of the poorly understood Jin state continued to be used in the name of the Jinhan confederacy and in the name Byeonjin, an alternate term for Byeonhan. In addition, for some time the leader of Mahan continued to call himself the King of Jin, Mahan was the largest and earliest developed of the three confederacies. It consisted of 54 minor statelets, one of which conquered or absorbed the others, Mahan is usually considered to have been located in the southwest of the Korean peninsula, covering Jeolla, Chungcheong, and portions of Gyeonggi. Jinhan consisted of 12 statelets, one of which conquered or absorbed the others and it is usually considered to have been located to the east of the Nakdong River valley. Byeonhan consisted of 12 statelets, which gave rise to the Gaya confederacy. It is usually considered to have located in the south. The exact locations occupied by the different Samhan confederations are disputed and it is also quite likely that their boundaries changed over time. However, the earlier Chinese San guo zhi places Mahan in the southwest, Jinhan in the southeast, villages were usually constructed deep in high mountain valleys, where they were relatively secure from attack. Mountain fortresses were also constructed as places of refuge during war. The minor states which made up the federations are usually considered to have covered about as much land as a modern-day myeon, based on historical and archeological records, river and sea routes appear to have been the primary means of long-distance transportation and trade. It is thus not surprising that Jinhan and Byeonhan, with their coastal and river locations, the Samhan saw the systematic introduction of iron into the southern Korean peninsula
12.
Four Commanderies of Han
–
The Four Commanderies of Han are Lelang, Lintun, Xuantu and Zhenfan commanderies in northern Korean Peninsula and part of the Liaodong Peninsula. Set up by Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty in early 2nd century BC after his conquest of Wiman Joseon, the accurate positions of the commanderies other than Lelang commandery are still under debate. As its administrative center in Lelang, the Chinese built what was in essence a Chinese city where the governor, officials, and merchants and their administration had considerable impact on the life of the native population and ultimatedly the very fabric of Gojoseon society became eroded. Goguryeo, a later founded, a mixed Koreanic and Yemaek kingdom, slowly began conquering the commanderies, Lelang Commandery,25 prefectures,62,812 households, population of 406,748. Lintun Commandery Xuantu Commandery,3 prefectures,45,006 households, population of 221,845
13.
Three Kingdoms of Korea
–
The concept of the Three Kingdoms of Korea refers to the three kingdoms of Baekje, Silla and Goguryeo, which was later known as Goryeo, from which the name Korea is derived. The Three Kingdoms period was defined as being from 57 BC to 668 AD, the three kingdoms occupied parts of Manchuria, in present-day China and Russia, and the Korean Peninsula. Baekje and Silla only dominated the southern part of the peninsula whereas Goguryeo controlled the Liaodong Peninsula, Manchuria and the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. In the 7th century, allied with China under the Tang dynasty, Silla unified the Korean Peninsula for the first time in Korean history, after the fall of Baekje and Goguryeo, the Tang dynasty established a short-lived military government to administer parts of the Korean peninsula. However, as a result of the Silla–Tang Wars, Silla forces expelled the Protectorate armies from the peninsula in 676, subsequently, Dae Joyeong, a former Goguryeo general, founded Balhae in the former territory of Goguryeo after defeating the Tang dynasty at the Battle of Tianmenling. The predecessor period, before the development of the kingdoms, is sometimes called Proto–Three Kingdoms period. Main primary sources for this period include Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa in Korea, the name Three Kingdoms was used in the titles of the Korean histories Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa, and should not be confused with the Chinese Three Kingdoms. The Three Kingdoms was founded after the fall of Gojoseon, after the fall of Gojoseon, the Han dynasty established four commanderies in present Liaoning. Three fell quickly to the Samhan, and the last was destroyed by Goguryeo in 313, the three polities made the transition from walled-town state to full-fledged state-level societies between 1st – 3rd century AD. All three kingdoms shared a culture and language. Their original religions appear to have been shamanistic, but they were influenced by Chinese culture. In the 4th century, Buddhism was introduced to the peninsula, Goguryeo emerged on the north and south banks of the Yalu River, in the wake of Gojoseons fall. Evidence indicates Goguryeo was the most advanced, and likely the first established, Goguryeo, eventually the largest of the three kingdoms, had several capitals in alternation, two capitals in the upper Yalu area, and later Nangrang which is now part of Pyongyang. At the beginning, the state was located on the border with China, it expanded into Manchuria. The cultural influence of the Chinese continued as Buddhism was adopted as the religion in 372. Goguryeo was a highly militaristic state, it was a powerful empire, the state was at its zenith in the fifth century, during the rule of King Gwanggaeto the Great and his son King Jangsu, and particularly during their campaign against China in Manchuria. For the next century or so, Goguryeo was the dominant nation in Chinese Manchuria, Goguryeo eventually occupied the Liaodong Plains in Manchuria and todays Seoul area. Gwanggaeto achieved a loose unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, Goguryeo controlled not only Koreans but also Chinese and Tungusic tribes in Manchuria and North Korea
14.
Baekje
–
Baekje was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo, Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeos founder Jumong and So Seo-no, at Wiryeseong. Baekje, like Goguryeo, claimed to succeed Buyeo, an established in present-day Manchuria around the time of Gojoseons fall. Baekje alternately battled and allied with Goguryeo and Silla as the three kingdoms expanded control over the peninsula and it became a significant regional sea power, with political and trade relations with China and Japan. In 660 it was defeated, by an alliance of Silla and the Chinese Tang Dynasty, Baekje was founded in 18 BC by King Onjo, who led a group of people from Goguryeo south to the Han River basin. According to the Chinese Records of the Three Kingdoms, during the Samhan period, the Samguk Sagi provides a detailed account of Baekjes founding. Jumong had left his son Yuri in Buyeo when he left that kingdom to establish the new kingdom of Goguryeo, Jumong became Divine King Dongmyeong, and had two more sons with So Seo-no, Onjo and Biryu. When Yuri later arrived in Goguryeo, Jumong promptly made him the crown prince, realizing Yuri would become the next king, So Seo-no left Goguryeo, taking her two sons Biryu and Onjo south to found their own kingdoms with their people, along with ten vassals. She is remembered as a key figure in the founding of both Goguryeo and Baekje, Onjo settled in Wiryeseong, and called his country Sipje, while Biryu settled in Michuhol, against the vassals advice. The salty water and marshes in Michuhol made settlement difficult, while the people of Wiryeseong lived prosperously, Biryu then went to his brother Onjo, asking for the throne of Sipje. When Onjo refused, Biryu declared war, but lost, in shame, Biryu committed suicide, and his people moved to Wiryeseong, where King Onjo welcomed them and renamed his country Baekje. King Onjo moved the capital from the south to the north of the Han river, King Gaeru is believed to have moved the capital north of the river to Bukhansanseong in 132, probably in present-day Goyang to the northwest of Seoul. Through the early centuries of the Common Era, sometimes called the Proto–Three Kingdoms Period, during the reign of King Goi, Baekje became a full-fledged kingdom, as it continued consolidating the Mahan confederacy. In 249, according to the ancient Japanese text Nihonshoki, Baekjes expansion reached the Gaya confederacy to its east, Baekje is first described in Chinese records as a kingdom in 345. The first diplomatic missions from Baekje reached Japan around 367, King Geunchogo expanded Baekjes territory to the north through war against Goguryeo, while annexing the remaining Mahan societies in the south. During Geunchogos reign, the territories of Baekje included most of the western Korean Peninsula, Baekje continued substantial trade with Goguryeo, and actively adopted Chinese culture and technology. Buddhism became the state religion in 384. Baekje also became a sea power and continued mutual goodwill relationships with the Japanese rulers of the Kofun period, transmitting continental cultural influences to Japan
15.
Silla
–
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the worlds longest sustained dynasties. Although it was founded by King Park Hyeokgeose, the dynasty was ruled by the Gyeongju Kim clan for most of its 992-year history. It began as a chiefdom in the Samhan confederacies, once allied with China, thereafter, Unified Silla or Later Silla, as it is often referred to, occupied most of the Korean Peninsula, while the northern part re-emerged as Balhae, a successor-state of Goguryeo. After nearly 1000 years of rule, Silla fragmented into the brief Later Three Kingdoms, Silla, Hubaekje, and Taebong, handing over power to its successor dynasty Goryeo in 935. From its founding until its growth into a kingdom, Silla was recorded with various hanja phonetically approximating its native Korean name, 斯盧, 斯羅, 徐那, 徐耶, 徐羅. In 503, King Jijeung standardized on the characters 新羅, which in Modern Korean is pronounced Shilla, in the modern Mongolian language, Korea and Koreans are still known as Солонгос Solongos, which seems to be an alteration of Silla influenced by the Mongolian word for rainbow. Scholars have traditionally divided Silla history into three periods, Early, Middle, and Late. The Park clan held power for three generations before a coup by the Seok clan. During the reign of the first Seok ruler, Talhae of Silla, the Park and Seok clans constantly fought each other for power and both were eventually overthrown by the Kim clan. The Kim clan then ruled over Silla for many generations with the Park, the final ruler of Later Silla, King Gyeongsun, was a member of the Kim clan. During the Proto–Three Kingdoms period, the city-states of central and southern Korea were grouped into three confederacies called Samhan, Silla began as Saro-guk, a statelet within the 12-member confederacy called Jinhan. Saro-guk consisted of six villages and six clans, according to Korean records, Silla was founded by King Park Hyeokgeose in 57 BC, around present-day Gyeongju. Hyeokgeose is said to have hatched from an egg laid from a white horse. He is also the progenitor of the Park clan, now one of the most common names in Korea. The Samguk Sagi and Bei Shi say that the originally Lelang Commandery area which became the Jinhan confederacy was the origin of Silla. By the 2nd century, Silla existed as a state in the southeastern area of the Korean peninsula. It expanded its influence over neighboring Jinhan chiefdoms, but through the 3rd century was no more than the strongest city-state in a loose federation. To the west, Baekje had centralized into a kingdom by about 250, to the southwest, Byeonhan was being replaced by the Gaya confederacy
16.
Later Silla
–
Later Silla was a prosperous and wealthy country, and its metropolitan capital of Gyeongju was the fourth largest city in the world. During its heyday, the country contested with Balhae, a Goguryeo–Mohe kingdom, despite its political instability, Later Sillas culture and arts flourished. Through close ties maintained with Tang Dynasty, Buddhism and Confucianism became principal philosophical ideologies of the elite as well as the mainstays of the periods architecture and fine arts. Its last king, Gyeongsun, ruled over the state in name only and submitted to the emerging Goryeo in 935, although traditionally considered the first unified Korean state, modern Korean historians argue that later Goryeo was in fact the first truly unified state of the Korean nation. Modern Korean historians began to criticize the traditional view of Unified Silla as the unification of Korea, in 660, King Munmu of Silla ordered his armies to attack Baekje. General Kim Yu-shin, aided by Tang forces, defeated General Gyebaek, in 661, he moved on Goguryeo but was repelled. King Munmu was the first ruler ever to look upon the south of the Korean Peninsula as a political entity after the fall of Gojoseon. As such, the post-668 Silla kingdom is often referred to as Unified Silla, Unified Silla lasted for 267 years until, under King Gyeongsun, it fell to Goryeo in 935. Later Silla was an age of art and culture, as evidenced by the Hwangnyongsa, Seokguram. Unified Silla and the Tang maintained close ties and this was evidenced by the continual importation of Chinese culture. Many Korean monks went to China to learn about Buddhism, the monk Hyecho went to India to study Buddhism and wrote an account of his travels. Different new sects of Buddhism were introduced by these traveling monks who had studied such as Son. Unified Silla conducted a census of all size and population, as well as horses, cows and special products. The reporting was done by the leader of each town, a national Confucian college was established in 682 and around 750 it was renamed the National Confucian University. The university was restricted to the elite aristocracy, woodblock printing was used to disseminate Buddhist sutras and Confucian works. During a refurbishment of the Pagoda That Casts No Shadows, an ancient print of a Buddhist sutra was discovered, the print is dated to 751 CE and is the oldest discovered printed material in the world
17.
Balhae
–
Balhae, called Bóhǎi in Chinese, was a kingdom in present-day northern Korea, areas of Chinas Northeast, and Russias Maritime Province. Balhae was established under the name Jin by former Goguryeo general Dae Jo-yeong in 698 after his defeat of the Tang China at Tianmenling, Balhaes original capital was at Dongmo Mountain in modern Dunhua, Jilin Province. In 742 it was moved to the Central Capital in Helong and it was moved to the Northern Capital in Ningan, Heilongjiang in 755, to the Eastern Capital in Hunchun, Jilin in 785, and back to the Northern Capital in 794. According to a Chinese source, the kingdom had 100,000 households, archaeological evidence suggests that the Balhae culture was an amalgamation of Chinese, Korean, and indigenous cultures. Korean scholars consider Balhae as the part of the North–South States Period of Korean history, Balhae was founded in 698 under the name Jin or Zhen. Jin is the modern Revised Romanization of Korean 진, the same as the earlier Jin state, the former states character referred to the 5th earthly branch of the Chinese and Korean zodiacs, a division of the orbit of Jupiter identified with the dragon. This was associated with a bearing of 120° but also with the period between 7 and 9 am, leading it to be associated with dawn and the direction east. The latter states name may have simply been a variant transcription of this or may have intended the characters meaning of thunderclap, shock, tremor. In 713, the Tang dynasty bestowed the title Head of Bohai Commandery to the ruler of Jin, in 762 the Tang dynasty of China recognized it a kingdom and renamed it Bohai. The earliest extant recorded mention of Balhae comes from the Old Book of Tang, southern Manchuria and northern Korea were previously the territory of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Goguryeo fell to the forces of Silla and the Tang dynasty in 668. The Tang annexed much of western Manchuria, while Silla unified the Korean peninsula south of the Taedong River, after Dae Jungsang’s death, his son, Dae Jo-yeong, a former Goguryeo general succeeded his father. Geolsa Biu died in battle against the Tang army led by the general Li Kaigu, Dae jo Yeong managed to escape outside of the Tang controlled territory with the remaining Goguryeo and Mohe soldiers. He successfully defeated an army sent by Wu Zetian at the Battle of Tianmenling. Which enabled him to establish the state of Balhae in the region of Yilou as King Go. The second King Mu, who felt encircled by Tang, Silla and Black Water Mohe along the Amur River, attacked Tang with his navy in 732 and killed a Tang prefect based on the Shandong Peninsula. In the same time, the king led troops taking land routes to Madushan in the vincity of the Shanhai Pass and he also sent a mission to Japan in 728 to threaten Silla from the southeast. Balhae kept diplomatic and commercial contacts with Japan until the end of the kingdom, Balhae dispatched envoys to Japan 34 times, while Japan sent envoys to Balhae 13 times
18.
Later Three Kingdoms
–
The Later Three Kingdoms of Korea consisted of Silla, Hubaekje and Hugoguryeo. The later two claimed heirs to the earlier Three Kingdoms of Korea, which had been united by Silla, the system was being abused as a means for the ruling royal family to dominate politically and this caused much unrest in the latter days of Silla. Dissention deepened within the nobility after the death of King Hyegong as contention over the royal succession intensified, not only was the political atmosphere in a shambles, the financial state of Silla was dire. Taxation was difficult without the nobles cooperation, as a result, the tax burden fell heavily on the peasants and farmers, who consequently revolted in 889, the third year of Queen Jinseongs reign. Numerous revolts and uprisings occurred during the following 100 years, breaking Silla down, as Silla started to crumble, Gyeon Hwon, a former general of Silla, led rebel troops to seize the provincial capital of Mujinju, todays Gwangju in 892. He then conquered the southwest regions and in 900, Gyeon Hwon declared himself king of Hubaekje and he established his capital at Wansanju, todays Jeonju, and continued to expand the kingdom. Gung Ye from Silla is believed to come from a royal or noble background, some historians theorize that he was descended from Go Anseung who was given the Sillas Kim royal surname. He was a Buddhist monk but soon joined in the political uprisings and he conquered much land and set up base in Myeongju, todays Gangneung in 895 with the support of many regional leaders, including general Wang Geon. In 901, Gung Ye founded Hugoguryeo but changed the name to Majin in 904 and he changed the name to Taebong in 911. As time passed however, Gung Ye started to call himself the Maitreya Buddha and resort to despotism, Wanggeon established a new dynasty called Goryeo and moved the capital to Songak the following year, creating the new troika of Goryeo, Baekje and Silla. The three kingdoms were in a constant power struggle, although by this time Silla had weakened to a despondent state, Hubaekje led with an offensive approach but Wanggeon of Goryeo placed more importance on diplomatic ties, which endeared his kingdom to Silla. The conflict between Hubaekje and Goryeo was constant near Silla territory, as both wanted to wield their power over the region. Hubaekje led by attacking Gyeongju, the capital of Silla, in 927, Goryeo retaliated by winning the battle at Gochang in 930 and reclaiming the territory of Woongjin in 934. In 935, King Gyeongsun of a very weakened Silla surrendered to Goryeo, during this time, inner power struggles within Hubaekje weaken a country already fatigued from warfare. Gyeon Hwon named his youngest son Geumgang as heir, but his sons joined forces and rebelled, placing Gyeon Hwons eldest son Singeom on the throne. Gyeon Hwon later escaped to Goryeo and joined forces with Wanggeons army to attack the country he founded. Hubaekje fell to Goryeo in 936 and the peninsula was reunified, list of Korea-related topics Silla Baekje Taebong Hubaekje Later Sabeol Gyeon Hwon / Gung Ye / Wanggeon The Academy of Korean Studies, Korea through the Ages Vol.1, The Editor Publishing Co
19.
Taebong
–
Taebong was a state established by Gung Ye on the Korean Peninsula in 901 during the Later Three Kingdoms. The states initial name was Goryeo, after the name of Goguryeo, a previous state in Manchuria. Gung Ye changed the name to Majin in 904. When Wang Geon overthrew Gung Ye and enthroned himself as Taejo of Goryeo, to distinguish Gung Yes state from Wang Geons state, later historians call this state Later Goguryeo or Taebong, its final name. According to legend, Gung Ye was a son of either King Heonan or King Gyeongmun of Silla, a soothsayer prophesied that the newborn baby would bring disaster to Silla, so the King ordered his servants to kill him. However, his nurse hid Gung Ye and raised him secretly and he joined Yang Gils rebellion force in 892. Silla, after nearly a millennium as a kingdom, was quickly declining. In 898, He set up the capital in Songak and he eventually defeated Yang Gil and other local lords in central Korea to proclaim himself king in 901. Gung Ye transferred the capital from Songak to Cheolwon in 905, Taebong at its peak consisted of territory in the present-day provinces of North and South Hwanghae, Gyeonggi, Gangwon/Kangwon, Pyongyang, North Chungcheong and the southern part of South Jeolla. In his later days, Gung Ye proclaimed himself a Buddha and became a tyrant who sentenced death to anyone opposing him, including his own wife. As a result, in 918 four of his own generals—Hong Yu, Bae Hyeon-gyeong, Shin Sung-gyeom and Bok Ji-gyeom —overthrew Taebong, Gung Ye was originally a Buddhist monk. He encouraged Buddhism and changed the manners of national ceremonies Buddhist, including the Palgwanhoe and these changes survived the death of Gung Ye and the fall of Taebong. List of Korea-related topics History of Korea
20.
Goryeo
–
Goryeo, also spelled as Koryŏ, was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by King Taejo. This kingdom later gave name to the modern exonym Korea and it united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean Peninsula until it was removed by the founder of the Joseon in 1392. Goryeo expanded Koreas borders to present-day Wonsan in the northeast, the Yalu River, two of this periods most notable products are celadon pottery and the Tripitaka Koreana—the Buddhist canon carved onto more than 80,000 woodblocks and stored at Haeinsa. The people of Goryeo also created the first metal type that was capable of printing actual books, in 1234, the oldest surviving metal movable type book. A son of a lord, Wang Geon, joined Taebong as a general. Taebong fell when Wang Geon revolted and killed Gung Ye in 918, Silla was overpowered by Goryeo and Later Baekje and surrendered to Goryeo in 935. By the late 13th century, after nearly 30 years of warfare with the Mongols of the Yuan dynasty, Goryeo lost much of its power, the name Goryeo is derived from Goguryeo of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, which the Goryeo state regarded as its predecessor. Goguryeo changed its name to Goryeo during the reign of Jangsu in the 5th century, the English name Korea derives from Goryeo. Silla, which had accomplished an incomplete unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea in 668, weakened, the country entered a period of civil war and rebellion, led by Gung Ye, Gi Hwon, Yang Gil, and Gyeon Hwon. Gung Ye established the state of Later Goguryeo, renamed Taebong, together with the declining Later Silla, they are known as the Later Three Kingdoms. Wang Geon, who became the Taejo of Goryeo, joined Later Goguryeo as a general but later overthrew Gung Ye. Goryeo regarded itself as the successor of Goguryeo, Wang Geon, the founder of Goryeo, was a descendant of Goguryeo, and traced his ancestry to a noble Goguryeo clan. For three years after, Later Baekje dominated the Later Three Kingdoms, but after a defeat at Andong in 930, the Later Three Kingdoms era ended when Goryeo annexed Silla in 935 and defeated Later Baekje in 936. King Taejo moved the capital to his hometown of Kaesǒng, Taejo married a daughter of the Silla royal family and allowed most of their nobility to keep their lands. Even though he ruled the nation for only seven years before his son took the throne upon his death. The terminology used in the court of Goryeo was that of an empire, the capital, Gaegyeong was called Hwangdo Imperial Capital and the palace was referred to as Imperial Palace. The nation also utilized a system of multiple capitals, Gaegyeong as the main capital, the mere use of this system and the nomenclature or use of the character 京 implied that Goryeo functioned internally as an empire. Other terms, such as Your Imperial Majesty, Empress Imperial Crown Prince, Empress Dowager, however, Goryeo, when enshrining its rulers, did not use the title Emperor
21.
Joseon
–
The Kingdom of Joseon was a Korean kingdom founded by Yi Seonggye that lasted for approximately five centuries, from July 1392 to October 1897. It was officially renamed the Korean Empire in October 1897 and it was founded following the aftermath of the overthrow of Goryeo in what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul, the kingdoms northernmost borders were expanded to the natural boundaries at the Yalu and Tumen Rivers through the subjugation of the Jurchens. Joseon was the last dynasty of Korea and its longest-ruling Confucian dynasty, during its reign, Joseon encouraged the entrenchment of Chinese Confucian ideals and doctrines in Korean society. Neo-Confucianism was installed as the new state ideology. Buddhism was accordingly discouraged and occasionally faced persecutions by the dynasty, Joseon consolidated its effective rule over the territory of current Korea and saw the height of classical Korean culture, trade, science, literature, and technology. After the end of invasions from Manchuria, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of peace, by the late 14th century, the nearly 500-year-old Goryeo established in 918 was tottering, its foundations collapsing from years of war and de facto occupation from the disintegrating Mongol Empire. Following the emergence of the Ming dynasty, the court in Goryeo split into two conflicting factions, the group led by General Yi and the camp led by General Choe. Goryeo claimed to be the successor of the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo, as such, Yi was chosen to lead the attack, however, he revolted and swept back to Gaegyeong and initiated a coup détat, overthrowing King U in favor of his son, Chang of Goryeo. He later killed King U and his son after a failed restoration, in 1392, Yi eliminated Jeong Mong-ju, highly respected leader of a group loyal to Goryeo dynasty, and dethroned King Gongyang, exiling him to Wonju, and before he ascended the throne. The Goryeo Dynasty had come to an end after almost 500 years of rule. After much deliberation, the Taejo Emperor declared the name of the new dynasty to be Joseon, after the ancient Korean state of Gojoseon and he also moved the capital to Hanyang from Kaesong. When the new dynasty was promulgated and officially brought into existence, with Taejos support, Jeong Dojeon kept limiting the royal familys power by prohibiting political involvement of princes and attempting to abolish their private armies. Both sides were aware of each others great animosity and were getting ready to strike first. This incident became known as the First Strife of Princes, one of King Jeongjongs first acts as monarch was to revert the capital to Kaesong, where he is believed to have been considerably more comfortable, away from the toxic power strife. Yet Yi Bangwon retained real power and was soon in conflict with his older brother. Yi Banggan, who yearned for power. In 1400, the tensions between Yi Bangwons faction and Yi Banggans camp escalated into a conflict that came to be known as the Second Strife of Princes
22.
Korean Empire
–
The Korean Empire was proclaimed in October 1897, after the Donghak Peasant Revolution of 1894 to 1895 and Gabo Reforms that swept the country from 1894 to 1896. It lasted until the annexation of Korea by Japan in August 1910, Emperor Gojong oversaw the partial modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries. Korea in the Joseon Dynasty had been a client kingdom of China in the Qing Dynasty. Towards the end of the 19th century, influence over Korea was increasingly an area of conflict between the Qing and Japan, with its newfound preeminence over the waning and weak Qing dynasty, Japan had delegates negotiate the Treaty of Shimonoseki with the Qing dynasty. Through signing the treaty, a designed to prevent the southern expansion of Russia, Japan wrested control over the Liaodong Peninsula from Qing. Queen Min, the consort of King Gojong, also recognized this change, Queen Min began to emerge as a key figure in higher-level Korean counteraction against Japanese influence. With the assassination of his wife Queen Min, King Gojong, during the time from Queen Mins death to the kings return from Russian protection, Korea underwent another major upheaval both at home and abroad. By 1894, new laws passed by progressives and reformers in the royal cabinet forced through long-desired reforms aimed at revamping Koreas antiquated society and these laws were called the Gabo Reform, referring to the year in which they began. Meanwhile, the new reforms aimed at modernizing Korean society soon attracted controversy from within and this led to the uprising of the Eulmi temporary armies aimed at avenging the assassination of Queen Min. In 1897, King Gojong, yielding to rising pressure from overseas and the demands of the Independence Association-led public opinion, returned to Gyŏngungung. Gojong became the Gwangmu Emperor, the first imperial head of state and this marked the complete end of the old world order and traditional amicable dependency system in the Far East. The significance of the declaration of an Empire, in the Korean understanding of the situation was to declare Koreas independence from others, historically, the usage of Emperor was reserved only for the Chinese Emperor, the Son of Heaven. Korean dynasties had acknowledged themselves as vassals of the Chinese, and had refrained from declaring their equality with China. When Japan experienced the Meiji Restoration, the Emperor of Japan was declared the source of sovereignty in the Japanese government, upon receiving news of the Meiji restoration from Japan, the Korean government refused to acknowledge the change. Not only did it challenge the primacy of the Chinese emperor as the suzerains of Korea but Japans address also addressed Korea as an equal, the change in title for Korea to empire only became possible after the Sino-Japanese war. A group of Korean officials and intellectuals felt great necessity of the reform of the country. More and more intellectuals were informed of the Western civilization and became conscious of the powerful nations of Europe. Later, the progressives within the group initiated The Gabo Reform in 1894, American missionaries, who had close relationships with the Korean royal court, also helped the propagation of Western culture
23.
Korea under Japanese rule
–
Korea under Japanese rule began with the end of the Joseon dynastic monarchy in Korea in 1910 and ended at the conclusion of World War II in 1945. A major stepping-stone towards Japanese occupation of Korea was the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905, the annexation of Korea by Japan was set up in the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, which was never actually signed by the Korean regent, Gojong. Imperial Japanese rule over Korea ended in 1945, when American, Japanese administration of the Korean Peninsula was directed through the General Government. The industrialization of the Korean Peninsula began with the Joseon dynasty while Korea was still independent and it continues to be the subject of controversy between the two Koreas and Japan. In South Korea, the period is described as the Japanese forced occupation. Other terms include Japanese Imperial Period, period of the Japanese imperial colonial administration, in Japan, the term Chōsen of the Japanese-Governed Period has been used. The newly modernized government of Meiji Japan sought to join these colonizing efforts, the debate concerned Korea, then in the sphere of influence of Qing China, which certain elements in the Japanese government sought to separate from Chinese influence and establish as a puppet state. Further, the acquisition of Korea would provide both a foothold on the Asian continent for Japanese expansion and a source of raw materials for Japanese industry. Okubos views were supported by the faction, which mostly consisted of those returning from the Iwakura Mission in 1873. Iwakura Tomomi, the diplomat who had led the mission, persuaded the emperor to reconsider, of special note is the corruption of the local functionaries, who could purchase an appointment as an administrator and so cloak their predations on the farmers with an aura of officialdom. Yangban families, formerly well-respected for their status as a class, were increasingly seen as little more than commoners unwilling to meet their responsibilities to their communities. Despite the government abolishing slavery and burning the records in 1801, increasing numbers of peasants, at this time, Catholic and Protestant missions were well-tolerated among the yangban, most notably in and around the area of Seoul. Animus and persecution by more conservative elements, the Pungyang Jo clan, took the lives of priests and followers known as the Korean Martyrs, peasants continued to be drawn to Christian egalitarianism, though mainly in urban and suburban areas. Arguably of greater influence were the teachings of Choe Je-u, called Donghak. Themes of exclusionism, nationalism, salvation and social consciousness were set to music, allowing farmers to understand. Along with many other Koreans, Choe was alarmed by the intrusion of Christianity and he believed the best way to counter foreign influence in Korea was to introduce democratic and human rights reforms internally. Nationalism and social reform struck a chord among peasant guerrillas, Progressive revolutionaries organized the peasants into a cohesive structure. Arrested in 1863 following the Jinju uprising led by Yu Kye-chun, Choe was charged with misleading the people, Choe was executed in 1864, sending many of his followers into hiding in the mountains
24.
Division of Korea
–
The division of Korea between North and South Korea was the result of the Allied victory in World War II in 1945, ending the Empire of Japans 35-year rule of Korea. The United States and the Soviet Union occupied the country, with the boundary between their zones of control along the 38th parallel, with the onset of the Cold War, negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union failed to lead to an independent, unified Korea. In 1948, UN-supervised elections were held in the US-occupied south only and this led to the establishment of the Republic of Korea in South Korea, which was promptly followed by the establishment of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea in North Korea. The United States supported the South, and the Soviet Union supported the North, the Korean War left the two Koreas separated by the Korean Demilitarized Zone in the later part of the Cold War and beyond. When the Russo-Japanese War ended in 1905 Korea became a protectorate of. The Korean king Gojong was removed, in the following decades, nationalist and radical groups emerged, mostly in exile, to struggle for independence. Divergent in their outlooks and approaches, these failed to unite in one national movement. The Korean Provisional Government in China failed to obtain widespread recognition, in the declaration after this conference, Korea was mentioned for the first time. The three powers declared that they were, mindful of the enslavement of the people of Korea, determined that in due course Korea shall become free and independent. At the Tehran Conference in November 1943 and the Yalta Conference in February 1945, on August 8,1945, after three months to the day, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. Soviet troops advanced rapidly, and the US government became anxious that they would occupy the whole of Korea, on August 10,1945 two young officers – Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel – were assigned to define an American occupation zone. Working on extremely short notice and completely unprepared, they used a National Geographic map to decide on the 38th parallel and they chose it because it divided the country approximately in half but would place the capital Seoul under American control. No experts on Korea were consulted, the two men were unaware that forty years before, Japan and Russia had discussed sharing Korea along the same parallel. Rusk later said that had he known, he almost surely would have chosen a different line, the division placed sixteen million Koreans in the American zone and nine million in the Soviet zone. To the surprise of the Americans, the Soviet Union immediately accepted the division, the agreement was incorporated into General Order No.1 for the surrender of Japan. Soviet forces began amphibious landings in Korea by August 14 and rapidly took over the north-east of the country, on August 24, the Red Army reached Pyongyang. General Abe Nobuyuki, the last Japanese Governor-General of Korea, had established contact with a number of influential Koreans since the beginning of August 1945 to prepare the hand-over of power. Throughout August, Koreans organized peoples committee branches for the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence, headed by Lyuh Woon-hyung, on September 6,1945, a congress of representatives was convened in Seoul and founded the short-lived Peoples Republic of Korea
25.
History of North Korea
–
In 1950 the Korean War broke out. After much destruction, the war ended with the status quo being restored, the DPRK had failed to unify Korea under its leadership, and the US-led United Nations force had failed to conquer North Korea. The peninsula was divided by the Korean Demilitarized Zone, and a US military force remained in South Korea, tension between the two sides continued. Kim Il-sung remained in power until his death in 1994 and he developed a pervasive personality cult and steered the country on an independent course in accordance with the principle of Juche. However, with natural disasters and the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in 1991, Kim Il-sungs son, Kim Jong-il, succeeded him, and was in turn succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-un. Amid international alarm, North Korea developed nuclear missiles, from 1910 to the end of World War II, Korea was under Japanese rule. Most Koreans were peasants engaged in subsistence farming, in the 1930s, Japan developed mines, hydro-electric dams, steel mills, and manufacturing plants in northern Korea and neighboring Manchuria. The Korean industrial working class expanded rapidly, and many Koreans went to work in Manchuria, as a result, 65% of Koreas heavy industry was located in the north, but, due to the harshness of the terrain, only 37% of its agriculture. A Korean guerrilla movement emerged in the interior and in Manchuria. One of the most prominent guerrilla leaders was the Communist Kim Il-sung, Northern Korea had very little exposure to modern, Western ideas. One partial exception of this was the penetration of religion, since the arrival of missionaries in the late nineteenth century, the northwest of Korea, and Pyongyang in particular, had been a stronghold of Christianity. At the Tehran Conference in November 1943 and the Yalta Conference in February 1945, on August 8,1945, after three months to the day, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. Soviet troops advanced rapidly, and the US government became anxious that they would occupy the whole of Korea. On August 10, the US government decided to propose the 38th parallel as the line between a Soviet occupation zone in the north and a US occupation zone in the south. The parallel was chosen as it would place the capital Seoul under American control, the division placed sixteen million Koreans in the American zone and nine million in the Soviet zone. To the surprise of the Americans, the Soviet Union immediately accepted the division, the agreement was incorporated into General Order No.1 for the surrender of Japan. Soviet forces began amphibious landings in Korea by August 14 and rapidly took over the north-east of the country, on August 24, the Red Army reached Pyongyang. US forces did not arrive in the south until September 8, during August, Peoples Committees sprang up across Korea, affiliated with the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence, which in September founded the Peoples Republic of Korea
26.
History of South Korea
–
The history of South Korea formally begins with its establishment on 17 August 1948, although Syngman Rhee had officially declared independence two days prior. The Soviets and Americans were unable to agree on the implementation of Joint Trusteeship over Korea and this led in 1948 to the establishment of two separate governments, each claiming to be the legitimate government of all of Korea. Eventually, following the Korean War, the two separate governments stabilized into the political entities of North and South Korea. South Koreas subsequent history is marked by alternating periods of democratic and autocratic rule, civilian governments are conventionally numbered from the First Republic of Syngman Rhee to the contemporary Sixth Republic. The First Republic, arguably democratic at its inception, became increasingly autocratic until its collapse in 1960, the Second Republic was strongly democratic, but was overthrown in less than a year and replaced by an autocratic military regime. The Third, Fourth, and Fifth Republics were nominally democratic, with the Sixth Republic, the country has gradually stabilized into a liberal democracy. Since its inception, South Korea has seen development in education, economy. Since the 1960s, the country has developed one of Asias poorest to one of the worlds wealthiest nations. Education, particularly at the level, has expanded dramatically. It is said to be one of the Four Tigers of rising Asian states along with Singapore, Taiwan, emperor Hirohito announced the surrender of the Empire of Japan to the Allied Powers on 15 August 1945. General Order No.1 for the surrender of Japan prescribed separate surrender procedures for Japanese forces in Korea north and south of the 38th parallel. After Japans surrender to the Allies, division at the 38th parallel marked the beginning of Soviet and U. S. trusteeship over the North and South, in February 1945 the Yalta Conference discussed the issue of trusteeship for Korea. U. S. forces landed at Incheon on September 8,1945, lt. General John R. Hodge, their commander, took charge of the government. Faced with mounting popular discontent, in October 1945 Hodge established the Korean Advisory Council, a year later, an interim legislature and interim government were established, headed by Kim Kyu-shik and Syngman Rhee respectively. Political and economic chaos - arising from a variety of causes - plagued the country in this period, the after-effects of the Japanese exploitation remained in the South, as in the North. In addition, the U. S. military was unprepared for the challenge of administering the country, arriving with no knowledge of the language. Thus many of their policies had unintended destabilizing effects, waves of refugees from North Korea and returnees from abroad added to the turmoil. In December 1945 a conference convened in Moscow to discuss the future of Korea, a 5-year trusteeship was discussed, and a US-Soviet joint commission was established
27.
Korean art
–
Korean arts include traditions in calligraphy, music, painting and pottery, often marked by the use of natural forms, surface decoration and bold colors or sounds. The earliest examples of Korean art consist of stone age works dating from 3000 BC and these mainly consist of votive sculptures and more recently, petroglyphs, which were rediscovered. This early period was followed by the art styles of various Korean kingdoms, Korean artists sometimes modified Chinese traditions with a native preference for simple elegance, spontaneity, and an appreciation for purity of nature. The Goryeo Dynasty was one of the most prolific periods for a range of disciplines. The Korean art market is concentrated in the Insadong district of Seoul where over 50 small galleries exhibit, galleries are cooperatively run, small and often with curated and finely designed exhibits. In every town there are smaller regional galleries, with artists showing in traditional. Art galleries usually have a mix of media, attempts at bringing Western conceptual art into the foreground have usually had their best success outside of Korea in New York, San Francisco, London and Paris. An art given birth to and developed by a nation is its own art, humans have occupied the Korean Peninsula from at least c.50,000 BC. Pottery dated to approximately 7,000 BC has been found and this pottery was made from clay and fired over open or semi-open pits at temperatures around 700 degrees Celsius. The earliest pottery style, dated to circa 7,000 BC, were flat-bottomed wares were decorated with designs, raised horizontal lines. Jeulmun-type pottery, is typically cone-bottomed and incised with a comb-pattern appearing circa 6,000 BC in the archaeological record and this type of pottery is similar to Siberian styles. Mumun-type pottery emerged approximately 2000 BC and is characterized as large, undecorated pottery, mostly used for cooking, between 2000 BC and 300 BC bronze items began to be imported and made in Korea. By the seventh century BC, an indigenous culture was established in Korea as evidenced by Korean bronze having a unique percentage of zinc. Items manufactured during this time were weapons such as swords, daggers, also, ritual items such as mirrors, bells, and rattles were made. These items were buried in dolmens with the cultural elite, additionally, iron-rich red pots began to be created around circa 6th century. Comma-shaped beads, usually made from nephrite, known as kokkok have also found in dolmen burials. Kokkok may be carved to imitate bear claws, another Siberian influence can be seen in rock drawings of animals that display a life line in the X-ray style of Siberian art. The Iron Age began in Korea around 300 BC, Korean iron was highly valued in the Chinese commanderies and in Japan
28.
History of Korean
–
The Korean language is attested from the early centuries of the Common Era in Chinese characters. The Featural writing system called hangul was introduced only in the fifteenth century, Korean being a language isolate, Proto-Korean is not a well-defined term, referring to the language spoken in prehistoric Korea during the Bronze and Iron ages. Other theories are the Dravido-Korean theory, or a connection to Austronesian, homer Hulbert claimed the Korean language was Ural-Altaic in his book, The History of Korea. The classification of Korean as Altaic was introduced by Gustaf John Ramstedt, but even within the Altaic hypothesis, a possible Korean–Japonic grouping within Altaic has been discussed by Samuel Martin, Roy Andrew Miller and Sergei Starostin. Others, notably Alexander Vovin, interpret the affinities between Korean and Japanese as an effect caused by geographic proximity sprachbund. Old Korean corresponds to the Korean language from the beginning of the Three Kingdoms of Korea to the part of the North–South States Period. Use of Classical Chinese by Koreans began in the century or earlier. It is unclear whether Old Korean may have been a tonal language and it is assumed that Old Korean was divided into dialects, corresponding to the three kingdoms. These hypothetical subdivisions of Old Korean are also known as Buyeo languages, of these, the Sillan language is the best attested due to the political domination of Later Silla by the seventh century. Only some literary records of Unified Silla, changed into Goryeo text, are extant, thus, the languages of the Three Kingdoms period are generally examined through official government names and local district names. The point at which Old Korean became Middle Korean is assessed variously by different scholars, the line is sometimes drawn during late Goryeo and sometimes around the 15th century in the early Joseon. There is very little literature for research of Old Korean, the first texts in Old Korean were written using hanja to represent the sound and grammar of the local language. Additional information about the language is drawn from various proper nouns recorded in Korean and Chinese records, various systems were used, beginning with ad hoc approaches and gradually becoming codified in the Idu script and the hyangchal system used for poetry. These were arrangements of Chinese characters to represent the language phonetically, Middle Korean corresponds to Korean spoken from the 10th to 16th centuries, or from the era of Goryeo to the middle of Joseon. The language standard of this period is based on the dialect of Kaesong because Goryeo moved the city to the northern area of the Korean Peninsula. A Chinese Song dynasty writer, Sūn Mù 孫穆, in his Jīlínlèi shì 雞林類事, recorded Goryeo-era Korean, from a phonological perspective however, the usefulness of studying this material is limited due to logographic nature of hanja. Ming dynasty Chinas Bureau of Translators compiled a Chinese-Korean vocabulary of Joseon-era Korean, there were tones in Middle Korean. The creation of the Hunminjeongeum, the name for hangul, was begun in 1443, and promulgated in September or October 1446 by Sejong the Great
29.
Military history of Goguryeo
–
The military history of Goguryeo involves wars with other Korean kingdoms, Chinese dynasties, nomadic states and tribes, and Wa Japan. Goguryeo and Baekje were two of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, both claimed descent from the ancient Korean kingdom of Buyeo, onjo, the founder of Baekje, was said to be the second son of Jumong, the founder of Goguryeo. Despite the common ancestry, the relationship between Goguryeo and Baekje was often contentious, during the 4th century, Geunchogo expanded Baekjes territory to the north at the expense of Goguryeo. In 369, Gogukwon, the monarch of Goguryeo, attacked Baekje with 20,000 troops, in 371, Geungusu led 30,000 troops and attacked the fortress of Pyongyang, slaying Gogukwon in battle. Gogukyang, a son of Gogukwon, invaded Baekje in 386, in 392, Gwanggaeto the Great led an attack on Baekje with 40,000 troops, capturing 10 walled cities. In response, Asin, the monarch of Baekje, launched a counterattack on Goguryeo in 393 but was defeated, Asin invaded Goguryeo once more in 394, but was defeated again. After suffering multiple defeats against Goguryeo, Baekjes political stability began to crumble, in 395, Baekje was defeated once more by Goguryeo and was pushed south to its capital of Wiryeseong on the Han River. In the following year, in 396, Gwanggaeto led an assault on Wiryeseong by land and sea, using the Han River, Gwanggaeto captured the Baekje capital and the defeated Asin submitted to him, surrendering a prince and 10 government ministers. Henceforth, Baekje lost its dominance in the central Korean peninsula, in 400, Silla requested aid from Goguryeo in repelling an allied invasion by Baekje, Gaya, and Wa. Gwanggaeto dispatched 50,000 troops and annihilated the enemy coalition, in 433, Baekje and Silla formed an alliance to balance the Goguryeo threat to the north. In 472, Gaero, the ruler of Baekje, requested an alliance with Northern Wei against Goguryeo. In 475, Jangsu, the son of Gwanggaeto, launched an invasion by land and sea against Baekje, Baekje had no choice but to move its capital to mountainous Ungjin,80 miles to the south, which provided a natural protection for the devastated kingdom. In 479, Baekje and Silla reaffirmed their alliance through marriage, in 551, a Baekje–Silla alliance attacked Goguryeo in order to capture the important Han River region from Goguryeo, planning to split it between them. Baekje attacked Silla in 612,624, and 627, Goguryeo and Baekje formed an alliance in 642 aimed toward territorial restoration against Silla. King Uija of Baekje attacked Silla and captured around 40 strongpoints in 642, in 655, the Goguryeo–Baekje alliance captured 30 fortresses from Silla. In 245, Dongcheon ordered an attack on Silla, but the two entered into friendly relations in 248. Nulji, the king of Silla, who had been a vassal of Jangsu, Jangsu invaded Silla in 468, expanding his domain into parts of Gangwon Province, and again in 489, capturing 7 walled cities and expanding his domain into parts of North Gyeongsang Province. In 643, under attack by the Goguryeo–Baekje alliance, the Silla court dispatched Kim Chunchu to the Tang dynasty to request military assistance, leading to Emperor Taizongs campaign against Goguryeo
30.
Naval history of Korea
–
The naval history of Korea dates back thousands of years since the prehistoric times when simple fishing ships were used. Military naval history dates back to the Three Kingdoms period and Unified Silla dynasties of Korea in the 7th century, because of the constant coastal attacks by the Wa Japanese and other barbarian tribes, Korean shipbuilding excelled to counter these threats as a result. During the Unified Silla period, Jang Bogo, a merchant, rose as an admiral, during the Goryeo dynasty, sturdy wooden ships were built and used to fight pirates. Korean shipbuilding again excelled during the Imjin war, when Admiral Yi defeated the advancing Japanese fleets, today, South Korea is the worlds largest shipbuilding nation and also the worlds builder and exporter of ships. The South Korean Navy is concentrating its efforts to increasing its number, develop new ships, ships were developed and used since the Three Kingdoms of Korea period. Because of the abundance of coastal waters surrounding the Korean peninsula, baekje, one of the kingdoms, first began expanding its navy and trading products by sea. Baekje also provided the link to spread Buddhism and Korean and Chinese culture to Japan, during the Goguryeo-Sui Wars, Goguryeo defeated an invading Chinese fleet in 598, in the Bohai Sea. After the defeat of Goguryeo with an alliance with Tang China in 668, during this time, Korean culture and philosophy reached its height, and Unified Silla maintained a large trading network with both China and Japan. Silla, like previous Korean kingdoms, maintained control over its trade routes. From 828 to 846, however, a Silla merchant named Jang Bogo, rose to prominence and gathered a navy to repel pirates, Jang eventually became a maritime commissioner on Wando Island. With stable control over maritime rights, Silla prospered in the peace of its rule, however, internal strife weakened it and after wars during the Later Three Kingdoms period, fell the Goryeo in 935. Korean shipbuilding again excelled during the Goryeo Dynasty, in the 11th century, Goryeo shipbuilders developed the kwason, or spear vessel. This ships was designed to ram and destroy Japanese pirate vessels, Goryeo ships were both large and strong in terms of size and durability and the largest could carry 200 or more fighting marines. Choe Mu-seon, a Goryeo scientist, developed Korean cannon in the 14th century and they were soon developed to be used on Goryeo battleships and were used with success against the Mongol invasion. The worlds first naval battle took place off the coast of Korea. In the Battle of Chinpo,80 Koryo warships, equipped with firearms invented by Choi Mu-son, sank 500 Japanese wako, also in 1383, Admiral Jeong Ji destroyed 17 wako pirate vessels using shipboard cannons. In 1389 a total of 300 Waegu ships were destroyed and over a hundred of Korean prisoners liberated in a raid on Tsushima ordered by Yi Seonggye. During the Joseon Dynasty, however, the navy and maritime operations fell into disuse, while fishing continued to operate
31.
History of science and technology in Korea
–
Like most other regions in the world, science and technology in Korea has experienced periods of intense growth as well as long periods of stagnation. At the end of the Palaeolithic, people of the Korean Peninsula adopted microlithic stone tool technology, the Palaeolithic also marks the beginning of a long period of plant and human interaction in which people undoubtedly adopted a number of wild plants for medicinal use. Archaeological evidence from Gosan-ri in Jeju-do indicates that pottery was first made c, people depended on gathering, hunting, and fishing as the main source of food until the Middle Jeulmun Period when small-scale cultivation of plants began. Farmers of the Mumun Period began to use multiple cropping systems of some time after 1500 BC. This sophisticated technological advance in food production irrevocably altered the systems of the Mumun. Widespread archaeological evidence shows that after 850 BC the technology for heating homes changed, before 850 BC pit-houses were heated using fire from various kinds of hearths that were dug into the floor of the pit-house. After 850 BC, hearths disappeared from the interior of pit-house architecture and was replaced with some kind of brazier-like technology in Hoseo, Honam. Bronze objects were exchanged into the Korean Peninsula from the outside before 900 BC.700 BC, several hundred years later iron production was adopted, and Korean-made iron tools and weaponry became increasingly common after approximately 200 BC. Iron tools facilitated the spread of agriculture into new areas of the Korean Peninsula. Until recently, Koreans were thought to have invented under-floor heating and it was first thought to have been invented by the people of the Northern Okjeo around 2,500 years ago. However, the recent discovery of a c,3, 000-year-old equivalent indoor heating system in Alaska has called current explanation into question. The absence of prehistoric and/or ancient ondol features in the area between the two archaeological sites makes it unlikely that the two systems might have come from the same source. The production of hard-fired stoneware ceramics, in clay is vitrified in kilns at >1000 °C. This period is notable for the establishment of industrial-scale production of pottery and this involved the adoption of Chinese dragon kiln or climbing kiln technology sometime between AD 100-300. It was built during Queen Seondeoks rule, the tower is built out of 366 pieces of cut granite which some claim represent the 366 days of the lunar year and has 12 base stones which supposedly represent the twelve months of the year. The design is said to be influenced by Buddhism. The nine-story wooden pagoda of Hwangnyongsa, which was commissioned by Queen Seondeok after the temple was finished, is reputed to be the largest premodern Korean stupa ever built. It was reported to be 80 metres in height, only its foundation stones remain today but they attest to the mammoth proportions of the original structure
32.
North Korea
–
North Korea, officially the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia, constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang is both the capital as well as its largest city. To the north and northwest the country is bordered by China and by Russia along the Amnok, the country is bordered to the south by South Korea, with the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone separating the two. Negotiations on reunification failed, and in 1948 two separate governments were formed, the communist Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea in the north, an invasion initiated by North Korea led to the Korean War. The Korean Armistice Agreement brought about a ceasefire, and no peace treaty was ever signed. North Korea officially describes itself as a self-reliant socialist state and formally holds elections, critics regard it as a totalitarian dictatorship. Various outlets have called it Stalinist, particularly noting the elaborate cult of personality around Kim Il-sung, International organizations have assessed human rights violations in North Korea as belonging to a category of their own, with no parallel in the contemporary world. Over time, North Korea has gradually distanced itself from the world communist movement, Juche, an ideology of national self-reliance, was introduced into the constitution as a creative application of Marxism–Leninism in 1972. The means of production are owned by the state through state-run enterprises, most services such as healthcare, education, housing and food production are subsidized or state-funded. From 1994 to 1998, North Korea suffered from a famine that resulted in the deaths of between 0.24 and 3.5 million people, and the continues to struggle with food production. North Korea follows Songun, or military-first policy and it is the country with the highest number of military and paramilitary personnel, with a total of 9,495,000 active, reserve, and paramilitary personnel. Its active duty army of 1.21 million is the fourth largest in the world, after China, North Korea is an atheist state with no official religion and where public religion is discouraged. The name Korea derives from the name Goryeo, the name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in the 5th century as a shortened form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, the modern spelling of Korea first appeared in the late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Companys Hendrick Hamel. After the division of the country into North and South Korea, the two sides used different terms to refer to Korea, Chosun or Joseon in North Korea, in 1948, North Korea adopted Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea as its new legal name. After the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, Korea was occupied by Japan, Japan tried to suppress Korean traditions and culture and ran the economy primarily for its own benefit. Korean resistance groups known as Dongnipgun operated along the Sino-Korean border, some of them took part in allied action in China and parts of South East Asia. One of the leaders was the communist Kim Il-sung, who later became the leader of North Korea
33.
South Korea
–
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The earliest Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC, with three kingdoms flourishing in the 1st century BC and its rich and vibrant culture left 19 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, the third largest in the world, along with 12 World Heritage Sites. Annexed into Imperial Japan in 1910, Korea was divided after its surrender in 1945, peace has since mostly continued with the two agreeing to work peacefully for reunification and the South solidifying peace as a regional power with the worlds 10th largest defence budget. South Koreas tiger economy soared at an average of 10% for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River. A long legacy of openness and focus on innovation made it successful, today, it is the worlds fifth largest exporter with the G20s largest budget surplus and highest credit rating of any country in East Asia. It has free trade agreements with 75% of the economy and is the only G20 nation trading freely with China, the US. Since 1988, its constitution guarantees a liberal democracy with high government transparency, high personal freedoms led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-drama, a phenomenon called the Korean Wave, known for its distinctive fashionable and trendy style. Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI, South Korea is a leader in low carbon growth, committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC. It is the third least ignorant country in the Index of Ignorance, ranking eighth highest for peaceful tolerance. It is the worlds largest spender on R&D per GDP, leading the OECD in graduates in science, the name Korea derives from the name Goryeo. The name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in the 5th century as a form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, the modern spelling of Korea first appeared in the late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Companys Hendrick Hamel. After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the name for the entire territory. The new official name has its origin in the ancient country of Gojoseon, in 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the official name of the country from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk. The name Daehan, which means great Han literally, derives from Samhan, however, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted, there were several groups who fought for independence, the most notable being the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the Republic of Korea was adopted as the name for the new country. Since the government only controlled the part of the Korean Peninsula
34.
World War II
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
35.
Empire of Japan
–
The Empire of Japan was the historical Japanese nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the enactment of the 1947 constitution of modern Japan. Imperial Japans rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei led to its emergence as a world power, after several large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War, the Empire also gained notoriety for its war crimes against the peoples it conquered. A period of occupation by the Allies followed the surrender, Occupation and reconstruction continued well into the 1950s, eventually forming the current nation-state whose full title is the State of Japan or simply rendered Japan in English. The historical state is referred to as the Empire of Japan or the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan in English. In Japanese it is referred to as Dai Nippon Teikoku, which translates to Greater Japanese Empire and this is analogous to Großdeutsches Reich, a term that translates to Greater German Empire in English and Dai Doitsu Teikoku in Japanese. This meaning is significant in terms of geography, encompassing Japan, due to its name in kanji characters and its flag, it was also given the exonym Empire of the Sun. After two centuries, the policy, or Sakoku, under the shoguns of the Edo period came to an end when the country was forced open to trade by the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. The following years saw increased trade and interaction, commercial treaties between the Tokugawa shogunate and Western countries were signed. In large part due to the terms of these Unequal Treaties, the Shogunate soon faced internal hostility, which materialized into a radical, xenophobic movement. In March 1863, the Emperor issued the order to expel barbarians, although the Shogunate had no intention of enforcing the order, it nevertheless inspired attacks against the Shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan. The Namamugi Incident during 1862 led to the murder of an Englishman, Charles Lennox Richardson, the British demanded reparations but were denied. While attempting to exact payment, the Royal Navy was fired on from coastal batteries near the town of Kagoshima and they responded by bombarding the port of Kagoshima in 1863. For Richardsons death, the Tokugawa government agreed to pay an indemnity, shelling of foreign shipping in Shimonoseki and attacks against foreign property led to the Bombardment of Shimonoseki by a multinational force in 1864. The Chōshū clan also launched the coup known as the Kinmon incident. The Satsuma-Chōshū alliance was established in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu, in early 1867, Emperor Kōmei died of smallpox and was replaced by his son, Crown Prince Mutsuhito. On November 9,1867, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned from his post and authorities to the Emperor, however, while Yoshinobus resignation had created a nominal void at the highest level of government, his apparatus of state continued to exist. On January 3,1868, Satsuma-Chōshū forces seized the palace in Kyoto. On January 17,1868, Yoshinobu declared that he would not be bound by the proclamation of the Restoration, on January 24, Yoshinobu decided to prepare an attack on Kyoto, occupied by Satsuma and Chōshū forces
36.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
37.
Soviet Union
–
The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
38.
38th parallel north
–
The 38th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of the Earths equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, the 38th parallel north formed the border between North and South Korea prior to the Korean War. At this latitude the sun is visible for 14 hours,48 minutes during the solstice and 9 hours,32 minutes during the winter solstice. This parallel divides the Korean peninsula roughly in the middle, in 1948, this parallel became the boundary between the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea, both of which claim to be the government of the whole of Korea. On 25 June 1950, after a series of cross-border raids and this sparked a United Nations resolution against the aggression and the Korean War, with United Nations troops helping to defend South Korea. After the Armistice ended the Korean War in 1953, a new border was established based on the territory that each held at that point. This Military Demarcation Line is surrounded by a Demilitarized Zone and it crosses the 38th parallel, from the southwest to the northeast. The new border is often described as the 38th parallel. 37th parallel north 38th parallel structures 39th parallel north Circle of latitude Oberdorfer, the Two Koreas, A Contemporary History. 38th parallel at the Encyclopædia Britannica
Korea portal
