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Korea: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Korea
The Korean Peninsula, a landmass extending southwards from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean, has been politically divided since the end of World War II in 1945. This division, established along the 38th parallel, separated the region into two distinct nations: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north and the Republic of Korea in the south. Both countries proclaimed their independence in 1948, setting the stage for a conflict that would define the modern history of the region. The Korean War, fought from 1950 to 1953, involved U.S.-led United Nations forces and communist Chinese forces, resulting in a stalemate and the creation of a demilitarized zone that approximates the original partition. This status contributes to the high tensions that divide the peninsula, with both states claiming to be the sole legitimate government of Korea. The geopolitical landscape is further complicated by the presence of China to the north and Russia to the northeast, across the Amnok (Yalu) and Duman (Tumen) rivers, and the separation from Japan to the southeast by the Korea Strait. The division has led to vastly different economic and political systems, with South Korea emerging as a regional power and a developed country, while North Korea follows a military-first policy known as Songun, prioritizing the Korean People's Army in state affairs and resources.
Ancient Kingdoms Rise
Known human habitation of the Korean peninsula dates back to 40,000 BC, with the earliest pottery from the Paleolithic times around 10,000 BC and the Neolithic period beginning around 6000 BC. The kingdom of Gojoseon, which according to tradition was founded in 2333 BC, fell to the Han dynasty in 108 BC, marking the beginning of a long history of interaction with Chinese dynasties. Following the fall of Gojoseon, the Three Kingdoms period emerged, with Korea divided into Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. Goguryeo, a highly militaristic state, reached its zenith in the 5th century, expanding its territories to encompass most of Manchuria to the north, parts of Inner Mongolia to the west, parts of Russia to the east, and the Seoul region to the south. The kingdom experienced a golden age under Gwanggaeto the Great and his son Jangsu, who subdued Baekje and Silla, achieving a brief unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Goguryeo also had many military conflicts with various Chinese dynasties, most notably the Goguryeo, Sui War, in which Goguryeo defeated a huge force said to number over a million men. In 668 AD, Silla conquered Baekje and Goguryeo with the aid of the Tang dynasty, forming Unified Silla, while Balhae succeeded Goguryeo in the north. The Later Three Kingdoms period began in the late 9th century when Unified Silla collapsed into three states, and in 918, Goguryeo was resurrected as Goryeo, which achieved what has been called a true national unification by Korean historians.
When was the Korean Peninsula politically divided?
The Korean Peninsula has been politically divided since the end of World War II in 1945. This division was established along the 38th parallel, separating the region into two distinct nations: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north and the Republic of Korea in the south.
Who founded the kingdom of Gojoseon and when did it fall?
According to tradition, the kingdom of Gojoseon was founded in 2333 BC and fell to the Han dynasty in 108 BC. This event marked the beginning of a long history of interaction with Chinese dynasties.
When was the metal movable type invented in Korea?
The world's first metal movable type was invented by Ch'oe Yun-üi in 1234 CE. This invention made printing easier and more efficient, increasing literacy and allowing the Mongol Empire to adopt the technology and spread it to Central Asia.
What happened during the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597?
The Japanese invaded Korea in 1592 and again in 1597, causing great destruction and the loss of cultural sites such as temples and palaces. The Korean military was defeated by strong resistance from the Righteous Army, the naval superiority of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, and assistance from the Wanli Emperor of Ming China.
When did Korea become a protectorate of Japan?
Korea became a protectorate of Japan shortly after the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. The country was forced to sign the Japan, Korea Annexation Treaty in 1910, which remains a subject of legal dispute due to its signing under duress.
How many people died during the Korean War?
During the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, more than 1.2 million people died. The three years of fighting throughout the nation effectively destroyed most cities and ended with an armistice agreement at approximately the Military Demarcation Line.
Goryeo, founded in 918, replaced Silla as the ruling dynasty of Korea and is the source of the modern exonym Korea. The name Goryeo is a short form of Goguryeo, and the dynasty regarded itself as the successor of Goguryeo, tracing its ancestry to a noble Goguryeo clan. During this period, laws were codified, and a civil service system was introduced. Buddhism flourished and spread throughout the peninsula, and the development of celadon industries flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. The publication of the Tripitaka Koreana onto more than 80,000 wooden blocks and the invention of the world's first metal movable type in the 13th century attest to Goryeo's cultural achievements. The metal movable type was invented by Ch'oe Yun-üi in 1234 CE, making printing easier, more efficient, and increasing literacy. The Mongol Empire later adopted Korea's movable type printing and spread as far as Central Asia. Goryeo had to defend frequently against attacks by nomadic empires, especially the Khitans and the Mongols. Goryeo had a hostile relationship with the Khitans, because the Khitan Empire had destroyed Balhae, also a successor state of Goguryeo. In 993, the Khitans, who had established the Liao dynasty in 907, invaded Goryeo, demanding that it make amity with them. Goryeo sent the diplomat Sö Hui to negotiate, who successfully persuaded the Khitans to let Goryeo expand to the banks of the Amnok (Yalu) River. During the Goryeo, Khitan War, the Khitan Empire invaded Korea twice more in 1009 and 1018, but was defeated. After defeating the Khitan Empire, which was the most powerful empire of its time, Goryeo experienced a golden age that lasted a century, during which the Tripitaka Koreana was completed, and there were great developments in printing and publishing, promoting learning and dispersing knowledge on philosophy, literature, religion, and science.
Joseon Dynasty
In 1392, the general Yi Seong-gye overthrew the Goryeo dynasty after he staged a coup and defeated General Ch'oe Yöng. Yi Seong-gye named his new dynasty Joseon and moved the capital from Kaesong to Hanseong (formerly Hanyang; modern-day Seoul) and built the Gyeongbokgung palace. In 1394, he adopted Confucianism as the country's official ideology, resulting in much loss of power and wealth by the Buddhists. The prevailing philosophy of the Joseon dynasty was Neo-Confucianism, which was epitomized by the seonbi class, scholars who passed up positions of wealth and power to lead lives of study and integrity. Joseon was a nominal tributary state of China but exercised full sovereignty, and maintained the highest position among China's tributary states. During the 15th and 16th centuries, Joseon enjoyed many benevolent rulers who promoted education and science. Most notable among them was Sejong the Great (r. 1418, 50), who personally created and promulgated Hangul, the Korean alphabet. This golden age saw great cultural and scientific advancements, including in printing, meteorological observation, astronomy, calendar science, ceramics, military technology, geography, cartography, medicine, and agricultural technology, some of which were unrivaled elsewhere. Joseon implemented a class system that consisted of yangban the noble class, jungin the middle class, yangin the common class, and cheonin the lowest class, which included occupations such as butchers, tanners, shamans, entertainers, and nobi, the equivalent of slaves, bondservants, or serfs. In 1592 and again in 1597, the Japanese invaded Korea; the Korean military at the time was unprepared and untrained, due to two centuries of peace on the Korean Peninsula. Toyotomi Hideyoshi intended to conquer China and India through the Korean Peninsula, but was defeated by strong resistance from the Righteous Army, the naval superiority of Admiral Yi Sun-sin and his turtle ships, and assistance from Wanli Emperor of Ming China. However, Joseon experienced great destruction, including a tremendous loss of cultural sites such as temples and palaces to Japanese pillaging, and the Japanese brought back to Japan an estimated 100,000, 200,000 noses cut from Korean victims. Less than 30 years after the Japanese invasions, the Manchus took advantage of Joseon's war-weakened state and invaded in 1627 and 1637, and then went on to conquer the destabilized Ming dynasty.
Imperial Rule
In the 19th century, the royal in-law families gained control of the government, leading to mass corruption and weakening of the state, with severe poverty and peasant rebellions spreading throughout the country. Furthermore, the Joseon government adopted a strict isolationist policy, earning the nickname the hermit kingdom, but ultimately failed to protect itself against imperialism and was forced to open its borders, beginning an era leading into Japanese imperial rule. Beginning in 1871, Japan began to exert more influence in Korea, forcing it out of China's traditional sphere of influence. As a result of the First Sino-Japanese War (1894, 95), the Qing dynasty had to give up such a position according to Article 1 of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which was concluded between China and Japan in 1895. That same year, Empress Myeongseong of Korea was assassinated by Japanese agents. In 1897, the Joseon dynasty proclaimed the Korean Empire (1897, 1910). King Gojong became emperor. During this brief period, Korea had some success in modernising the military, economy, real property laws, education system, and various industries. Russia, Japan, France, and the United States all invested in the country and sought to influence it politically. The Russians were pushed out of the fight for Korea following the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War (1904, 1905). Korea became a protectorate of Japan shortly afterwards. In Manchuria on the 26th of October 1909, An Jung-geun assassinated the former Resident-General of Korea, Itö Hirobumi, for his role in trying to force Korea into occupation. In 1910, an already militarily occupied Korea was a forced party to the Japan, Korea Annexation Treaty. The treaty was signed by Lee Wan-Yong, who was given the General Power of Attorney by the Emperor. However, the Emperor is said to have not actually ratified the treaty according to Yi Tae-jin. There is a long dispute whether this treaty was legal or illegal due to its signing under duress, threat of force and bribes.
War and Division
Korean resistance to the brutal Japanese occupation was manifested in the nonviolent March First Movement of 1919, during which 7,000 demonstrators were killed by Japanese police and military. The Korean liberation movement also spread to neighbouring Manchuria and Siberia. Over five million Koreans were conscripted for labour beginning in 1939, and tens of thousands of men were forced into Japan's military. Nearly 400,000 Korean labourers died. Approximately 200,000 girls and women, mostly from China and Korea, were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese military. In 1993, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono acknowledged the terrible injustices faced by these euphemistically named comfort women. During the Japanese annexation, the Korean language was suppressed in an effort to eradicate indigenous Korean national identity. Koreans were forced to take Japanese surnames, known as Söshi-kaimei. Traditional Korean culture suffered heavy losses, as numerous Korean cultural artefacts were destroyed or taken to Japan. One such artefact is rumored to be a sacred Korean mask (tal), still up on display in a Japanese museum. To this day, valuable Korean artefacts can often be found in Japanese museums or among private collections. One investigation by the South Korean government identified 75,311 cultural assets that were taken from Korea, 34,369 in Japan and 17,803 in the United States. However, experts estimate that over 100,000 artefacts actually remain in Japan. In 1945, with the surrender of Japan, the United Nations developed plans for a trusteeship administration, the Soviet Union administering the peninsula north of the 38th parallel and the United States administering the south. The politics of the Cold War resulted in the 1948 establishment of two separate governments, North Korea and South Korea. The aftermath of World War II left Korea partitioned along the 38th parallel on the 2nd of September 1945, with the north under Soviet occupation and the south under US occupation supported by other allied states. Consequently, North Korea, a Soviet-style socialist republic was established in the north, and South Korea, a Western-style regime, was established in the south. The Korean War broke out when Soviet-backed North Korea invaded South Korea. Despite massive swings in territorial gain back and forth, in the end neither side gained much territory as a result. The Korean Peninsula remained divided, the Korean Demilitarized Zone being the de facto border between the two states. In June 1950 North Korea invaded the South, using Soviet tanks and weaponry. During the Korean War (1950, 53) more than 1.2 million people died and the three years of fighting throughout the nation effectively destroyed most cities. The war ended with an armistice agreement at approximately the Military Demarcation Line, but the two governments are officially still at war.
Modern Divergence
Since the 1960s, the South Korean economy has grown enormously and the economic structure was radically transformed. In 1957, South Korea had a lower per capita GDP than Ghana, and by 2008 it was 17 times as high as Ghana's. South Korea is a multi-party state with a capitalist market economy, alongside membership in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Group of Twenty. South Korea is a regional power and a developed country, with its economy ranked as the world's fourteenth-largest by GDP (PPP). Its armed forces are one of the world's strongest militaries, with the world's second-largest standing army by military and paramilitary personnel. South Korea has been renowned for its globally influential pop culture, particularly in music (K-pop) and cinema, a phenomenon referred to as the Korean Wave. North Korea follows Songun, a military first policy which prioritizes the Korean People's Army in state affairs and resources. It possesses nuclear weapons, and is the country with the highest number of military personnel, with a total of 7.8 million active, reserve, and paramilitary personnel, or approximately 30 percent of its population. Its active duty army of 1.3 million soldiers is the fourth-largest in the world, consisting of 5 percent of its population. North Korea is widely considered to have the worst human rights record in the world. According to R. J. Rummel, forced labour, executions, and concentration camps were responsible for over one million deaths in North Korea from 1948 to 1987; others have estimated 400,000 deaths in concentration camps alone. Estimates based on the most recent North Korean census suggest that 240,000 to 420,000 people died as a result of the 1990s famine and that there were 600,000 to 850,000 unnatural deaths in North Korea from 1993 to 2008. In 2018, the leaders of North Korea and South Korea officially signed the Panmunjom Declaration, announcing that they will work to end the conflict. In November 2020, South Korea and China agreed to work together to mend South Korea's relationship with North Korea. During a meeting between President Moon and China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, Moon expressed his gratitude to China for its role in helping to foster peace in the Korean Peninsula. Moon was quoted telling Wang during their meeting that the South Korean government will not stop efforts to put an end formally to war on the Korean Peninsula and achieve complete denuclearization and permanent peace together with the international community, including China.