Korea

Korea is a peninsula in eastern Asia where people have lived since 12,000 - 15,000 years ago. It was once a huge unified country that had governed territories in Manchuria and limited territories of what is called Siberia today prior to the start of globalization. At one point, it was the world's center for the very best silk in the world as noted by ancient Chinese scripts (but unknown to Europeans) and had the world's best goldsmiths during the 7th-8th Century. The art of movable metal type was invented in Korea before 1232, long before Gutenberg's inception in Europe.

Politically it is currently divided into the communist country of North Korea and the capitalist country of South Korea, since the 1950s when the Korean War occurred. For more on the regions of Korea (both North and South), see Provinces of Korea. The nation is renowned for its traditional dish called kimchi (see Korean cuisine) - which was developed by an innovative and unique process of preserving dietary vegetables (i.e. fermentation) before electric refrigeration existed.

Names

Korea is referred to differently in the Korean language in the North (as Chosŏn) and the South (as Hanguk). Interestingly, current Chinese newspapers use Chaoxian to refer to North Korea and Han-guo to refer to South Korea.

In the travels of Marco Polo, Korea was called "Cauly" in the early 14th century. It was further called Corea from the 17th to the late 19th century in Europe and England. A widely spread legend says that the name Korea was created by the Japanese during the colonial era. Since Japan was below Corea in alphabetical order, Japanese nationalists would have decided to change the upper-case "C" into a "K", thus changing Corea into Korea. It is also said that this change occurred because the syllable ko (rather than co) is found in Japanese. However, Korea was also used along Corea in English-language documents very early. The awareness of the alphabet and romanization in Japan (and Korea) is also questionable. The Japanese-modification theory, while widly in favour among nationalists, is dismissed as urban legend by most Koreanists.

A minority of authors also write "north" and "south" in lowercase because they are not part of the countries' official names, and because of the belief that Korea should be considered as one connected socio-cultural nation. In this vein, official maps in both countries usually do not show the DMZ, giving the illusion that it is possible to travel freely back and forth between North and South.

History of Korea

There exists archaelogical evidence that people were living in Korea during the Palaeolithic period - i.e., before the last ice age (roughly 18,000 to 12,000 years ago). According to classic legend, Korea's first large social civilization, Go-Chosun, was founded by the man-god Dangun (Tangun) in 2333 BC.

According to a few ancient transcripts, a Chinese exile Kija led 5,000 followers to the mountainous peninsula and founded a kingdom called Kija-Chosun (Land of the Morning Calm) in 1122 BC by merging with existant populations. Historians are still debating migration of individuals that occured around this period, and some do not accept this chapter as being solely true.

In the period 57 BC to AD 668, the Three Kingdoms of Silla (or Shilla), Goguryeo, and Baekje existed. All three kingdoms were influenced by China. Buddhism was introduced in 372. In 660 the stronger kingdom, Shilla (also known as Koryu) allied with China's (Tang Dynasty) and overthrew Baekje and Goguryeo by 668. While Silla was forging diplomatic ties with China, Baekje had sustained a close relationship to Japan - and helped build the Nara Period - before it completely fell to the Shilla-Tang alliance. During the Unified Shilla Kingdom period (681 to 935) Buddhism expanded, and culture developed substantially.

The Goryeo Dynasty, ruled the nation of Goryeo from 918 to 1392. During this period laws were codified, and a civil service system was introduced. Buddhism flourished, and spread throughout the peninsula. In 1231 the Mongols invaded Korea and after 25 years of struggle the royal family surrendered. For the following 150 years the Goryeo ruled, but under the control of the Mongols. The word Goryeo (Koryŏ) is the origin of the word Korea.

In 1392 a Korean general, Yi Songgye, was sent to China to campaign against the Ming Dynasty, but instead he allied himself with the Chinese, and returned to overthow the Goryeo king and establish a new dynasty.

The Joseon Dynasty (also known as the Yi Dynasty) moved the capital to Hanseong, which is modern day Seoul in 1394 and adopted Confucianism as the country's official religion, resulting in much loss of power and wealth by the Buddhists. During this period, the Hangeul alphabet was introduced by King Sejong in 1443.

The Joseon Dynasty suffered invasions by the Japanese (1592 to 1598). Korea's most famous military figure, Admiral Yi Sunsin was instrumental in defeating the invasion. The Manchus (1627 to 1636). Throughout most of its rule, the Joseon Dynasty were in a tributary relationship to the Chinese.

During the 19th century, Korea tried to prevent the opening of the country to foreign trade by closing the borders to all nations but China, resulting in it being called the Hermit Kingdom by many. In 1871, the United States first met Korea militarily, in what the Koreans call the Shinmiyangyo. Beginning in 1876 the Japanese forced trade agreements on Korea, and following the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) Japan established dominant influence in Korea after assassinating Queen Min, Korea's last empress. Korea then became a protectorate of Japan on July 25, 1907 and in 1910 the country was officially annexed by Japan establishing the Colonial Period in Korea.

Korea under Japanese Rule (1910 - 1945)

In 1910 Japan annexed Korea by military force. Korea continued to be a Japanese colony until Japan's surrender to the Allied Forces on 15 August 1945.

During the colonial rule Koreans were deprived of many rights, including freedom of assembly and association, free speech and an independent press. A Japanese school system was introduced, where subjects such as Korean history and language were dropped in favour of their Japanese equivalents.

Transport and communication networks were established across the nation. This facilitated Japanese commerce. Koreans were barred from engaging in similar activities. Many farmers were stripped of their land after failing to register their ownership with the colonial rulers. Joint ownership as it was common in Korea at the time was not recognized by Japan.

After the former Korean emperor Kojong had died, anti-Japanese rallies took place nationwide on 1 March 1919. A declaration of independence was read in Seoul. It is estimated that 2 million people took part in these rallies. This peaceful protest was brutally suppressed by the colonial rulers: an estimated 47,000 were arrested, 7,500 killed and 16,000 wounded.

As a consequence Japan's iron rule was softened. A constabulary force replaced the gendarmerie and partial freedom was given to the press. The oppression of the people and the exploitation of Korea's resources continued, although using different methods. Japan's speedy development as a capitalist society was only possible at the expense of Korean people, although as a by-product of the colonization Korea was industrialized.

Continued anti-Japanese rallies, such as the nationwide uprising of students in November 1929, led to the reinstating of military rule in 1931. After the outbreaks of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and World War II Japan attempted to wipe out Korea as a nation. Worship at Japanese Shinto shrines was made compulsory. The school curriculum was radically modified to reflect the changed policies. Korean people were forced to adopt Japanese-style names whilst the celebration of Korean culture was suppressed. Newspaper were prohibited from publishing in Korean and the study of Korean history was banned at university. Hundreds of thousands of able-bodied Koreans were drafted to work in Japanese mines and factories. Many Korean men were forced to join the Japanese military to fight against China whilst many women were forced to work as comfort women.

During the time of Japanese occupation a provisional government existed in China. On December 11, 1941 this provisional government declared war again and fought with its Korean Restoration Army alongside the Allied Forces. Seven days after the sundering of the friendship Pact, Soviet tanks invaded Korea from Siberia, meeting little to no resistance. Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces on 15 August 1945, ending 35 years of formal colonial rule. US forces under General Hodge, would not arrive to southern part of Korea until September 8th. Colonel Dean Rusk proposed splitting Korea at the 38th parallel at an emergency US meeting to determine spheres of influence during this time.

The Division of Korea

See also: The dividing of Korea

The surrender of Japan, the earlier collapse of Nazi Germany, combined with fundamental shifts in global politics and ideology, led to the division of Korea into two occupation zones effectively starting on September 8, 1945, with the United States administering the southern half of the peninsula and the Soviet Union taking over the area north of the 38th parallel. This division was meant to be temporary and was first intended to return a unified Korea back to its people until the US, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Chiang Kai-Shek's China (also see Kuomintang) under Taiwan's current national flag could arrange a trusteeship administration.

At a meeting in Cairo on 1 December 1945, it was agreed that Korea would be free "in due course as one unified country;" at a later meeting in Yalta in February 1945, it was agreed to establish a four-power trusteeship over Korea. In December 1945, a conference convened in Moscow to discuss the future of Korea. A 5-year trusteeship was discussed, and a joint Soviet-American commission was established. The commission met intermittently in Seoul but deadlocked over the issue of establishing a national government. In September 1947, with no solution in sight, the United States submitted the Korean question to the UN General Assembly.

Initial hopes for a unified, independent Korea quickly evaporated as the politics of the Cold War and domestic opposition to the trusteeship plan resulted in the 1948 establishment of two separate nations with diametrically opposed political, economic, and social systems. In June 1950 the Korean War broke out, ending any hope of a peaceful reunification for the mean time. See History of North Korea and History of South Korea for the post-war period.

External link

Pre 20th Century Korea