Korea

This article is about the Korean peninsula and civilization. For the modern political entities commonly called "Korea", see North Korea and South Korea. For other meanings, see Korea (disambiguation).. For other uses, see Korea (disambiguation).

Korea

Korea (Korean: 한국 or 조선, see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. Korea is currently divided into North Korea and South Korea, and the term "Korea" may refer to either or both of these states.

Although the borders of historical Korean dynasties fluctuated, the peninsula today is defined as coterminous with the political borders of the two Koreas combined. Thus, the peninsula borders China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast, with Japan situated to the southeast across the Korea Strait.

Korea began with the legendary founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BCE by Dangun. Limited linguistic evidence suggests possible Altaic origins of these people, whose northern Mongolian Steppe culture absorbed immigrants and invaders from northern Manchuria, Mongolia and China. The adoption of the Chinese writing system ("hanja" in Korean) in the 2nd century BCE, and Buddhism in the 4th century CE, had profound effects on the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Koreans later passed on these, as well as their own advances, to Japan.

After the unification of the Three Kingdoms by Silla in 676, Korea was ruled by a single government and maintained political and cultural independence until the nineteenth century, despite the Mongol invasions of the Goryeo Dynasty in the 13th century and Japanese invasions of the Joseon Dynasty in the 16th century. In 1377, Korea produced the Jikji, the world's oldest movable metal print document. In the 15th century, the turtle ships, possibly the world's first ironclad warships, were deployed, and during the reign of King Sejong the Great, the Korean alphabet hangul was created.

During the latter part of the Joseon Dynasty, Korea's isolationist policy earned it the Western nickname the "Hermit Kingdom". By the late 19th century, the country became the object of colonial designs by the imperial aggressors of Japan and Europe. In 1910, Korea was forcibly annexed by Japan and remained occupied until the end of World War II in 1945.

In 1945, Soviet Union and United States troops occupied the northern and southern halves of the country, respectively. The two Cold War enemies helped establish governments sympathetic to their own ideologies, leading to Korea's current division into two political entities: North Korea and South Korea.

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History

Main article: History of Korea

See also: Prehistory of Korea, History of North Korea, and History of South Korea

Prehistory and Gojoseon

Main articles: Prehistoric Korea and Gojoseon

There is archaeological evidence that people were living on the Korean Peninsula around 700,000 years ago, during the Lower Paleolithic. The earliest known Korean pottery dates to around 8000 BC, and the Neolithic period begins around 6000 BC.

Gojoseon's founding legend describes Dangun, a descendent of heaven, establishing the kingdom in 2333 BCE. Archaeological and contemporary written records indicate it developed from a federation of walled cities into a centralized kingdom sometime between the 7th and 4th centuries BC. The original capital may have been at the Manchuria-Korea border, but was later moved to today's Pyongyang, North Korea. In 108 BC, the Chinese Han Dynasty defeated Wiman Joseon and installed four commanderies in the area of Liaoning. By 75 BC, three of those commanderies had fallen, but one commandery remained under Chinese control until 313 AD.

Goguryeo roof tile

Three Kingdoms

Main article: Three Kingdoms of Korea

The Three Kingdoms of Korea in the 5th century.

The Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje) dominated the peninsula and parts of Manchuria during the early Common Era. They competed with each other both economically and militarily. Goguryeo united Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye and other states in the former Gojoseon territory, in addition to destroying the last Chinese commandery. Goguryeo was the most dominant power, but was at constant war with the Sui and Tang dynasties of China. Founded around today's Seoul, the southwestern kingdom Baekje expanded far past Pyongyang during the peak of its powers in the 4th century. Although later records claim Silla, in the southeast, was the oldest of the three kingdoms, it is now believed to have been the last kingdom to develop.

Unified Silla & Balhae

Main articles: Unified Silla and Balhae

Silla crown

In the 5th, 6th, and 7th centuries, Silla's power gradually extended across Korea. Silla first annexed the adjacent Gaya confederacy. By the 660s, Silla formed an alliance with the Tang Dynasty of China to conquer Baekje and later Goguryeo. After repelling Chinese forces, Silla established the first unified state to cover most of Korea; this period is often called Unified Silla. After the fall of Goguryeo, former Goguryeo general Dae Joyeong led a group of Koreans to the Jilin area in Manchuria and founded Balhae (698 AD - 926 AD) as the successor to Goguryeo. At its height, Balhae's territory extended from northern Manchuria down to the northern provinces of modern-day Korea. Balhae was destroyed by the Khitans in 926, and many remaining people from Balhae entered into Goryeo. Some of the people of Balhae had founded Later Balhae and fought against the Tang dynasty.

Unified Silla fell apart in the late 9th century, giving way to the tumultuous Later Three Kingdoms period (892-935).

Goryeo dynasty

Main article: Goryeo

Wang Geon established the Goryeo Dynasty in 918, and reunited the Later Three Kingdoms in 935.

During the Goryeo period, laws were codified, a civil service system was introduced, and Buddhism flourished. Conflict increased between civil and military officials as the latter were degraded and poorly paid. The Mongolian Empire invaded Korea in 1238. After nearly thirty years of war, the two sides signed a treaty that favored the Mongols. In the 1340s, as the Mongol Empire declined rapidly, Korea was able to pursue reform without interference.

Joseon dynasty

Main article: Joseon dynasty

Paldochongdo, a 1531 map of Korea

In 1392, the general Yi Seong-gye established the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) with a largely bloodless coup. The Joseon Dynasty is believed to have been the longest-lived actively ruling dynasty in East Asia. King Sejong the Great (1418-1450) promulgated Hangul, the Korean alphabet, and this period saw various other cultural and technological advances. Between 1592-1598, Japan invaded Korea, but was eventually repelled. In the 1620s and 1630s Joseon suffered invasions by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, who eventually also conquered the Chinese Ming Dynasty.

early versions of the Korean flag

Japanese occupation

Main article: Korea under Japanese rule

Beginning in the 1870s, Japan began to force Korea to move out of China's sphere of influence into its own. In 1895, Empress Myeongseong of Korea was assassinated by the Japanese under Miura Goro's directive (Kim et al. 1976). In 1910, Japan forced Korea to sign the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty, although executed by Korean ministers and advisors rather than the Korean head of state, the emperor.

Korean resistance to the brutal Japanese occupation was manifested in the nonviolent March 1st Movement of 1919, where 7,000 demonstrators were killed by Japanese police and military. Thereafter the Korean independence movement was largely active in neighboring Manchuria and Siberia.

Over five million Koreans were conscripted for labor beginning in 1939 and tens of thousands of men were conscripted into Japan's military. Approximately 200,000 girls and women, mostly from Korea and China, were pressed into work as sex slaves, euphemistically called "comfort women".

The Korean language was banned in official documents and Koreans were obligated to adopt Japanese names. The Traditional Korean culture suffered heavy losses, as numerous Korean cultural artifacts were destroyed or taken to Japan. To this day, valuable Korean artifacts can often be found in Japanese museums or among private collectors. One investigation by the South Korea government identified 75,311 cultural assets that were taken from Korea, 34,369 of which are in Japan, and 17,803 of which are in the United States.

Korean War

Main article: Korean War

With the defeat of Japan in 1945, 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.

During the Korean War (1950-1953), millions of civilians died and the United States waged a bombing campaign over North Korea that effectively destroyed most cities. The war ended in a ceasefire agreement at approximately the same boundary.

Both Korean states proclaim eventual reunification as a goal.

Geography

Main article: Korean Peninsula

See also: Geography of North Korea, Geography of South Korea, and Provinces of Korea

Satellite image of the Korean peninsula.

A view of Seoraksan Mountain.

Korea is located on the Korean Peninsula in North-East Asia. To the northwest, the Amnok River (Yalu River) separates Korea from China and to the northeast, the Duman River (Tumen River) separates Korea from Russia. The Yellow Sea is to the west, the East China Sea is to the south, and the Sea of Japan (East Sea) is to the east of Korea. Notable islands include Jeju-do, Ulleung-do, and Dokdo.

The southern and western parts of the peninsula have well-developed plains, while the eastern and northern parts are mountainous. The highest mountain in Korea is Baekdu Mountain (2744 m.), through which runs the border with China. The southern extension of Baekdu Mountain is a highland called Gaema Gowon. This highland was mainly raised during the Cenozoic orogeny and partly covered by volcanic matter. To the south of Gaema Gowon, successive high mountains are located along the eastern coast of the peninsula. This series of mountains is named Baekdudaegan. Some significant mountains include Sobaeksan (2,184 m), Baeksan (1,724 m), Geumgangsan (1,638 m), Seoraksan (1,708 m), Taebaeksan (1,567 m), and Jirisan (1,915 m). There are several lower, secondary mountain series whose direction is almost perpendicular to that of Baekdudaegan. They are developed along the tectonic line of Mesozoic orogeny and their directions are NW, NWW.

Unlike most older mountains on the mainland, many important islands in Korea were formed by volcanic activity in the Cenozoic orogeny. Jeju-do, situated off the southern coast, is a large volcanic island whose main mountain Mt. Halla (1950 m) is the highest in South Korea. Ulleung-do is a volcanic island in the Sea of Japan, who's composition is more felsic than Jeju-do. The volcanic islands tend to be younger as one moves westward.

Because the mountainous region is mostly on the eastern part of the peninsula, the main rivers tend to flow westwards. Two exceptions are the southward-flowing Nakdong River and the Seomjin River. Important rivers running westward include the Amnok River (Yalu), the Cheongcheon River, the Daedong River, the Han River, the Geum River, and the Yeongsan River. These rivers have vast flood plains and provide an ideal environment for wet-rice cultivation.

The southern and southwestern coastlines of Korea form a well-developed Lias coastline, known as Dadohae in Korean. Its complicated coastline provides mild seas, and the resulting calm environment allows for safe navigation, fishing, and seaweed farming. In addition to the complex coastline, the western coast of the Korean peninsula has an extremely high tidal amplitude (at Incheon, around the middle of the western coast. It can get as high as 9 m). Vast tidal flats have been developing on the south and west coastlines.

Demographics

Main articles: Koreans, Demographics of South Korea, and Demographics of North Korea

Korea is populated by a highly homogeneous ethnic group, the Koreans, who speak the Korean language. The combined population of the Koreas is about 72 million.

A minority of ethnic Chinese (about 20,000) live in South Korea and small communities of ethnic Chinese and Japanese live in North Korea.

Language

Main articles: Korean language and Hangul

Korean is the official language of both North and South Korea, and is widely spoken in Korean communities abroad. The language is also one of the two official languages (the other is Standard Mandarin) in neighbouring Yanbian, China. Worldwide, there are around 80 million Korean speakers, including large groups in the former Soviet Union, China, Australia, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan, and more recently, the Philippines.

The genealogical classification of Korean is debated. Some linguists place it in the Altaic language family; others consider it to be a language isolate. Korean is agglutinative in its morphology and SOV in its syntax. Like Japanese and Vietnamese, Korean has borrowed much vocabulary from the genetically unrelated Chinese or created vocabulary on Chinese models.

Modern Korean is written almost exclusively in the Hangul script, which was invented in the 15th century. While Hangul may appear logographic, it is actually a phonemic alphabet organized into syllabic blocks. Each block consists of at least two of the 24 Hangul letters (jamo): at least one each of the 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Historically, the alphabet had several additional letters (see obsolete jamo). For a phonological description of the letters, see Korean phonology. Hanja (Chinese characters) and Roman characters are sometimes included within hangul texts, particularly in South Korea.

Culture and Arts

Main article: Culture of Korea

See also: Korean art, Korean pottery, and Korean martial arts

Korean Buddhist architecture

In ancient Chinese texts, Korea is referred to as "Rivers and Mountains Embroidered in Silk" (錦繡江山) and "Eastern Nation of Decorum" (東方禮儀之國). During the 7th and 8th centuries, the silk road connected Korea to Arabia. In 845, Arab traders wrote ""Beyond China is a land where gold abounds and which is named Silla. The Muslims who have gone there have been charmed by the country and tend to settle there and abandon all idea of leaving." [2]

Korean festivities often showcase vibrant colors, which have been attributed to Mongolian influences: bright red, yellow, and green often mark traditional Korean motifs. These bright colors are sometimes seen in the traditional dress known as hanbok.

One peculiarity of Korean culture is its age reckoning system. Individuals are regarded as one year old when they are born, and their age increments on New Year's Day rather than on the anniversary of their birthday. Accordingly, a Korean person's stated age will be one or two years more than their age expressed in the Western tradition.

Literature

Main article: Korean literature

Korean literature written before the end of the Joseon Dynasty is called "Classical" or "Traditional." Literature, written in Chinese characters (hanja), was established at the same time as the Chinese script arrived on the peninsula. Korean scholars were writing poetry in the classical Chinese style as early as the 2nd century BCE, reflecting Korean thoughts and experiences of that time. Classical Korean literature has its roots in traditional folk beliefs and folk tales of the peninsula, strongly influenced by Confucianism, Buddhism and to some extent Taoism.

Modern literature is often linked with the development of hangul, which helped spread literacy from the aristocracy to the common people and women. Hangul, however, only reached a dominant position in Korean literature in the second half of the 19th century, resulting in a major growth in Korean literature. Sinsoseol, for instance, are novels written in hangul.

The Korean War led to the development of literature centered around the wounds and chaos of war. Much of the post-war literature in South Korea deals with the daily lives of ordinary people, and their struggles with national pain. The collapse of the traditional Korean value system is another common theme of the time.

Religion and education

Amitabha and Eight Great Bodhisattvas, Goryeo scroll from the 1300s

Main articles: Korean Confucianism, Korean Buddhism, and Christianity in Korea

Confucian tradition has dominated Korean thought, along with contributions by Buddhism, Taoism, and Korean Shamanism. Since the middle of the 20th century, however, Christianity has competed with Buddhism in South Korea, while religious practice has been suppressed in North Korea.

According to 2003 statistics compiled by the South Korean government, about 46% of citizens profess to follow no particular religion. Christians account for 27.3% of the population and Buddhists 25.3%.

Koreans valued scholarship and rewarded education and study of Chinese classic texts; Yangban boys were highly educated in Hanja. In Silla, the bone rank system defined a person's social status, and a similar system persisted through the end of the Joseon Dynasty. In addition, the gwageo civil service examination provided paths of upward mobility.

Cuisine

Main article: Korean cuisine

Korean cuisine is probably best known for kimchi, which uses a distinctive fermentation process of preserving vegetables. Chili peppers are also commonly used, often as chile powder, earning the cuisine a reputation for being spicy.

Fish, generally grilled or stewed, is the primary source of protein. Bulgogi (roasted marinated beef, chicken, or pork), galbi (ribs), and samgyeopsal (pork fatback) are popular meat entrees. Korean meals are usually accompanied by a soup or stew, often made with doenjang (fermented bean paste). Popular dishes are bibimbap (mixed rice), naengmyeon (cold noodles), galbitang (stewed ribs), and doenjang jjigae (fermentated bean paste stew). Many people all around the world have tasted some of the cuisine and even former president Bill Clinton has tasted the dish bibimbap (mixed rice).

See also: Korean tea ceremony, Korean royal court cuisine, and Korean cuisine

Science and technology

Cheomseongdae, oldest surviving astronomical observatory in East Asia

One of the best known artifacts of Korea's history of science and technology is Cheomseongdae, a 9-meter high observatory built in 633. It is considered to be the world's oldest surviving astronomical observatory.

The world's earliest known movable metal printed book the Jikji, is thought to be a Buddhist scripture believed printed in Korea in 750-751 CE which, if correct, would make it older than the Diamond Sutra. The world's first metal movable type printing press was developed in Korea in 1232 by Chae Yun-ui during the Goryeo Dynasty, modeled after widespread Chinese clay (Bi Sheng in 1041) , before Johann Gutenberg developed his metal letterset type (Cumings 1997: 65). Though the block printing was used much earlier, metal movable type printing press marked a significant development in printing allowing the same tools to be used for more diverse printings.

a 17th century map

The apex of astronomical and calendarial advances made under King Sejong was the Ch'ilchongsan, developed in 1442. This work made it possible for scientists to calculate and accurately predict all the major heavenly phenomena, such as solar eclipses and other stellar movements. Hangul, perhaps the most scientifically designed script in widespread use, is attributed to King Sejong the Great in 1443. An automated water clock, the Jagyeokru which worked by activating motions of wooden figures to indicate time visually was invented in 1434 by Jang Yeong-sil, who later developed a more complicated water-clock with additional astronomical devices, as well as the world's first Iron Printing Press, water gauge, and the rain gauge also during the Joseon Dynasty Heo Jun, a court physician wrote a number of medical texts, but his most significant achievement is Dongeui Bogam, which is often noted as the defining text of Traditional Korean medicine. The work spread to China and Japan, where it is still regarded as one of the classics of Oriental medicine today.

During the Joseon period, Korean silk was highly regarded by China and Korean pottery made with blue-green celadon were of the highest quality in the world. Also, during this time, the early ironclad warships, the Geobukseon (Turtle Ship) were invented, as well as other weapons such as the Bikeokjinchonlae and the hwacha.

reconstruction of a Joseon-era automated water clock

See also

• List of Rulers of Korea
• Famous Korean people
• Korean name
• National treasures of North Korea
• National treasures of South Korea
• List of divided nations

References

• Cumings, Bruce. Korea's Place in the Sun, Norton, 1997. ISBN 0-393-31681-5
• Kim, et al. Women of Korea: A History from Ancient Times to 1945, Ewha Womans University Press, 1976. ISBN 89-7300-116-7.
• Asian Info website
• Park's Associates

Further reading

• Chun, Tuk Chu. "Korea in the Pacific Community." Social Education 52 (March 1988), 182. EJ 368 177.
• Cumings, Bruce. The Two Koreas. New York: Foreign Policy Association, 1984.
• Focus On Asian Studies. Special Issue: "Korea: A Teacher's Guide." No. 1, Fall 1986.
• Lee Ki-baik. A New History Of Korea. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1984.
• Lee Sang-sup. "The Arts and Literature of Korea." The Social Studies 79 (July-August 1988): 153-60. EJ 376 894.
• Dennis Hart, From Tradition to Consumption: Construction of a Capitalist Culture in South Korea. Seoul:Jimoondang Pub. 2003.

External links

Korea, an external wiki

• Korean Food Glossary
• The Architecture and Skyscraper Community of Korea (English Translated)
• CIA World Factbook Entry for South Korea
• CIA World Factbook Entry for North Korea
• Country study South Korea
• Country study North Korea
• Korean language and culture
• Account of a voyage of discovery to the west coast of Corea, and the great Loo-Choo island; with an appendix, containing charts, and various hydrographical and scientific notices. By Captain Basil Hall ... And a vocabulary of the Loo-Choo languages, by H. J. Clifford, 1818. (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format)
• Corea; or, Cho-sen, the land of the morning calm, with numerous illustrations from drawings made by the author: A. Henry Savage-Landor, 1895. (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format)
• Template:Dmoz

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