Korea
Korea is a peninsula in eastern Asia and was once a unified country. Politically it is currently divided in the communist country of North Korea and the capitalist country of South Korea, since the 1950s when the Korean War occurred. The national staple dish is kimchi (see Korean cuisine).
Names
Korea is referred to differently in the Korean language in the North (as Chosŏn) and the South (as Han-guk). It was called Corea from the 17th to early 19th century in England.
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.
History of Korea
There is archaelogical evidence that Korea has been occupied by individuals during the Palaeolithic period - even before the last ice age; and according to legend, the Joseon Kingdom (a.k.a. Chosun) (Land of the Morning Calm) was founded by the man-god Dangun in 2333 BC.
In the period 57 BC to AD 668, the Three Kingdoms of Silla (or Shilla), Goguryeo, and Baekje existed. All three kingdoms were heavily influenced by China. Buddhism was introduced in 372. In 660 Silla allied with China (Tang Dynasty) and overthrew Baekje and Goguryeo by 668. During the Silla 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 stuggle the royal family surrendered. For the following 150 years the Goryeo ruled, but under the control of the Mongols. The word Goryeo became etymology 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, resulting in it being called the Hermit Kingdom by many. 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. In 1910 Korea was officially annexed by Japan establishing the Colonial Period in Korea.
Following the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II, Korea was liberated from the Japanese. However, the unexpectedly early surrender of Japan led to the immediate division of Korea into two occupation zones, with the United States administering the southern half of the peninsula and the Soviet Union taking over the area to the north of the 38th parallel. This division was meant to be temporary and to facilitate the Japanese surrender until the US, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and China could arrange a trusteeship administration.
At a meeting in Cairo, it was agreed that Korea would be free "in due course;" at a later meeting in Yalta, 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 historical links
See also: Korean language, Provinces of Korea, Special cities of Korea, Korean family name, Famous Korean people, Hanja