Korea

This article is about the Korean peninsula and civilization.

For the modern political entities, see North Korea and South Korea.

For other uses, see Korea (disambiguation).

Korea
Flag
Capital	Seoul, Pyongyang
Largest conurbation (population)	Seoul
Official languages	Korean
Area
• Total	220,186 km2 (85,014 sq mi)
• Water (%)	2.8
Population
• 2007 estimate	72,326,462
• Density	328.48/km2 (850.8/sq mi)
Currency	Won (₩) (N/S)
Time zone	UTC+9 (KST)

Entrance to Gyeongbokgung

Joseon dynasty royal throne

Korea (Korean: 한국 in South Korea or 조선 in North Korea, see below) is a peninsula, civilization, and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. Korea is currently divided into North Korea and South Korea.

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.

The history of Korea began with the legendary founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BCE by Dangun. Limited linguistic evidence suggests probable Altaic origins of these people, whose eastern Mongolian-Manchurian grassland culture absorbed migration and trade with the peoples of China. The adoption of the Chinese writing system ("hanja" in Korean) in the 2nd century BCE, and Buddhism in the 4th century, had profound effects on the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Koreans later passed on these, as well as their own advances, to Japan.

Since the Goryeo Dynasty, 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 han-geul 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 the colonial designs of Japan and Europe. In 1910, Korea was forcibly annexed by Japan and remained occupied until the end of World War II in August 1945.

In 1945, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed on the surrender and disarming of Japanese troops in Korea; the Soviet Union accepting the surrender north of the 38th parallel and the United States taking the surrender south of it. This led to division of Korea by the two great powers, exacerbated by their inability to agree on the terms of Korean independence. The two Cold War rivals then established governments sympathetic to their own ideologies, leading to Korea's current division into two political entities: North Korea and South Korea.

Names of Korea

Main article: Names of Korea

See also: Korean romanization

The name "Korea" derives from the Goryeo period of Korean history, which in turn referred to the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo. Merchants of the Middle East called it Koryo, which then came to be spelled Corea and Korea. Korea is now commonly used in English contexts by both North and South Korea.

In the Korean language, Korea as a whole is referred to as Han-guk (Korean: 한국; Hanja: 韓國; RR: Hanguk; MR: Han'guk) by South Korea, and Chosŏn (Korean: 조선; Hancha: 朝鮮; RR: Joseon; MR: Chosǒn) by North Korea. "The Land of the Morning Calm" is a Western nickname loosely derived from the hanja characters for Joseon, the name derived from the Joseon Dynasty and the earlier Gojoseon. (Chosŏn and Joseon are two Romanizations of the same name.)

History

Main article: History of Korea

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

Prehistory and Gojoseon

Main articles: Prehistoric Korea and Gojoseon

The earliest known Korean pottery dates to around 10000 BC, and the Neolithic period begins around 6000 BC. Gojoseon's founding legend describes Dangun, a descendent of heaven, as establishing the kingdom in 2333 BC. 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 BCE.

Goguryeo roof tile

The original capital may have been at the Manchuria-Korea border, but was later moved to what is today Pyongyang, North Korea. In 108 BCE, the Chinese Han Dynasty defeated Wiman Joseon and installed four commanderies in the area of Liaoning and the northern Korean peninsula. Subsequent Chinese immigrations from Yan and Qi brought elements of Chinese culture to the peninsula. By 75 BCE, three of those commanderies had fallen, but the Lelang Commandery remained under successive Chinese control until 313.

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 beyond Pyongyang during the peak of its powers in the 4th century. Although later records claim that 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 and Balhae

Main articles: Unified Silla and Balhae

Silla crown

In the 5th, 6th, and 7th centuries, Silla's power gradually extended across the Korean Peninsula. 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 partially unified the Peninsula, beginning a period often called Unified Silla.

In the north, former Goguryeo General Dae Joyeong led a group of Goguryeo refugees 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.

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

Stoneware ewer, Goryeo Dynasty, 12th century.

Goryeo

Main article: Goryeo

The Goryeo Dynasty was established in 918, and united the Later Three Kingdoms in 935. Two of this period's most notable products are Goryeo pottery — the famous Korean celadon pottery — and the Tripitaka Koreana — the Buddhist scriptures (Tripitaka) carved onto roughly 80,000 wooden blocks which have been perfectly preserved. Goryeo also created the world's first metal-based movable type printing press in 1234. Their dynasty was threatened by Mongol invasion from the 1230s into the 1270s, but the dynastic line continued to survive until 1392 since they were kept on Ganghwa Island during the Mongol onslaught.

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 written alphabet, and this period saw various other cultural and technological advances, as well as the dominance of neo-Confucianism over the entire peninsula. Between 1592 and 1598, Japan invaded Korea, but was eventually repelled. This war also saw the rise of the career of Admiral Yi Sun-shin and his "turtle ship" or gobukseon. In the 1620s and 1630s Joseon suffered invasions by the Manchu who eventually also conquered the Chinese Ming Dynasty. After that, the Joseon dynasty swore allegiance to Qing Dynasty. During the Joseon dynasty, Koreans brought Roman Catholicism (and other forms of Christianity in Korea followed shortly thereafter) into Korea, at first in secret.

Japanese occupation

Go Fishing, Georges Ferdinand Bigot, Tobae, February 1887.

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. Japan forced Korea to engage in foreign trade through the Treaty of Ganghwa in 1876. In 1895, Empress Myeongseong of Korea was assassinated by the Japanese under Miura Gorō's directive (Kim et al. 1976). In 1909, An Jung-geun assassinated the former Resident-General of Korea, Itō Hirobumi. In 1910, an already militarily occupied Korea was a forced party to the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty. This is a controversial treaty since the treaty was never ratified by the Korean Emperor and the required Korean Imperial seal was absent.

Even before formal Japanese colonial rule, the Korean Independence Movement was already in existence. 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. The Korean liberation movement also spread to neighboring Manchuria and Siberia.

Over five million Koreans were conscripted for labor beginning in 1939, and tens of thousands of men were forced into Japan's military. Approximately 200,000 girls and women, mostly from Korea and China, 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 Japanese Colonial rule, the Korean language was suppressed in an effort to eradicate Korean nationalism. Koreans were forced to take Japanese surnames, known as Sōshi-kaimei. 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 collections. One investigation by the South Korean 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

The earliest surviving depiction of the flag was printed in a U.S. Navy book Flags of Maritime Nations in July 1882.

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. Around 171,000 POWs were captured and held by the Americans and South Koreans on Geoje Do (an island in the south) The war ended in a ceasefire agreement at approximately the same boundary.

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 China and Russia. The Yellow Sea is to the west, the East China Sea is to the south, and the Sea of Japan is to the east of Korea. Notable islands include Jeju-do, Ulleung-do, and Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo in Korean).

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 Baekdusan (2744 m), through which runs the border with China. The southern extension of Baekdusan 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 mountain range 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 basically northwest.

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 Hallasan (1950 m) is the highest in South Korea. Ulleung-do is a volcanic island in the Sea of Japan, whose composition is more felsic than Jeju-do. The volcanic islands tend to be younger, the more 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 Nakdonggang and Seomjingang . Important rivers running westward include the Amnok (Yalu), the Cheongcheongang, the Daedonggang, the Han River, the Geumgang, and the Yeongsangang. 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 ria coastline, known as Dadohae-jin in Korean. Its convoluted 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 73 million.

A minority of ethnic Chinese (about 20,000 by one estimate) live in South Korea and small communities of ethnic Chinese and Japanese live in North Korea. The number of foreigners living in Korea has steadily increased over the past several decades. Today, in South Korea there are about 1,000,000 foreigners living in the country. It is believed that 20,000 Chinese is far below the actual number living in Korea - while the Chinese do represent the largest minority of foreigners in Korea, the number is closer to about 750,000 individuals. There are also sizeable numbers of Russian, Anglos and South-east Asians. Many foreigners living in Korea are there illegally.

Language

Main articles: Korean language and Hangul

Korean is the official language of both North and South Korea, and of Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture in China. It is also spoken widely in various Korean communities throughout. 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, Korean martial arts, and Korean dance

Korean Buddhist architecture

In ancient Chinese texts, Korea is referred to as "Rivers and Mountains Embroidered on Silk" (금수강산, 錦繡江山) and "Eastern Nation of Decorum (동방예의지국, 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."

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.

The modern Korean school system is 6 years in elementary school, 3 years in middle school, and 3 years in high school. Most public middle school and high school students have to wear uniforms.

Students have to take the Soonung(수능) (similar to SATs) in order to be accepted into college.

The modern Korean education system, however, has been heavily criticized for its emphasis on mechanical and passive learning and memorizing, resulting in a lack of creativity and strong personality. The critics state that while many Korean students have above-average math abilities, they lack creative and progressive thinking.

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 chili powder, earning the cuisine a reputation for being spicy.

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).

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

Science and technology

Main article: Science and technology in Korea

Cheomseongdae, one of the world's oldest surviving astronomical observatories

One of the best known artifacts of Korea's history of science and technology is Cheomseongdae, a 9.4-meter high observatory built in 634. It is considered to be one of the world's oldest surviving astronomical observatories.

The world's first metal movable type printing was developed in Korea in 1232 by Choe 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. The Jikji is the world's earliest remaining movable metal printed book, printed in Korea in 1377. The world's earliest known surviving example of woodblock printing is the Mugujeonggwang Great Dharani Sutra. It is believed to have been printed in Korea in 750-751 AD which, if correct, would make it older than the Diamond Sutra. Goryeo silk was highly regarded by China, and Korean pottery made with blue-green celadon was of the highest quality in the world and sought after by even Arabian merchants. Goryeo had a bustling economy with a capital that was frequented by merchants from all over the known world.

During the Joseon period the earliest ironclad warships, the Geobukseon (Turtle Ship) were invented, as well as other weapons such as the Bigyeokjincheolloe (비격진천뢰, 飛擊震天雷) and the hwacha.

The Korean alphabet Hangul was also invented during this time. The Jikji is the world's oldest book published by printing press.

See also

• List of Rulers of Korea
• Famous Korean people
• Korean name
• National treasures of North Korea
• National treasures of South Korea
• Inter-Korean Summit
• 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.
• Gi-Wook Shin/Michael Robinson (Ed.). Colonial modernity in Korea, Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.] : Harvard University, Asia Center; Distributed by Harvard Univ. Press 1999, ISBN 0-674-14255-1
• Joe, W.J. & Choe, H.A. Traditional Korea: A Cultural History, Seoul: Hollym, 1997.
• Joungwon, A.K. Divided Korea: The Politics of Development, Harvard University Press, 1975.
• 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.
• Tae-Jin, Y. "The Illegality of the Forced Treaties Leading to Japan's Annexation of the Great Han Empire," In the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, Vol. 36, No. 4, 1996.
• Dennis Hart, From Tradition to Consumption: Construction of a Capitalist Culture in South Korea. Seoul:Jimoondang Pub. 2003.

External links

Korea, an external wiki

• The official website of Korea
• The official tourism guide of Korea Tourism Organizaton
• Korean Food Glossary
• The Architecture and Skyscraper Community of Korea (English Translated)
• Korea information for backpackers from a Seoulite
• 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
• Teaching Kimchi, guide to foreign life in Korea, with focus on foreign teachers
• 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 hydrogrammatical 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)
• Korea at Curlie

38°19′N 127°14′E