Korea (historical state in Northeast Asia)
Korea is a historical state located in Northeast Asia, known for its rich cultural heritage and complex history. The Korean Peninsula has been inhabited since ancient times, with significant events occurring during the early Common Era, particularly the conflict among the Three Kingdoms: Paekche, Silla, and Koguryo. In 668 CE, the Silla dynasty unified Korea, which saw various dynasties rule the region, including the Koryo and the Choson dynasty. The latter period, lasting from 1392 to the late 1800s, was marked by cultural advancements, including the creation of Hangul, the Korean alphabet.
In the early 20th century, Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910, leading to a harsh colonial rule that sought to suppress Korean culture. After World War II, Korea was divided into two separate states in 1948: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). This division marked the beginning of a prolonged conflict, culminating in the Korean War (1950-1953), which ended in a stalemate and solidified the separation. Today, North Korea is recognized as a totalitarian state with a focus on military development, while South Korea has emerged as a democratic and capitalist society, leading to ongoing tensions between the two nations.
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Korea (historical state in Northeast Asia)
Korea is a state in northeast Asia that has been divided between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), or North Korea, and the Republic of Korea (ROK), or South Korea, since 1948. The Korean Peninsula has been inhabited since ancient times. The early centuries of the Common Era were marked by warfare between the region's three kingdoms of Paekche, Silla, and Koguryo. The Silla dynasty defeated its competitors and united Korea in 668 CE. Several other dynasties acquired control of the peninsula over the next millennium.
Imperial Japan seized control of Korea in 1910 and ruled the state until the end of World War II (1939–1945). That year, the Soviet Union and United States divided the country in two, with the Soviet Union taking control of North Korea and the United States managing South Korea. The two states fought in the Korean War (1950–1953) in the early 1950s and agreed to a stalemate in 1953.
From that point, North Korea remained an isolated communist dictatorship, while the democratic South Korea prospered as a partner of free nations around the world. Tensions between the Koreas remained high in the twenty-first century, as North Korea continually threatened South Korea and its allies with nuclear attack in displays of military strength.
Background
Ancient Chinese records indicate that civilized societies have existed on the Korean Peninsula since at least the 300s BCE. Different Korean kingdoms initially boasted their own unique cultures, but, over time, a singular culture united all the Korean people.
War for control of the peninsula, however, remained nearly constant in Korea for the first several centuries CE. The Paekche, Silla, and Koguryo kingdoms—the historical "Three Kingdoms" of Korea—fought until 668 CE, when the Silla dynasty defeated the Paekche and Koguryo and united Korea. In the early 900s CE, the Koryo dynasty overthrew the Silla and ruled for more than four hundred years. The Anglicized word Korea derives from the name of the Koryo dynasty. During the rule of the Koryo from the early 900s to the late 1300s, Korea expanded almost to its modern boundaries.
The Yi dynasty overthrew the Koryo in 1392, and its Choson kingdom was the ruling power in Korea for the next five hundred years. The period saw Korea go to war separately against the invading forces of Japan and the Chinese region of Manchuria, all while the Choson kingdom was modernizing Korean culture with such inventions as hangul, the Korean alphabet.
By the early 1600s, the attacks by Japan and Manchuria had convinced Koreans that surviving as a people would require severely restricting their contact with foreign nations. The Choson government maintained relations with its historical ally of China and traded to an extent with Japan, but the Korean people generally did not visit other countries, and few foreigners traveled to Korea.
The Western powers of Great Britain, France, and the United States started vying for economic dominance in East Asia in the mid-1800s. These nations tried to access Korean markets in the 1860s, but the Choson dynasty refused to interact with the West. In 1876, Japan forced Korea to agree to a commercial treaty whereby the two nations would maintain political and commercial ties. As Japan had recently opened itself to Western commerce, Korea now had to accept Western traders in its territory. The Europeans and Americans who traveled to Korea in the late 1800s referred to the state as a "hermit kingdom" due to its extreme isolation from the rest of the world.
Overview
China, Russia, and Japan all fought for control of Korea in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Japanese Empire defeated both China and Russia in warfare in this period, and it annexed Korea as a colony in 1910, ending the Choson dynasty. Japanese rule in Korea was harsh most of the time. Japan's military administered to the region, and these authorities quickly suppressed any attempted rebellion by the Korean people. Japan also tried to make Korea culturally Japanese by wiping out Korean culture and the Korean language and forcing people to adopt Japanese names. At the same time, Japan industrialized Korea by bringing technologies such as factories, radio, and cinema to the Korean people.
Japanese rule of Korea ended in 1945 with Japan's defeat in World War II. The wartime allies of the Soviet Union and the United States then divided Korea between themselves. The Soviet Union governed the northern half of the peninsula, while the United States safeguarded the southern half. The Soviets and Americans tried to agree on a plan to reunify Korea, but negotiations failed.
In 1948, separate Korean governments formed in each half of the divided peninsula. North Korea, formally the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, was a communist dictatorship led by Kim Il-sung. South Korea, or the Republic of Korea, was a democratic capitalist ally of the United States. Each government claimed to be the legitimate representative of the Korean people.
North Korea began the Korean War in 1950 when it invaded South Korea in an attempt to unite the peninsula once again. For three years, South Korea and its Western allies repelled the attacks of North Korea and its partners of China and the Soviet Union. After much loss of life, the Korean War ended in a stalemate in 1953, with the border between the Koreas remaining unchanged.
North Korea continued to isolate itself from most of the world into the twenty-first century, with China as its only regional ally and trading partner. Under the leadership of Kim Il-sung's son Kim Jong-il—who ruled the country from 1994 to his death in 2011—and then grandson Kim Jong-un, North Korea pursued the development of nuclear weapons to protect itself against attack by South Korea, the United States, or other Western actors. North Korea was a totalitarian state in which the people were subject to the absolute rule of the government.
South Korea, conversely, remained a capitalist, Western-friendly society that encouraged private industry and held free political elections. The country's relations with North Korea remained almost constantly tense, and the Koreas were always prepared for war with each other. In the mid-2010s, North Korea had a population of about twenty-five million people, while South Korea's population numbered approximately fifty million.
Bibliography
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