Brief History of Korea

Koreans are a proud people with one of the longest national histories in the world.

The beginning of Korean history is dated to 2333 B.C, when king Tangun established the first kingdom named Kochoson, literally meaning the "Land of the Morning Calm".

Ancient Korea was characterized by clan communities which combined to form small city states.

Of these , Koguryo(37 B.C.-A.D. 668), Packche(18 B.C.-A.D. 660), and Shilla(57 B.C.-A.D. 935) were the most powerful and flourishing.

These kingdoms rose up to occupy the whole Korean peninsula and much of Manchuria, giving the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C.-A.D. 668) its name.

Shilla ultimately defeated two rivals in 668 and unified the peninsula for the first time.

During the Unified Shilla period (A.D. 676-935). the peninsula experienced a cultural golden age, especially in Buddhist art.

Ever since Shilla unified the peninsula , Korea has been ruled by a single government and has maintained its political independence and cultural and ethnic identity, in spite of frequent foreign invasion .

In the succeeding Koryo Dynasty( A.D. 918-1392 ), Korea established an aristocratic ruling government .

Buddhism was the state religion and greatly influenced politics and administration.

It is interesting to note that the name "Korea" is derived from the name "Koryo".

The Choson Dynasty( 1392-1910 ), Korea's last , adopted Confucianism as the state ideology and instituted political and economic reforms .

Among a number of important cultural developments was a surge of creative literary activities, which included the invention of the korean alphabet , Hangul , in 1443.

Its capital , Hanyang, established in 1394, is now present day Seoul, where palaces and gates from this period can still be found.

Both the Koryo and Choson kingdoms consolidated their dynastic power and flourished culturally, while repelling intruders like the Mongols, Manchus and Japanese.

In the late 19th century, Korea became the focus of intense imperialist competition among China, Russia, and Japan.

After the Korean war in 1953, Korea made tireless efforts to reconstruct the nation toward prosperity and stability, it achieved remarkable economic growth.

The fall of Communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and the unification of Germany raised expectations in Korea that unification could be achieved in the not very distant future.