Prehistoric Korea
Early man first inhabited the Korean Peninsula roughly half a million years ago. In the past decade archaeological excavations have shed much new light on the prehistoric society of Korea. At Seokjang-ri near Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do province, artifacts of lower Paleolithic industry consisting of chopper-scraper culture was unearthed in the lower most part of the site. Bifacial chopper or chopping-tool culture follow...
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Gojoseon
The people of Gojoseon or the oldest kingdom of Korea are recorded as Dongi, "eastern bowmen" or "eastern barbarians." They propagated in Manchuria, the eastern littoral of China, areas north of the Yangtze River, and the Korean Peninsula. The eastern bowmen had a myth in which the legendary founder Dangun was born of a father of heavenly descent and a woman from a bear-totem tribe. He is said to have star...
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The Three Kingdoms :::: Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla ::::
In the last stages of the bronze culture of the Karasuk affinity, the impact of the iron culture was experienced by ancient Koreans as a consequence of the rise of Chinese state power. The rise of Buyeo was seen in Manchuria along with China's developing centralized power. In the southern part of Korea, tribal leagues of the Three Han gradually developed to the stage of state-building. Baekje and Silla wer...
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Balhae Kingdom
Subsequent to the fall of Goguryeo, Dae Joyeong, a former Goguryeo general, formed an army of Goguryeo and Malgal (a Tungusic tribe) people, and led a migration to Chinese-controlled territory. They settled eventually near Jilin in Manchuria, and there founded a state which was at first called Jin, but in 713 was renamed Balhae (Bohai in Chinese). Balhae soon gained control of most of the former Goguryeo territo...
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Unified Silla
Silla (57 B.C.-A.D. 935), reached peak of power and prosperity in the middle of the eighth century. It attempted to establish an ideal Buddhist country and constructed the Seokguram Grotto Shrine and Bulguksa Temple with splendorous masonic art. Extensive printing of Buddhist scripture was undertaken with woodblocks. The oldest imprint of the Dharani sutra, probably printed between 706 and 751, was brought to lig...
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Goryeo Dynasty
Silla was torn to pieces by rebel leaders such as Gyeon Hwon who proclaimed the Latter Baekje (Hu Baekje) state in Jeonju in 900, and Gung Ye who proclaimed the Latter Goguryero (Hu Goguryeo) state, the following year at Gaeseong. Wang Geon, the last rebel leader, the son of a gentry family, became the first minister of Gung Ye. Overthrowing Gung Ye for misdemeanors and malpractice in 918, he sought and received...
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Early Joseon Period
State Structure Near the end of the Goryeo Dynasty, in 1389, General Yi Seonggye seized political and military power, deposing King Chang (r.1388-1389) and placing King Gongyang (r.1389-1392) on the throne. He and his faction then carried out sweeping land reforms. Neo-Confucian ideology became the political capital in his fight against the declining Goryeo monarchy and nobility. The Gwajeonbeop (rank land la...
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Early Joseon Period - King Sejong's Confucian Humanism
King Sejong's Confucian Humanism
Joseon's fourth king, King Sejong the Great (r.1418-1450), was noted for his mastery of Confucian learning. In addition to his embrace of Confucian values, he showed himself able to successfully deal with the yangban scholars. His rule in the mid-15th century was marked by progressive ideas in administration, phonetics, national script, economics, science, music, medical science and humani...
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Early Joseon Period - Monarchy Versus Yangban
Monarchy Versus Yangban
King Munjong's death in 1452 brought an 11-year-old Crown Prince to the throne. State affairs were left in the hands of state councilors, and monarchical power declined. In 1455, the unscrupulous Prince Suyang daegun, uncle of the child-king Danjong, usurped the throne by murder and regicide after quelling the opposition; he also ruthlessly suppressed attempts to restore Danjong as king. King ...
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Early Joseon Period - Resurgence of Neo-Confucian Rule
Resurgence of Neo-Confucian Rule
The ninth King of Joseon Dynasty, Seongjong (r.1469-1494) ascended to the throne as a child and ruled under the regency of the dowager queen and minister-consultants. The anti-Sejo literati used the institution of the royal lecture to try to abolish Buddhist rituals and other anomalies in the life of the court, and the unfortunate child was subject to a rigorous schedule of two...
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