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.
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 started to rule in 2333 B.C., and his descendants
reigned in Gojoseon, the "Land of Morning Calm,"
for more than a millennium.
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
were prominent in the south, Goguryeo in the north.
The 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.
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.
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 the support of landlords and merchants whose economic
as well as political power overwhelmed the Silla government.
Early Joseon
Period
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.
Colonial Period
Outright control by Japanese began on February 1, 1906.
The Resident-General was invested with full authority in
regard to Korea's diplomacy, domestic administration and
military affairs. Through the Council for Improvement of
Korean Administration, he pressed the Korean government
to accept Japan's aggressive policy in the fields of finance,
banking, agriculture, forestry, mining, transportation,
education, culture, jurisprudence, internal security, local
administration and the royal household.
