Evidence of stone-age man in Korea dates back about 40,000 years. Ancestors of modern day Koreans are thought to have entered Korea from the steppes of central and north-east Asia about 4-6000 BC. These people were of the Tungusic branch of the Altaic language family which is related to languages as far away as Hungary and Finland and more directly to languages in a narrow band across Asia from Korea to Turkey (For an excellent history of central Asia and its influence on Europe, the Middle East, and China, I highly recommend "Empire of the Steppes" by Grousset).
The bronze age began in Korea about 700 BC, while the iron age began about 300 BC. The Old Choson period began sometime around 400 BC when affiliated walled towns were unified under hereditary kingships. Three major kingdoms are recorded in Korea during this time, the largest being the Puyo in Manchuria, Old Choson in what is today North Korea, and Chin in southern Korea. Of these, Old Choson was the most advanced, strongest, and the closest to China. The Old Choson kingdom was overthrown in 190 BC by Wiman, an expatraite of one of the neighboring Chinese kingdoms. The Wiman Choson kingdom was in turn conquered by Han China in 108 BC and divided into 4 provincial commands. The Puyo and Chin kingdoms remained for some time.
By 200 AD the region we now consider Korea had coalesced into three kingdoms, the most powerful Koguryo in the north (founded in 37 BC), Silla in the south east (founded in 57 BC), and Paekje in the south west (founded in 18 BC). Sandwiched between Silla and Pachke in the central region of the southern coast were the Kaya federation of semi-independent city states. The ancient Chin empire evolved into the Paekje kingdom, Koguryo evolved from the Chinese provincial commands in the north, while Silla was the last to emerge. Final elimination of Chinese rule came in 313 AD when Koguryo drove the Chinese out of the last of the old Choson empire. Buddhism was the state religion of each of the kingdoms, while Confucianism formed the ethical foundation. To protect itself from the strong Koguryo kingdom to the north and the growing Silla strength to the east, Paekje allied itself with both China and Japan, thus forming a natural conduit for cultural exchange.
While Koguryo was initially the largest and most powerful, the Silla kingdom gradually increased in strength annexing first the Kaya federation, then Paekje, and finally incrementally overcoming Koguryo. To accomplish this, Silla allied itself with the new Chinese T'ang dynasty. Paekje fell in 660, and Koguryo in 668. Silla then drove out its former ally, the Chinese by 676. The result was the Unified Silla Dynasty. Much of the Silla kingdom success was based on the rise of the Hwarang (Flowering Youth) warrior class beginning in the mid 6th century. Predominantly the sons of the Silla elite, they were instructed in martial arts, warfare and strategy, social responsibility and grace, moral conduct and ethics. They were Buddhist. Their five great precepts, first enumerated by the Buddhist monk Won'gwang were loyalty to the king, filial piety, fidelity to and amicability among friends, valor and to never retreat in battle, and the evil of needless or indiscriminate killing. The Silla kingdom reached its peak in the 700s. During the 800s the Unified Silla kingdom began to fragment due to corruption and weak leadership. The kingdom split into a Later Koguryo, Later Paekje, and the remains of the Silla kingdom.
By 936 the peninsula had been reunified by the Later Koguryo kingdom, under the name of Koryo, leading to the present name of Korea. The Koryo dynasty lasted from 918 to 1392 and saw the rise of Buddhism as a central power in the dynasty. Toward the end, the Buddhists had amassed great wealth and were widely perceived as corrupt. The Mongols invaded in 1231, taking control of the empire. After that time, Koryo became a tribute state of the Mongols who ruled China as the Yuan dynasty. Several notable developments during this time included the completion of a wall across northern Korea from the mouth of the Amnok (Yalu) River to Hamhung, similar to the Great Wall of China. At the time of the Mongol invasion, the king ordered the production of the Koreana Tripitaka, the entire Buddhist canon in more than 80,000 hand carved wooden printing blocks. The printing blocks have survived to today and are kept at Haein-sa in Kyongsangnam-Do. Koryo was also obliged to aid the Mongols in their invasions of Japan in 1281, meeting destruction at the hands of a typhoon (kamakazi or divine wind to the Japanese).
In 1392 General Yi Song Gye took control of the peninsula, founding the Choson dynasty which would last until 1910. In reaction to the Buddhist corruption at the end of the Koryo dynasty, the power of the Buddhist monks was severely curtailed and appointments in government were based on merit, under a strongly Confucian system. Confucian schools were established to ensure a large pool of educated young men to serve in government. As a result, Korea is probably the most Confucian country in Asia today.
The most reknowned ruler of the Choson dynasty was undoubtedly King Sejong (1418-1450). He was truly a scholar king whose most important contribution was the development of the Korean Han'gul alphabet (1446), one of Korea's proudest achievments.
The Choson dynasty witnessed a number of invasions and hardships. The Japanese under Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea in the Imjin War from 1592-1598. After conquering much of southern Korea, the Japanese were finally evicted with the help of Chinese armies and brilliant Korean naval tactics, including the invention and use of Kobukson (Turtle) ships by Admiral Yi Sun-shin. Shortly after this crisis, the Manchus invaded in 1636 and obliged Korea to help them conquer China. As a result of these foreign depradations, Korea closed her doors to the outside world, leading to the moniker, the "Hermit Kingdom".
The various colonial powers, including the US, forced at least a partial opening of Korea in the 1800s. Japan, in her fight with Russia, forced an extremely lopsided "protection" treaty on Korea and formely annexedd Korea as a Japanese province in 1910, retaining complete control of Korea from then until the end of WWII. During this time, Japan tried to erradicate Korean culture in order to assimilate Korea (sort of like the US did to Native American tribes).
The ancient religion of Korea is Shamanism, brought to the peninsula from Mongolia and Siberia thousands of years ago. Taoism and Confucianism were introduced about 2000 years ago, with Buddhism following shortly thereafter. Buddhism originated in India in the 6th century BC with Siddhartha Gautama and was transmitted through China to Korea and eventually Japan. Buddhism became the state religion of Koguryo in 372, of Paekje in 384, and of Silla in 528. My outsider's interpretation of Buddhism is that it seeks to gain inner peace by learning to give up all attachements. In Buddhist thought, the source of unhappiness in this world is attachment, whether to material things, to position and prestige, or to others. By moving to a state of total acceptance and a lack of attachment, one achieves a state of Nirvana or inner peace. A good reference site to learn more about Buddhism is Buddha Net.
Confucious was an ancient Chinese scholar concerned with the development of a peaceful and well ordered society. To Confucius, the development of unambiguous priorities in human relationships was the basis of a well ordered society. The five important relationships in Confucian thought are ruler-subject, father-son, husband-wife, elder-junior, and friend-friend. With the exception of the last pair, each of these is a distinctly asymmetric relationship of higher to lower member of the pair. Confucianism strives for the ideals of loyalty, justice, knowledge, truth, virtue, piety, and decorum. This link is to a page which provides a Biography and overview of the teachings of Confucious.
| The present day South Korean flag or T'aegukki was first adopted by the Choson dynasty in 1883. The white background symbolizes the land of Korea, while the central circle represents the Korean people. The bars in the four corners represent its balanced government and philosophical underpinning. | |
The central T'aeguk circle is the classic Um and Yang. The Um (top red part representing male, strong, hard) and the Yang (bottom, female, soft, giving) are represented as inseparable portions of the whole. The circle is not split into two hemi-spheres by a straight line. Instead, as one of the two components swells and gains dominance, the other component recedes and diminishes. And yet the two are equal within the circle. There is constant tension between the opposites, and yet one is impossible without the other.
The bars in the corners are trigrams from ancient Taoist and Confucian thought. They represent opposite, yet harmonious aspects of nature. The three solid bars in the upper left corner represent heaven, east, spring, and generosity. Opposite this in the lower right corner are three split bars representing earth, west, summer, and righteouness. In the upper right corner are 2 split bars and one solid bar representing the moon, north, winter, and wisdom, while opposite this in the lower left corner are 2 solid bars and one split bar representing the sun, south, autumn, and courtesy.