Notes on the History of Korea
Korea has a long history, going back to Palaeolithic and Neolithic ages, which developed into a Bronze Age by 800 BC and on Iron Age by 400 BC.
By 2,333 BC the Old Gojoseon Kingdom ruled northern Korea and southern Manchuria (part of what became China), with the capital at Pyongyang.
In 194 BC there was a rebellion, and the Gojoseon Kingdom was supplanted by the Wiman Joseon, which in turn fell to the Han dynasty of China in 108 BC.
This was followed by a period of war between competing states, until they consolidated to form the Three Kingdoms of Korea (57 BC - AD 668). Further wars and divisions occurred, until the land was united under the Goryeo dynasty.
Under the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392), a civil service system was introduced, laws were codified, moveable metal type was invented, universities were founded, and Buddhism became influential.
In 1231 the Mongols began their invasions of Korea. Although the Mongols failed to conquer Korea, they did manage to gain the superiority and controlled the Goryeon dynasty. The Korean Crown Prince traveled to the court of Kublai Khan to swear allegiance, and married one of Kublai Khan's daughters.
After this the Goryeo dynasty was under the over-lordship of the Mongol Yuan dynasty of China, and both families intermarried through succeeding generations. All subsequent Korean kings married Mongol princesses, and a Korean princess became the last Yuan Empress.
During the 1350s the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China was plagued by internal struggles, and began to lose power. The Goryeos of Korea were able to drive out some of the Mongol military officials and drive off invasions by the Red Turbans in 1359 and 1360, and a Mongol invasion in 1364.
In 1388 General Yi Seong-gye led a coup which overthrew the Goryeo dynasty and in 1392 he established the Joseon dynasty (1392-1897) based on Confucian principles, and changed his name to Taejo.
In 1394 King Taejo made Neo-Confucianism the official religion of Korea, and turned the country into a bureaucratic state.
King Sejong the Great (reigned 1418-1450), the grandson of King Taejo, established monarchial authority, made many reforms in government, society, economics and education, and invented Hangul, the Korean writing system, in 1446.
The period 1592-1637 was very disturbed, with foreign invasions and internal factions, and the Joseon dynasty became increasingly isolationist and stagnant.
In 1592 and 1598 the Japanese under the leadership of Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea, but were driven back with the help of an army from Ming China.
However, the Japanese general had sent a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest and a monk with the army to act as chaplains to Christian Japanese soldiers. The chaplains not only took care of the Japanese soldiers, but also ministered to Korean prisoners and orphans. Although some of the Koreans became Christians, no churches were formed at that time.
In 1627 and 1636 the Manchu armies invaded, and were driven back. They went back to conquer China and founded the Qing dynasty of China. The Joseon dynasty of Korea submitted to the Qing of China.
As a result, Korean diplomats would be sent to China four times a year. The diplomats sent to Beijing began to meet with Jesuit priests, and to bring Roman Catholic literature back with them to Korea. Korean scholars started to read the books, and to discuss the teachings in comparison with Confucianism. One particular group of scholars, the Shilhak school, began to study Christianity and to ask for more books.
In 1783 the Korean diplomat Yi Gwang-Jeong (Lee Sung Hoon, or Yi Sung-hun) visited Beijing. A shilhak scholar named Yi Byok had asked him to contact the Jesuits in Beijing and get more books, which he did, and started to study Christianity with them. Yi Sung-hun became a Christian and was baptized (with the Christian name of Peter) in 1784. Yi Sung-hun retuned to Korea with Christian books written in Chinese. As a result, small groups of Koreans became Christians, a Roman Catholic 'Prayer House' was founded in 1784, and Yi Sung-hun appointed some lay-priests in 1786. The Vatican ruled against lay-priests, but was unable to get a priest to Korea until 1794, when a Chinese Roman Catholic priest was smuggled in to minister to the Korean Christians. The Korean government had a strict ruling that only Confucianism was permitted, and saw Christianity as a threat from the West.
In 1785 the Korean government moved against the Christians and imprisoned and tortured Kim Bom-u, who had allowed his house to be used for meetings. The Christians were scattered, and Kim Bom-u died after two years as a result of his tortures. He is regarded as the first Korean martyr.
However, the Christian scholars had started to write books about Christianity, written in Hangul rather than the Chinese characters which were difficult for Koreans to read, and the faith began to spread.
The Koreans are regarded as the only example of a people-group which evangelized themselves
Throughout the nineteenth century there were a number of revolts by the peasants of Korea, sparked by the corruption and extortion of the bureaucratic government.
The Joseon regime tried to close the borders of Korea to all nations except China, though some American sailors who were shipwrecked on Korea in 1855 and 1865 were treated well and sent to China for repatriation. The Joseon regime was aware of the Opium Wars of 1842 between China and Britain, and was wary of dealings with the West.
In 1866 the Joseon regime reacted against the growing influence of Christianity by increased persecution and a massacre of about 8,000 Roman Catholic Koreans (probably about half of the Christians in Korea at that time), and some French missionaries. This provoked an invasion by France, and further massacres of Christians by the Koreans.
Also in 1866 an American merchant ship tried to trade in Korea, and after several days of fighting the ship was burned by the Koreans.
The 1871 the USA retaliated by attacking one of the islands controlled by Korea, and killing several hundred Korean soldiers before withdrawing.
The Korean government and the King's father, who was acting as Regent, became more set on a policy of isolationism.
The period 1866-1895 was the reign of Queen Min of Korea.
The Empress Myeongseong, or Myung-Sung, also known as Queen Min, had been chosen to be the queen consort of the 15-year old Korean King Gojong in 1866. She was a 16-year-old orphan, and those in control thought that she would be easy to manipulate, and would have no family connections to take part in politics. She developed into a well-educated, assertive, ambitious young woman, and started to be involved in politics. By 1872 she had out-maneuvered the opposition, and had control of the court and her husband.
In 1873 King Gojong had reached the age of 22, and announced that he was going to rule. The Regent retired, and Queen Min took control and appointed members of her family to positions of power.
In 1873 the Meiji Restoration of the Emperor in Japan changed the balance of power in Japan. Japanese envoys were sent to Korea to announce the change, but Korea refused to accept them. In retaliation, the Japanese sent a gunboat (the usual way of enforcing territorial power at that time). The Koreans fired on the gunboat, the Japanese sent in more boats, and enforced a "treaty" which forced Korea to open its doors to Japan. Japanese merchants now had a monopoly of trade with Korea, and Korean merchants were at a bad disadvantage.
In 1877 and 1881 Queen Min sent Koreans to Japan to study the process of Westernization which Japan was undergoing after the Meiji Restoration. During the visit of 1881 the Koreans met up with the Chinese ambassador to Japan, and consulted with him on the best ways of counteracting Japanese aggression and the encroachments of Russia and the Western nations. Their conclusion was that Korea should still keep the ties to Japan - temporarily - but start to develop closer ties with China, and also with the USA as protection against Russia. The Chinese suggested that Koreans should go to Japan and China for study, and that Western teachers be invited to Korea.
Queen Min was in favor of opening up Korea to Western trade, education, and technology. Her plan was to use the Japanese as a help in modernizing Korea, but then to get the Western powers to drive them out of Korea.
Queen Min was opposed by most of the aristocracy, who feared both the Japanese and Roman Catholicism, which had been outlawed during the previous reign.
In 1876 Japan forced Korea to sign a trade treaty. Korea's policy of isolation was coming to an end.
In 1882 the Koreans signed a treaty with the USA which ended the isolationist policy of the Korean government. The treaty pledged both sides to mutual defense, and allowed for the entry of Christian missionaries into Korea. Shortly thereafter, Korea signed trade treaties with Great Britain (1883), Germany (1883), Russia (1884), Italy (1884), and France (1886).
In 1883 Protestant missionaries started to arrive, and started schools and educational work among the Koreans.
John Ross, a Scottish Presbyterian missionary in Manchuria, translated the Bible into Korean.
The Christians brought new ideas to Korea - increased literacy, more freedom for women and children, education for girls (who had previously been forbidden from schools), Western medicine and hospitals, opposition to polygamy, concubinage, child marriage, and the devaluing of daughters. This aroused opposition by the more conservative Confucian aristocracy.
In 1885 the British attacked and occupied one of the Korean islands, which they held for two years before withdrawing.
In 1894 Britain and Japan signed a Treaty of Commerce and Navigation - this included commerce with Korea, opened the way to further international relations, and expressed their intentions of blocking Russian expansion to the East.
In 1894 the Donghak Peasant Revolution frightened the Korean government so badly that it appealed to the Qing government of China for help. China sent some troops, and this angered the Japanese, who started the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), invaded Korea and the Chinese island of Tai-wan, and threw the Chinese out of Korea. Japan won the war, and became the dominant power in the Far East. The Chinese defeat eventually led to the Xinhai Revolution in China, led by Sun Yat-sen in 1911.
In 1895 Korea declared its independence from China, with King Gojon and Queen Min as Emperor and Empress. There were great steps to reform society - slavery and child marriage were abolished, social equality was established, the Western calendar was adopted, the Hangul script was made official for all government documents, education was strengthened, and there were reforms in land-ownership and taxation. Western dress was also introduced at this time - both for the court and the military.
Also in 1895 Queen Min asked for help from Russia against Japan. The Japanese authorities arranged for her to be brutally assassinated by Japanese soldiers. Korea rose up in revolt and armed rebellion. In 1896 King Gojon and the Crown Prince fled to the Russian Legation, where they stayed for a year before being able to get control of the country again.
In 1897 the formation of the Great Korean Empire was proclaimed by Emperor Gojon - but it only lasted until 1910.
In 1900, Russian Orthodox missionaries brought Eastern Orthodox Christianity to Korea, and gained a small group of converts.
In 1902 the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was signed between the British and Japanese governments, and drew Britain into the international affairs of the East. The treaty recognized both China and Korea as independent nations, but also indicated that Britain had primary interests in China while Japan's interests were particularly in Korea but also in China. The treaty was meant as a warning to Russia against invasion in the East, but some in Japan saw it as an opportunity for Japanese expansion into Korea and China. The USA and China were opposed to the Alliance, and the French and Russians signed their own pact for mutual defence. The Alliance opened up Japan for interactions with the West - Japanese went to England for further education, and brought Western technology and armaments to Japan.
In 1904 Japan and Korea signed a treaty, followed by a memorandum with William Howard Taft of the Roosevelt administration of the USA, which encouraged Japan to act as a suzerain to Korea in order to keep the peace in the Far East. (Japan was to be in control of Korea)
In 1905 Russia followed suit, by ending the Russo-Japanese War and signing a treaty with Japan which allowed Japan to take control of Korea.
In 1907 Emperor Gojon tried to send Korean delegates to the Hague Peace Conference (the Hague Convention of 1907). However, this was a breach of the 'Second Japan-Korea Convention' which Korea had been forced to sign with Japan in 1905. Although the Korean delegates to the Hague tried to present their case, they were over-ruled by the Western powers who thought that Japan should be in control. Emperor Gojon was forced to abdicate in favor of his son
In 1909 the Japanese Resident-General of Korea was assassinated by a Korean independence fighter, and Japan prepared to retaliate.
In 1910 Japan annexed Korea, forced another 'treaty', which ended the Korean Empire, and reduced Korea to the status of a Japanese colony. Japan remained in control for the next 35 years - until the end of WWII in 1945.
In 1914 Japan joined WWI on the side of Britain, attacked German bases in China, and grabbed German territories in the Pacific.
In 1919 the previous Emperor Gojon died under suspicious circumstances. Koreans rebelled against Japan and declared Korean independence. The 'Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea' was proclaimed, and the Korean Independence Army won some battles against the Japanese.
In 1923 the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902 was dissolved, in favor of forming the 'Four-Power Treaty' between the USA, Japan, Britain, and France, to provide for international relations in the Pacific. All the powers distrusted one another, and wanted to safeguard their own interests in the Pacific and the East.
In the 1930s Kim Il-sung, the future premier of North Korea, led an unsuccessful rebellion against Japanese occupation of Korea. He was exiled to the Soviet Union, and stayed there until the end of WWII
In 1932 there was an unsuccessful attempt by a Korean to assassinate Emperor Hirohito of Japan
In 1945, after WWII, control of Korea was taken from Japan, and the Allies divided the country into two - the northern area under the protection of the USSR, and the southern area under the protection of the USA and Allies. Formation of a single united government failed in 1948, when the Allied powers could not agree. Since then, the Korean peninsular has been divided at the 38th parallel, with the "Republic of Korea" in the South, and the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" in the North.
North Korea enforced Atheism as a state policy, which caused many Christians to flee to South Korea. The fate of those who remained is not known.
In 1950 Kim Il-sung, the Premier of Northern Korea, started the Korean War in his attempt to reunify Korea and impose communist rule over Southern Korea. In 1953 a cease-fire was declared, but North and South Korea are still technically at war.
In 1972 Kim Il-sung became the first President of North Korea; up until then he had been Premier, and General Secretary of the Workers' Party. He ruled as President for 46 years, until his death in 1994. After his death, the Presidency was left vacant, and in 1998 the Constitution was amended to abolish the Presidency and make Kim Il-sung 'Eternal President'. Running of the country was taken on by a 'Supreme Leader' - but Kim Il-sung had become the deity of a new religion for North Koreans.
In 1991 both North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and South Korea (Republic of Korea) joined the United Nations - as two separate nations.
In 1994 Kim Il-sung died, and his eldest son Kim Jong Il came to power in North Korea and remained in control until his death in 2011. Kim Jong Il had two wives and two mistresses, and at least five children. Kim Jong-Un was the second son of one of the mistresses.
In 2011 Kim Jong-Un became 'Supreme leader of North Korea' after the death of his father Kim Jong Il
In 2016 the constitution of North Korea was amended, to give the posthumous title of 'Eternal Leaders of Juche Korea' to 'Comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il' - Kim Jong Il had joined his father as a deity in the North Korean cult of personality.
In 2017 Kim Jong-Un's older brother, Kim Jong-nam, was assassinated with a chemical weapon while in the airport at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He had been critical of his brother's regime in North Korea. His family went into hiding outside North Korea.
Copyright © 2005 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
