South Korea

Unified Dynasties

Unified Dynasties

In 936, the Later Three Kingdoms were united by , a descendant of Goguryeo nobility, who established as the successor state of . Balhae had fallen to the in 926, and a decade later the fled south to Goryeo, where he was warmly welcomed and included into the ruling family by Wang Geon, thus unifying the two successor nations of Goguryeo. Like Silla, Goryeo was a highly cultural state, and invented the metal movable type . After defeating the Khitan Empire, which was the most powerful empire of its time, in the , Goryeo experienced a golden age that lasted a century, during which the was completed and there were great developments in printing and publishing, promoting learning and dispersing knowledge on philosophy, literature, religion, and science; by 1100, there were 12 universities that produced famous scholars and scientists. However, the in the 13th century greatly weakened the kingdom. Goryeo was never conquered by the Mongols, but exhausted after three decades of fighting, the Korean court sent its to the capital to swear allegiance to , who accepted, and married one of his daughters to the Korean crown prince. Henceforth, Goryeo continued to rule Korea, though as a tributary ally to the Mongols for the next 86 years. During this period, the two nations became intertwined as all subsequent Korean kings married Mongol princesses, and the of the Yuan dynasty was a Korean princess. In the mid-14th century, Goryeo drove out the Mongols to regain its northern territories, briefly conquered , and defeated invasions by the . However, in 1392, General , who had been ordered to attack China, turned his army around and staged a coup.

Yi Seong-gye declared the new name of Korea as "Joseon" in reference to Gojoseon, and moved the capital to Hanseong (one of the old names of ). The first 200 years of the Joseon dynasty were marked by peace, and saw great advancements in science and education, as well as the creation of by to promote literacy among the common people. The prevailing ideology of the time was , which was epitomized by the class: nobles who passed up positions of wealth and power to lead lives of study and integrity. Between 1592 and 1598, launched , but his advance was halted by Korean forces (most notably the led by Admiral and his renowned "") with assistance from militias formed by Korean civilians, and Chinese troops. Through a series of successful battles of attrition, the Japanese forces were eventually forced to withdraw, and relations between all parties became normalized. However, the took advantage of Joseon's war-weakened state and in 1627 and 1637, and then went on to the destabilized Ming dynasty. After normalizing relations with the new , Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of peace. Kings and particularly led a new renaissance of the Joseon dynasty during the 18th century. In the 19th century, the royal in-law families gained control of the government, leading to mass corruption and weakening of the state, and severe poverty and peasant rebellions throughout the country. Furthermore, the Joseon government adopted a strict isolationist policy, earning the nickname "the ", but ultimately failed to protect itself against and was forced to open its borders. After the and the , Korea was (1910–45). At the end of , the Japanese surrendered to Soviet and U.S. forces who occupied the northern and southern halves of Korea, respectively.