Korea: Difference between revisions

| population_estimate = 7877,039000,165000

| population_estimate_year = 20232017

'''Korea''' ({{lang-ko|한국|translit=Hanguk}} in South Korea, or {{lang-ko|조선|translit=Chosŏn|label=none}} in North Korea) is a [[peninsula]]r region in [[East Asia]] consisting of the '''Korean Peninsula''' ({{lang-ko|한반도|translit=Hanbando|label=none}} in South Korea, or {{lang-ko|조선반도|translit=Chosŏnbando|label=none}} in North Korea), [[Jeju Island]], and smaller islands. Since the end of [[World War II]] in 1945, it has been politically [[Division of Korea|divided]] at or near the [[38th parallel north|38th parallel]],; now known as the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone]]. Inin 1948, two states declared independence, both claiming [[sovereignty]] over allthe ofentire Korearegion: [[SouthNorth Korea]] (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) comprisingin its southernnorthern half and [[NorthSouth Korea]] (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; ROK) comprisingin itsthe northernsouth, half.which The region consists offought the '''Korean Peninsula''', [[JejuKorean IslandWar]], andfrom minor1950 islandsto near the peninsula1953. The peninsularegion is bordered by [[China]] to the north and [[Russia]] to the northeast, across the [[Yalu River|Amnok]] (Yalu) and [[Tumen River|Duman]] (Tumen) rivers., Itand is separated from [[Japan]] to the southeast by the [[Korea Strait]].

RadiocarbonKnown dateshuman forhabitation Paleolithicof sitesthe foundKorean inpeninsula Korea indicate human presence backdates to about 40,000 BC.<ref>Bae, Kidong. 2002 Radiocarbon Dates from Palaeolithic Sites in Korea. ''Radiocarbon'' 44(2): 473–476.</ref> The firstkingdom state to emerge wasof [[Gojoseon]], which according to tradition was founded in 2333 BC, fell to the [[Han Dynastydynasty]] in 108 BC. DuringIt was followed by the first[[Three halfKingdoms of theKorea|Three 1stKingdoms]] millenniumperiod, in which Korea was divided between three states,into [[Goguryeo]], [[Baekje]], and [[Silla]], known as the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]]. In the668 late 7th centuryAD, Silla conquered Baekje and Goguryeo with the aid of the [[Tang Dynastydynasty]], and drove the Tang out of Korea during theforming [[Unified Silla-Tang War]]. Meanwhile,; [[Balhae,]] formed bysucceeded Goguryeo remnantsin andthe Mohenorth. people,In succeededthe Goguryeolate in9th thecentury, north. [[Unified Silla]] collapsed into three states due to [[civil war]], known asbeginning the [[Later Three Kingdoms]] period. In 918, Goguryeo was resurrected as [[Goryeo]], andwhich achieved what has been called a "true national unification" by Korean historians, as it notunified only unifiedboth the Later Three Kingdoms but also succeeded in unifyingand the tworuling successor states of Goguryeo when the last crown princeclass of Balhae and much ofafter its ruling class fled to Goryeo after Balhae's fall.<ref name=":5">{{cite web |title=발해 유민 포섭 |url=http://contents.history.go.kr/front/hm/view.do?treeId=010401&tabId=01&levelId=hm_045_0020 |website=우리역사넷 |publisher=[[National Institute of Korean History]] |access-date=13 March 2019 |language=ko}}</ref> Goryeo whose name developed into the modern [[exonym]] "Korea", was highly cultured and created the world's first [[Movable type|metal movable type]] in 1234.<ref name="print_a">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Korean Metal Movable Type|encyclopedia=World Treasures: Beginnings|url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/world/world-record.html#obj152|publisher=Library of Congress|accessarchive-date=1927 DecemberMarch 2018|date=29 July 2010}}</ref><ref name="print_b">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Korean Classics|encyclopedia=Library of Congress Asian Collections: 2007 Illustrated Guide|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/asian/guide2007/guide-korean.html|year=2007|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=19 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="print_c">{{cite web|title=Gutenberg Bible|url=http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item100565.html|website=British Library|publisher=The British Library Board|access-date=19 August 2016|archive-date=25 October2019 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/2016102503315920190327091033/http://wwwcontents.blhistory.ukgo.kr/learningfront/timelinehm/item100565view.htmldo?treeId=010401&tabId=01&levelId=hm_045_0020 |url-status=deadlive }}</ref><ref name="print_d">{{cite web|title=KoreaGoryeo, 1000–1400whose A.D.name {{!}}developed Chronologyinto {{!}}the Heilbrunnmodern Timeline[[exonym]] of"Korea", Artwas Historyhighly {{!}}cultured Theand Metropolitansaw Museum of Art|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/07/eak.html|website=The Met's Heilbrunnthe Timelineinvention of Artthe History|publisher=Thefirst Metropolitan[[Movable Museum of Arttype|access-date=19metal August 2016}}</ref><ref name="print_e">{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Movablemovable type|url=http://www]].oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100213284|encyclopedia=Oxford Reference|publisher=OxfordDuring Universitythe Press|access-date=1913th December 2018}}</ref><ref name="print_f">{{cite book|last1=Ebrey|first1=Patricia Buckley|last2=Walthall|first2=Anne|title=East Asia: A Culturalcentury, Social,[[Goryeo andunder PoliticalMongol Historyrule|publisher=CengageGoryeo Learning|isbn=978-1285528670|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfkWAAAAQBAJ|language=en|date=1became Januarya 2013}}</ref>vassal Duringstate]] the 13th century,of the [[Mongol Empire]] madeand [[GoryeoYuan under Mongol rule|Goryeo its vassal statedynasty]]. Although Goryeo overthrew Mongol rule, itbefore fellfalling to a coup led by General [[Yi Seong-gye]], who established the [[Joseon]] dynasty in 1392. The first 200 years of Joseon were marked by peace,; the [[Hangul|Korean alphabet]] was created and [[Confucianism]] became influential. However, thisThis ended with [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)|Japanese]] and [[Qing invasion of Joseon|Qing invasions]], which brought devastation to Joseon and led to Korean isolationism. After the invasions, Joseon experienced another nearly 200-year period of peace and prosperity, along with cultural and technological development. In the final years of the 19th century, Joseon experienced turmoil such as the [[Gapsin Coup]], [[Donghak Peasant Revolution]], and the [[assassination of Empress Myeongseong]]. In 1897, the [[Korean Empire]] was established to protect Korean independence. However, following Japan's victories in the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] and [[Russo-Japanese War]], Japan [[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910|annexed it altogether in 1910]].

In[[Korea 1945under Japanese rule]] was marked by industrialization and modernization, Japaneconomic relinquishedexploitation, controland afterbrutal Worldsuppression Warof IIthe [[Korean independence movement]], as reflected in the 1919 [[March First Movement]]. The Japanese suppressed Korean culture, and during [[SovietWorld UnionWar II]] andforcefully Unitedmobilized Statesmillions agreedof Koreans to temporarilysupport occupyits Koreawar toeffort. disarmIn Japanese1945, forces[[Surrender of Japan|Japan surrendered to the Allies]], withand the 38th[[Soviet parallelUnion]] servingand as[[United theStates]] dividingagreed line.to Thedivide USKorea tookinto controltwo ofmilitary occupation zones divided by the southern38th halfparallel, whilewith the Soviet Unionzone tookin the northernnorth and American zone in the south. ThisThe division was meant to be temporary, with plans for Korea to be reunited under a single government. TensionsIn between1948, the twoDPRK Koreasand resultedROK inwere Northestablished Koreawith invadingthe Southbacking Koreaof each power, and ongoing tensions led to the outbreak of the [[Korean War]] in 1950, which came to involve [[United Nations Command|U.S.-led WithUnited involvementNations]] ofand foreign[[People's troops,Liberation theArmy|communist Chinese]] forces. The war ended in stalemate in 1953, but without a peace treaty. A [[Korean Demilitarized Zone|A demilitarized zone]] was created between the countries, approximating the original partition.

"Korea" is the modern spelling of "Corea", a name attested in English as early as 1614.<ref name=oed>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/104363|title=Korean|access-date=20 December 2013|archive-date=7 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007013815/https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/104363|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=youtube on 'Korea? Corea?'|website = [[YouTube]]| date=12 January 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuc3qigGDpc| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/tuc3qigGDpc| archive-date=11 December 2021 | url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> "Corea" is derived from the name of the ancient kingdom of [[Goryeo]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Korea |date=2023-06-07 |url=https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Korea&oldid=73380890 |work=Wiktionary |access-date=2023-06-13 |language=en |archive-date=13 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613025515/https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Korea&oldid=73380890 |url-status=live }}</ref> Korea was [[Romanization of Chinese|transliterated]] as ''Cauli'' in ''[[The Travels of Marco Polo]]'',<ref>{{cite book|last=Haw|first=Stephen G.|title=Marco Polo's China: A Venetian in the Realm of Khubilai Khan|date=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781134275427|pages=4–5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DSfvfr8VQSEC&pg=PA4|access-date=29 September 2017|language=en}}</ref> of the [[Chinese language|Chinese]] {{lang|zh|高麗}} (<small>[[Middle Chinese|MC]]</small>: ''Kawlej'',<ref name=baxsag>Baxter, William & al. "[http://crlao.ehess.fr/docannexe.php?id=1207 Baxter–Sagart Old Chinese Reconstruction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927141238/http://crlao.ehess.fr/docannexe.php?id=1207 |date=27 September 2013 }}", pp. 43, 58 & 80. 20 February 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2013.</ref> <small>[[Standard Mandarin|mod.]]</small> ''Gāolì''). This was the [[Hanja]] for the Korean kingdom of [[Goryeo]] ({{Korean|hangul=고려|mr=Koryŏ}}), which ruled most of the Korean peninsula during the 12th century. Korea's introduction to the West resulted from trade and contact with merchants from Arabic lands,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Till|first1=Geoffrey|last2=Bratton|first2=Patrick|title=Sea Power and the Asia-Pacific: The Triumph of Neptune?|date=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136627248|page=145|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RxOpAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA145|access-date=29 September 2017|language=en}}</ref> with some records dating back as far as the 9th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Seung-Yong|first=Yunn|title=Religious culture in Korea|date=1996|publisher=Hollym|page=99|isbn=9781565910843|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tvcQAQAAIAAJ|access-date=29 September 2017|language=en}}</ref> Goryeo's name was a continuation of [[Goguryeo]] (Koguryŏ) the northernmost of the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]], which was officially known as Goryeo beginning in the 5th century.<ref>{{cite web|title=디지털 삼국유사 사전, 박물지 시범개발|url=https://www.culturecontent.com/content/contentView.do?search_div=CP_THE&search_div_id=CP_THE004&cp_code=rp0703&index_id=rp07032340&content_id=rp070309330002&print=Y|website=문화콘텐츠닷컴|publisher=Korea Creative Content Agency|access-date=6 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119100108/https://www.culturecontent.com/content/contentView.do?search_div=CP_THE&search_div_id=CP_THE004&cp_code=rp0703&index_id=rp07032340&content_id=rp070309330002&print=Y|archive-date=19 November 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> The original name was a combination of the adjectives ("high, lofty") with the name of a local [[Yemaek]] tribe, whose original name is thought to have been either "''Guru"'' ({{lang-ko|溝樓|lit=Walled City|label=none}}, inferred from some toponyms in Chinese historical documents) or "''Gauri"'' ({{lang-ko|가우리|lit=Center|label=none}}). With expanding British and American trade following the [[opening of Korea]] in the late 19th century, the spelling "Korea" appeared and gradually grew in popularity.<ref name=oed/> The name Korea is now commonly used in English contexts by both North and South Korea.

In [[South Korea]], Korea as a whole is referred to as {{transliteration|ko|Hanguk}} ({{Korean|hangul=한국|labels=no|lit=country of the ''[[Samhan|Han]]''}}, {{IPA-|ko|haːnɡuk|}}). The name references ''[[Samhan]]'', referring to the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]], not the ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula.<ref>{{cite web |last1=이기환 |title=[이기환의 흔적의 역사]국호논쟁의 전말{{nbsp}}... 대한민국이냐 고려공화국이냐 |url=http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201708300913001&code=960100&www |website=[[Kyunghyang Shinmun]] |publisher=[[Kyunghyang Shinmun]] |access-date=2 July 2018 |language=ko |date=30 August 2017 |archive-date=12 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812154305/http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201708300913001&code=960100&www |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Deok-il |title=[이덕일 사랑] 대~한민국 |url=http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2008/08/14/2008081401512.html |work=[[The Chosun Ilbo]] |access-date=2 July 2018 |language=ko |archive-date=19 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119100109/http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2008/08/14/2008081401512.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Although written in Hanja as {{lang|zh|韓}}, {{lang|zh|幹}}, or {{lang|zh|刊}}, this ''Han'' has no relation to the Chinese place names or peoples who used those characters but was a [[transcription into Chinese|phonetic transcription]] (<small>[[Old Chinese|OC]]</small>: [[reconstruction of Old Chinese|*]]''Gar'', <small>[[Middle Chinese|MC]]</small>: ''Han''<ref name=baxsag/> or ''Gan'') of a native Korean word that seems to have had the meaning "big" or "great", particularly in reference to leaders. It has been tentatively linked with the title ''[[khan (title)|khan]]'' used by the nomads of [[Manchuria]] and [[Central Asia]].

In [[North Korea]], Korea as a whole is referred to as {{transliteration|ko|Joseon}} ({{Korean|hangul=조선|labels=no|lit=[land of the] Morning Calm}}, {{IPA-|ko|tɕosʰʌn|}}). {{transliteration|ko|Joseon}} is the modern Korean pronunciation of the Hanja {{lang|ko-Hant|朝鮮}}, which is also the basis of the word for Korea as a whole in [[Japan]] ({{Lang-ja|朝鮮|translit=Chōsen|label=none}}), [[China]] ({{Zh|t=朝鮮|p=Cháoxiǎn|labels=no}}), and [[Vietnam]] ({{lang|vi|Triều Tiên}}). "Great [[Joseon]]" was the name of the kingdom ruled by the [[House of Yi|Joseon dynasty]] from 1392 until their declaration of the short-lived [[Great Korean Empire]] in 1897. [[Taejo of Joseon|King Taejo]] had named them for the earlier [[Gojoseon]] ({{lang|ko|고조선}}), who ruled northern Korea from its legendary [[prehistory of Korea|prehistory]] until their conquest in 108 BCE by China's [[Han Empire]]. The ''Go-'' in Gojoseon is the Hanja word {{lang|ko|古}} and simply means "ancient" or "old"; it is a modern usage to distinguish the ancient Joseon from the later dynasty. It is unclear whether {{transliteration|ko|Joseon}} was a [[transcription into Chinese|transcription]] of a native Korean name (<small>[[Old Chinese|OC]]</small> [[reconstruction of Old Chinese|*]]''T[r]awser'', <small>[[Middle Chinese|MC]]</small> ''Trjewsjen'')<ref name=baxsag/> or a partial translation into Chinese of the Korean capital [[Asadal]] ({{lang|ko|아사달}}),{{refn|First attested in the 13th-century ''[[Samguk Yusa]]'' as {{lang|zh|阿斯達}} (<small>[[middle Chinese|MC]] ''Asjedat''</small><ref name=baxsag/>). The name is credited to the 6th-century ''[[Book of Wei]]'' but does not appear in surviving passages.}} whose meaning has been reconstructed as "Morning Land" or "Mountain".

The Korean Academy claimed ancient hominid fossils originating from about 100,000 BCE in the lava at a stone city site in Korea. Fluorescent and high-magnetic analyses indicate the volcanic fossils may be from as early as 300,000 BCE.<ref>{{cite web | last = Li | first = Jie | url = http://www.pureinsight.org/node/1065 | title = Some Discoveries of Fossils and Relics of Prehistoric Civilizations From Around the World | publisher = Pureinsight | date = 21 August 2002 | access-date = 3 November 2009 | archive-date = 12 October 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081012164208/http://www.pureinsight.org/node/1065 | url-status = live }}</ref> The best preserved Korean pottery goes back to the [[paleolithic]] times around 10,000 BCE and the [[Neolithic]] period begins around 6000 BCE.

The [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]] consisted of [[Goguryeo]], [[Silla]], and [[Baekje]]. Silla and Baekje controlled the southern half of the [[Korean Peninsula]], maintaining the former [[Samhan]] territories, while Goguryeo controlled the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria and the [[Liaodong Peninsula]], uniting [[Buyeo]], [[Okjeo]], [[Eastern Ye|Dongye]], and other states in the former [[Gojoseon]] territories.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/history.htm |title= Korea | publisher = Asian info | access-date= 3 November 2009 |archive-date=4 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204050220/http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/history.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Goguryeo]] was a highly militaristic state,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Ki-baek|title=A New History of Korea|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674615762|pages=23–24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA23|access-date=21 November 2016|language=en|year=1984}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Walker|first1=Hugh Dyson|title=East Asia: A New History|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=9781477265161|page=104|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Z3a0NU4RHMC|language=en|date=2012|access-date=21 November 2016|archive-date=18 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818181135/https://books.google.com/books?id=3Z3a0NU4RHMC|url-status=live}}{{self-published source|date=September 2020}}</ref> and a large empire in East Asia,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Roberts|first1=John Morris|last2=Westad|first2=Odd Arne|title=The History of the World|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199936762|page=443|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A2cfZkU5aQgC&q=koguryo+powerful+empire|access-date=15 July 2016|language=en|year=2013|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234403/https://books.google.com/books?id=A2cfZkU5aQgC&q=koguryo+powerful+empire|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Gardner|first=Hall|title=Averting Global War: Regional Challenges, Overextension, and Options for American Strategy|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9780230608733|pages=158–159|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=acvGAAAAQBAJ&q=great+powers|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417203941/https://books.google.com/books?id=acvGAAAAQBAJ&q=great+powers|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2021|access-date=15 July 2016|language=en|date=27 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=de Laet|first=Sigfried J.|title=History of Humanity: From the seventh to the sixteenth century|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=9789231028137|page=1133|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PvlthkbFU1UC&pg=PA1133|access-date=10 October 2016|language=en|year=1994|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234404/https://books.google.com/books?id=PvlthkbFU1UC&pg=PA1133|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Walker">{{cite book|last=Walker|first=Hugh Dyson|title=East Asia: A New History|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=9781477265178|pages=6–7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBvRs-za0CIC&pg=PA6|access-date=18 November 2016|language=en|date=20 November 2012}}{{self-published source|date=September 2020}}</ref> reaching its zenith in the 5th century when its territories expanded to encompass most of Manchuria to the north, parts of [[Inner Mongolia]] to the west,<ref>{{cite book|last=Tudor|first=Daniel|title=Korea: The Impossible Country: The Impossible Country|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=9781462910229|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BA_QAgAAQBAJ&q=Inner+Mongolia|access-date=15 July 2016|language=en|date=10 November 2012|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234917/https://books.google.com/books?id=BA_QAgAAQBAJ&q=Inner+Mongolia|url-status=live}}</ref> parts of Russia to the east,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kotkin|first1=Stephen|last2=Wolff|first2=David|title=Rediscovering Russia in Asia: Siberia and the Russian Far East: Siberia and the Russian Far East|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317461296|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_DqBgAAQBAJ&q=Koguryo+Siberia+Russia%27s|access-date=15 July 2016|language=en|date=4 March 2015}}</ref> and the Seoul region to the south.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kim|first=Jinwung|title=A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict|date=2012|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington, Indiana|isbn=978-0253000781|page=35|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&pg=PA35|access-date=15 July 2016|language=en|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234408/https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&pg=PA35|url-status=live}}</ref> Goguryeo experienced a golden age under [[Gwanggaeto the Great]] and his son [[Jangsu of Goguryeo|Jangsu]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Hyŏn-hŭi|last2=Pak|first2=Sŏng-su|last3=Yun|first3=Nae-hyŏn|title=New history of Korea|publisher=Jimoondang|isbn=9788988095850|page=201|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KO8MAQAAMAAJ|language=en|year=2005|access-date=29 July 2016|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234407/https://books.google.com/books?id=KO8MAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} "He launched a military expedition to expand his territory, opening the golden age of Goguryeo."</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hall|first=John Whitney|title=The Cambridge History of Japan|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521223522|page=362|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A3_6lp8IOK8C|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|year=1988}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Embree|first=Ainslie Thomas|title=Encyclopedia of Asian history|publisher=Scribner|isbn=9780684188997|page=324|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LtwpAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Nevertheless%2C+the+reigns+of+Kwanggaet%27o+and+his+successor+Changsu+%28413-491%29+constituted+the+golden+age+of+Koguryo.%22|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|year=1988|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328145304/https://books.google.com/books?id=LtwpAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Nevertheless%2C+the+reigns+of+Kwanggaet%27o+and+his+successor+Changsu+%28413-491%29+constituted+the+golden+age+of+Koguryo.%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Cohen|first=Warren I.|title=East Asia at the Center: Four Thousand Years of Engagement with the World|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231502511|page=50|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Okjd2rDwb8IC&q=%22Koguryo%27s+Golden+Age%22|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=20 December 2000|archive-date=4 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204041023/https://books.google.com/books?id=Okjd2rDwb8IC&q=%22Koguryo%27s+Golden+Age%22|url-status=live}}</ref> who both subdued Baekje and Silla during their times, achieving a brief unification of the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]] and becoming the most dominant power on the Korean Peninsula.<ref name="Jinwung">{{cite book|last=Kim|first=Jinwung|title=A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253000781|page=35|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&pg=PA35|access-date=11 October 2016|language=en|date=5 November 2012|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234408/https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&pg=PA35|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kings and Queens of Korea|url=http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/archive/program/program_dynasty.htm?no=10039827|website=KBS World Radio|publisher=Korea Communications Commission|access-date=26 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828051916/http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/archive/program/program_dynasty.htm?no=10039827|archive-date=28 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In addition to contesting for control of the Korean Peninsula, Goguryeo had many [[Military history of Goguryeo|military conflicts]] with various Chinese dynasties,<ref>{{cite book|last=Walker|first=Hugh Dyson|title=East Asia: A New History|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=9781477265178|page=161|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBvRs-za0CIC&pg=PA161|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|date=20 November 2012}}{{self-published source|date=September 2020}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=June 2020}} most notably the [[Goguryeo–Sui War]], in which Goguryeo defeated a huge force said to number over a million men.<ref>{{cite book|last1=White|first1=Matthew|title=Atrocities: The 100 Deadliest Episodes in Human History|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=9780393081923|page=78|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0-fQHlaIpR4C&pg=PA78|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|date=7 November 2011|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234918/https://books.google.com/books?id=0-fQHlaIpR4C&pg=PA78|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Grant|first1=Reg G.|title=1001 Battles That Changed the Course of World History|publisher=Universe Pub.|isbn=9780789322333|page=104|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s4njwZGrZg4C&pg=PA104|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|year=2011|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005647/https://books.google.com/books?id=s4njwZGrZg4C&pg=PA104|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bedeski|first1=Robert|title=Human Security and the Chinese State: Historical Transformations and the Modern Quest for Sovereignty|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781134125975|page=90|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iNl9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA90|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|date=12 March 2007|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234920/https://books.google.com/books?id=iNl9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA90|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Ki-baek|title=A New History of Korea|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674615762|page=47|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA47|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|year=1984|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234931/https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA47|url-status=live}} "Koguryŏ was the first to open hostilities, with a bold assault across the Liao River against Liao-hsi, in 598. The Sui emperor, Wen Ti, launched a retaliatory attack on Koguryŏ but met with reverses and turned back in mid-course. Yang Ti, the next Sui emperor, proceeded in 612 to mount an invasion of unprecedented magnitude, marshalling a huge force said to number over a million men. And when his armies failed to take Liao-tung Fortress (modern Liao-yang), the anchor of Koguryŏ's first line of defense, he had a nearly a third of his forces, some 300,000 strong, break off the battle there and strike directly at the Koguryŏ capital of P'yŏngyang. But the Sui army was lured into a trap by the famed Koguryŏ commander Ŭlchi Mundŏk, and suffered a calamitous defeat at the Salsu (Ch'ŏngch'ŏn) River. It is said that only 2,700 of the 300,000 Sui soldiers who had crossed the Yalu survived to find their way back, and the Sui emperor now lifted the siege of Liao-tung Fortress and withdrew his forces to China proper. Yang Ti continued to send his armies against Koguryŏ but again without success, and before long his war-weakened empire crumbled."</ref><ref name="Nahm">{{cite book|last1=Nahm|first1=Andrew C.|title=A Panorama of 5000 Years: Korean History|date=2005|publisher=Hollym International Corporation|location=Seoul|isbn=978-0930878689|page=[https://archive.org/details/panoramaof5000ye0000nahm/page/18 18]|edition=Second revised|url=https://archive.org/details/panoramaof5000ye0000nahm/page/18}} "China, which had been split into many states since the early 3rd century, was reunified by the Sui dynasty at the end of the 6th century. Soon afterward, Sui China mobilized its army and invaded Koguryŏ. However, the people of Koguryŏ were united and able to repel the Chinese invasion. In 612, Sui troops invaded Korea again, but Koguryŏ forces fought bravely and destroyed Sui troops everywhere. General Ŭlchi Mundŏk of Koguryŏ completely wiped out some 300,000 Sui troops which came across the Yalu River in the battles near the Salsu River (now Ch'ŏngch'ŏn River) with his ingenious military tactics. Only 2,700 Sui troops were able to flee from Korea. The Sui dynasty, which wasted so much energy and manpower in aggressive wars against Koguryŏ, fell in 618."</ref> In 642, the powerful general [[Yeon Gaesomun]] led a coup and gained complete control over Goguryeo. In response, Emperor [[Tang Taizong]] of China led a [[First conflict of the Goguryeo–Tang War|campaign against Goguryeo]], but was defeated and retreated.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tucker|first1=Spencer C.|title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East [6 volumes]: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781851096725|page=406|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC|language=en|date=23 December 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Walker|first1=Hugh Dyson|title=East Asia: A New History|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=9781477265178|page=161|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBvRs-za0CIC&pg=PA161|access-date=4 November 2016|language=en|date=20 November 2012}}{{self-published source|date=September 2020}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=June 2020}} After the death of Tang Taizong, his son Emperor [[Tang Gaozong]] allied with the Korean kingdom of Silla and invaded Goguryeo again, but was unable to overcome Goguryeo's stalwart defences and was defeated in 662.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ring|first1=Trudy|last2=Watson|first2=Noelle|last3=Schellinger|first3=Paul|title=Asia and Oceania: International Dictionary of Historic Places|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136639791|page=486|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=voerPYsAB5wC&q=stalwart+defenses|access-date=16 July 2016|language=en|date=12 November 2012|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234935/https://books.google.com/books?id=voerPYsAB5wC&q=stalwart+defenses|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Maps">{{cite book|last1=Injae|first1=Lee|last2=Miller|first2=Owen|last3=Jinhoon|first3=Park|last4=Hyun-Hae|first4=Yi|title=Korean History in Maps|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107098466|page=29|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46OTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|access-date=17 July 2016|language=en|date=15 December 2014|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234923/https://books.google.com/books?id=46OTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|url-status=live}}</ref> However, Yeon Gaesomun died of a natural cause in 666 and Goguryeo was thrown into chaos and weakened by a succession struggle among his sons and younger brother, with his eldest son defecting to [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] and his younger brother defecting to Silla.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Ki-baek|title=A New History of Korea|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674615762|page=67|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA67|access-date=2 August 2016|language=en|year=1984|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234925/https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA67|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea, 2nd Edition|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781610695824|page=49|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgxvBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA49|access-date=17 July 2016|language=en|date=30 May 2014}}</ref> The Tang-Silla alliance finally conquered Goguryeo in 668. After the collapse of Goguryeo, Tang and Silla ended their alliance and fought over control of the Korean Peninsula. Silla succeeded in gaining control over most of the Korean Peninsula, while Tang gained control over Goguryeo's northern territories. However, 30 years after the fall of Goguryeo, a Goguryeo general by the name of [[Dae Joyeong]] founded the Korean-Mohe state of [[Balhae]] and successfully expelled the Tang presence from much of the former Goguryeo territories.

The southwestern Korean kingdom of [[Baekje]] was founded around modern-day [[Seoul]] by a [[Onjo of Baekje|Goguryeo prince]], a son of the [[Dongmyeong of Goguryeo|founder of Goguryeo]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pratt|first1=Chairman Department of East Asian Studies Keith|last2=Pratt|first2=Keith|last3=Rutt|first3=Richard|title=Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136793936|page=135|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r15cAgAAQBAJ&q=%22prince+of+Koguryo%22|access-date=22 July 2016|language=en|date=16 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Yu|first1=Chai-Shin|title=The New History of Korean Civilization|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=9781462055593|page=27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYKNdiDCGLAC&pg=PA27|access-date=22 July 2016|language=en|year=2012|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005648/https://books.google.com/books?id=TYKNdiDCGLAC&pg=PA27|url-status=live}}{{self-published source|date=September 2020}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=June 2020}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Jinwung|title=A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253000781|page=28|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&q=%22son+of+Chumong%22|access-date=22 July 2016|language=en|date=5 November 2012}}</ref> Baekje absorbed all of the [[Mahan confederacy|Mahan]] states and subjugated most of the western Korean peninsula (including the modern provinces of [[Gyeonggi]], [[Chungcheong-do|Chungcheong]], and [[Jeolla]], as well as parts of [[Hwanghae]] and [[Gangwon-do (South Korea)|Gangwon]]) to a centralised government; during the expansion of its territory, Baekje acquired Chinese culture and technology through maritime contacts with the [[Southern Dynasties]]. Baekje was a great maritime power;<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ebrey|first1=Patricia Buckley|last2=Walthall|first2=Anne|last3=Palais|first3=James B.|title=East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|isbn=9780618133840|page=123|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0entAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Paekche+was+probably+the+most+important+maritime+nation+in+the+late+fourth+century%22|access-date=12 September 2016|language=en|year=2006|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328145155/https://books.google.com/books?id=0entAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Paekche+was+probably+the+most+important+maritime+nation+in+the+late+fourth+century%22|url-status=live}}</ref> its nautical skill, which made it the [[Phoenicia]] of East Asia, was instrumental in the dissemination of Buddhism throughout East Asia and continental culture to Japan.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kitagawa|first1=Joseph|title=The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136875908|page=348|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fyzAAAAQBAJ|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=5 September 2013|archive-date=3 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703151449/https://books.google.com/books?id=9fyzAAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Ebrey|first1=Patricia Buckley|last2=Walthall|first2=Anne|last3=Palais|first3=James B.|title=East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1111808150|page=104|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CWE8AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA104|access-date=12 September 2016|language=en|year=2013|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005701/https://books.google.com/books?id=CWE8AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA104|url-status=live}}</ref> Historic evidence suggests that Japanese culture, art, and language were influenced by the kingdom of Baekje and Korea itself;<ref name="Walker" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Griffis|first1=William Elliot|title=Corea, Without and Within: Chapters on Corean History, Manners and Religion|year=1885|publisher=Presbyterian Board of Publication|url=https://archive.org/details/coreawithoutwith00grif_0|page=[https://archive.org/details/coreawithoutwith00grif_0/page/251 251]|quote=Corea was not only the road by which the art of China reached Japan, but it is the original home of many of the art-ideas which the world believes to be purely Japanese..|access-date=25 September 2016|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | publisher = [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] | title = Yayo | url = http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/yayo/hd_yayo.htm | quote = Metallurgy was also introduced from the Asian mainland during this time. Bronze and iron were used to make weapons, armor, tools, and ritual implements such as bells (dotaku) | access-date = 17 July 2011 | archive-date = 4 January 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200104161858/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/yayo/hd_yayo.htm | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | newspaper = [[Choson Sinbo]]| publisher = Korea NP | title = Kitora Tomb Originates in Koguryo Murals | place = [[Japan|JP]] | last = Chon | first = Ho Chon | url = http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/035th_issue/98032502.htm | issue = 35 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120226023335/http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/035th_issue/98032502.htm | archive-date = 26 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/japan/yayoi/yayoi.html |publisher=MNSU |title=eMuseum |contribution=Yayoi |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226121349/http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/japan/yayoi/yayoi.html |archive-date=26 February 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2131.html | title = Japanese history: Jomon, Yayoi, Kofun | publisher = Japan guide | date = 9 June 2002 | access-date = 21 May 2012 | archive-date = 19 November 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181119100114/https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2131.html | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asiasocietymuseum.com/ |title=Asia Society: The Collection in Context |publisher=Asia society museum |access-date=21 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090919042244/http://www.asiasocietymuseum.com/ |archive-date=19 September 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Pottery – MSN Encarta |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761568150_4/Pottery.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029161656/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761568150_4/Pottery.html |archive-date=29 October 2009 |url-status=dead}} "The pottery of the Yayoi culture ({{c.|lk=no|300}} BCE – CE {{c.|lk=no|250}}), made by a Mongol people who came from Korea to Kyūshū, has been found throughout Japan. "</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2046.html |title=Kanji |publisher=Japan guide |date= 25 November 2010 | access-date = 21 May 2012 |archive-date=10 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510085157/http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2046.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Noma| first = Seiroku| title = The Arts of Japan: Late Medieval to Modern| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hhOj8JrLQBMC&pg=PA218| access-date = 21 May 2012| year = 2003| publisher = Kodansha International| isbn = 978-4-7700-2978-2| archive-date = 15 February 2023| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230215234434/https://books.google.com/books?id=hhOj8JrLQBMC&pg=PA218| url-status = live}}</ref><ref name = "www2.kenyon.edu">{{cite web | url= http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln275/Jap-Kor-art.htm | title = Japanese Art and Its Korean Secret | publisher= Kenyon | date= 6 April 2003 | access-date= 21 May 2012 | archive-date= 9 July 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110709082157/http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln275/Jap-Kor-art.htm | url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080428-ancient-tomb.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501083556/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080428-ancient-tomb.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 May 2008 |title = Japanese Royal Tomb Opened to Scholars for First Time |publisher= National geographic |date= 28 October 2010 | access-date = 21 May 2012}}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=November 2022}} Baekje also played an important role in transmitting advanced Chinese culture to the Japanese archipelago. Baekje was once a great military power on the Korean Peninsula, most notably in the 4th century during the rule of [[Geunchogo of Baekje|Geunchogo]] when its influence extended across the sea to [[Liaoxi]] and [[Shandong]] in China, taking advantage of the weakened state of [[Former Qin]], and [[Kyushu]] in the Japanese archipelago;<ref>{{cite book|title=A Brief History of Korea|publisher=Ewha Womans University Press|isbn=9788973006199|pages=29–30|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o-WlUd3cjh0C&pg=PT29|access-date=21 November 2016|language=en|date=1 January 2005}}</ref> however, Baekje was critically defeated by Gwanggaeto the Great and declined.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yu|first1=Chai-Shin|title=The New History of Korean Civilization|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=9781462055593|page=27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYKNdiDCGLAC&pg=PA27|access-date=21 November 2016|language=en|year=2012|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005648/https://books.google.com/books?id=TYKNdiDCGLAC&pg=PA27|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although later records claim that [[Silla]] was the oldest of the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]], it is now believed to have been the last kingdom to develop. By the 2nd century, Silla existed as a large state in the southeast, occupying and influencing its neighbouring city-states. In 562, Silla annexed the [[Gaya confederacy]], which was located between Baekje and Silla. The Three Kingdoms of Korea often warred with each other and Silla was often dominated by Baekje and Goguryeo. Silla was the smallest and weakest of the three, but it used cunning diplomatic means to make opportunistic pacts and alliances with the more powerful Korean kingdoms, and eventually Tang China, to its great advantage.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Jinwung|title=A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253000248|pages=44–45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s2EVi-MpnUsC&pg=PA44|access-date=12 September 2016|language=en|year=2012|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005648/https://books.google.com/books?id=s2EVi-MpnUsC&pg=PA44|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Wells|first1=Kenneth M.|title=Korea: Outline of a Civilisation|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004300057|pages=18–19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6zoLCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA18|access-date=12 September 2016|language=en|date=3 July 2015|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005648/https://books.google.com/books?id=6zoLCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA18|url-status=live}}</ref> In 660, King [[Muyeol of Silla|Muyeol]] ordered his armies to attack [[Baekje]]. General [[Kim Yu-shin]], aided by [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] forces, conquered Baekje after defeating General [[Gyebaek]] at the [[Battle of Hwangsanbeol]]. In 661, Silla and Tang attacked Goguryeo but were repelled. King [[Munmu of Silla|Munmu]], son of Muyeol and nephew of General Kim Yu-shin, launched another campaign in 667 and Goguryeo fell in the following year.<!--Note: this is a short summary. Do not add details here: please expand content on the main article (History of Korea) -->

Beginning in the 6th century, [[Silla]]'s power gradually extended across the Korean Peninsula. Silla first annexed the adjacent [[Gaya confederacy]] in 562. By the 640s, Silla formed an alliance with the [[Tang dynasty]] of China to conquer [[Baekje]] and later [[Goguryeo]]. After conquering Baekje and Goguryeo, Silla repulsed Tang China from the Korean peninsula in 676. Even though Silla unified most of the Korean Peninsula, most of the Goguryeo territories to the north of the Korean Peninsula were ruled by [[Balhae]]. Former Goguryeo general<ref>''Old records of Silla'' 新羅古記([[:ko:신라고기|Silla gogi]]): ...{{nbsp}}高麗舊將祚榮</ref><ref>''Rhymed Chronicles of Sovereigns'' 帝王韻紀([[Jewang ungi]]): ...{{nbsp}}前麗舊將大祚榮</ref> or chief of Sumo Mohe<ref>''Solitary Cloud'' 孤雲集(Gounjib): ...{{nbsp}}渤海之源流也句驪未滅之時本爲疣贅部落靺羯之屬寔繁有徒是名栗末小蕃甞逐句驪, 內徙其首領乞四羽及大祚榮等至武后臨朝之際自營州作孼而逃輒據荒丘始稱振國時有句驪遺燼勿吉雜流梟音則嘯聚白山鴟義則喧張黑姶與契丹濟惡旋於突厥通謀萬里耨苗累拒渡遼之轍十年食葚晚陳降漢之旗.</ref><ref>''Solitary Cloud'' 孤雲集(Gounjip): ...{{nbsp}}其酋長大祚榮, 始受臣藩第五品大阿餐之秩</ref><ref>''Comprehensive Institutions'' 通典([[Tongdian]]): ...{{nbsp}}渤海夲栗末靺鞨至其酋祚榮立國自號震旦, 先天中 玄宗王子始去靺鞨號專稱渤海</ref> [[Dae Jo-yeong]] led a group of Goguryeo and [[Mohe people|Mohe]] refugees to the [[Jilin]] and founded the kingdom of [[Balhae]], 30 years after the collapse of Goguryeo, as the successor to Goguryeo. At its height, Balhae's territories extended from southern [[Manchuria]] down to the northern Korean peninsula. Balhae was called the "Prosperous Country in the East".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Injae|first1=Lee|last2=Miller|first2=Owen|last3=Jinhoon|first3=Park|last4=Hyun-Hae|first4=Yi|title=Korean History in Maps|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1107098466|pages=64–65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46OTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA64|access-date=24 February 2017|language=en|date=15 December 2014|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005648/https://books.google.com/books?id=46OTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA64|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Later Silla]] carried on the maritime prowess of [[Baekje]], which acted like the [[Phoenicia]] of medieval [[East Asia]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kitagawa|first1=Joseph|title=The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1136875908|page=348|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fyzAAAAQBAJ|language=en|date=5 September 2013|access-date=21 July 2016|archive-date=3 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703151449/https://books.google.com/books?id=9fyzAAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> and during the 8th and 9th centuries dominated the seas of East Asia and the trade between China, Korea and Japan, most notably during the time of [[Jang Bogo]]; in addition, Silla people made overseas communities in China on the [[Shandong Peninsula]] and the mouth of the [[Yangtze River]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gernet|first1=Jacques|title=A History of Chinese Civilization|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521497817|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofchinese00gern/page/291 291]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofchinese00gern|url-access=registration|quote=Korea held a dominant position in the north-eastern seas.|access-date=21 July 2016|language=en|date=31 May 1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Reischauer|first1=Edwin Oldfather|title=Ennins Travels in Tang China|publisher=John Wiley & Sons Canada, Limited|isbn=978-0471070535|pages=276–283|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HXqEAAAACAAJ|access-date=21 July 2016|language=en|date=1955|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328145156/https://books.google.com/books?id=HXqEAAAACAAJ|url-status=live}} "From what Ennin tells us, it seems that commerce between East China, Korea and Japan was, for the most part, in the hands of men from Silla. Here in the relatively dangerous waters on the eastern fringes of the world, they performed the same functions as did the traders of the placid Mediterranean on the western fringes. This is a historical fact of considerable significance but one which has received virtually no attention in the standard historical compilations of that period or in the modern books based on these sources. . . . While there were limits to the influence of the Koreans along the eastern coast of China, there can be no doubt of their dominance over the waters off these shores. . . . The days of Korean maritime dominance in the Far East actually were numbered, but in Ennin's time the men of Silla were still the masters of the seas in their part of the world."</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea, 2nd Edition|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1610695824|page=3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgxvBAAAQBAJ|language=en|date=30 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Seth|first1=Michael J.|title=A Concise History of Korea: From the Neolithic Period Through the Nineteenth Century|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0742540057|page=65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qe4PoOd89XIC|access-date=21 July 2016|language=en|year=2006}}</ref> Later Silla was a prosperous and wealthy country,<ref>{{cite book|last1=MacGregor|first1=Neil|title=A History of the World in 100 Objects|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn=978-0141966830|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3mUtaSxCncC&pg=PT408|access-date=30 September 2016|language=en|year=2011}}</ref> and its metropolitan capital of [[Gyeongju]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chŏng|first1=Yang-mo|last2=Smith|first2=Judith G.|last3=Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)|title=Arts of Korea|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|isbn=978-0870998508|page=230|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnaiYKYmQegC&pg=PA230|access-date=30 September 2016|language=en|year=1998}}</ref> was the fourth largest city in the world.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Adams|first=Edward B.|title=The Legacy of Kyongju|magazine=The Rotarian|publisher=Rotary International|issn=0035-838X|volume=154|issue=4|page=28|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28|access-date=19 December 2018|language=en|year=1989}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Ross|first1=Alan|title=After Pusan|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0571299355|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bur02Vwn9jgC&pg=PT20|access-date=30 September 2016|language=en|date=17 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Mason|first1=David A.|title=Gyeongju, Korea's treasure house|url=http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Column/view?articleId=109953|website=[[Korea.net]]|publisher=[[Korean Culture and Information Service]]|access-date=30 September 2016|archive-date=3 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003092928/http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Column/view?articleId=109953|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Adams|first1=Edward Ben|title=Koreaʾs Pottery Heritage|publisher=Seoul International Pub. House|volume=1|page=53|oclc=1014620947|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=riLrAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Kyongju+City+became+one+of+the+most+influential+centers+of+Asia+and+fourth+largest+city+in+the+ancient+world+during+this+period%22|access-date=19 December 2018|language=en|year=1990|isbn=9788985113069|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328145304/https://books.google.com/books?id=riLrAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Kyongju+City+became+one+of+the+most+influential+centers+of+Asia+and+fourth+largest+city+in+the+ancient+world+during+this+period%22|url-status=live}}</ref> Later Silla experienced a golden age of art and culture,<ref>{{cite book|last1=DuBois|first1=Jill|title=Korea|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0761417866|page=[https://archive.org/details/koreadubo00dubo/page/22 22]|url=https://archive.org/details/koreadubo00dubo|url-access=registration|quote=golden age of art and culture.|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|year=2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Randel|first1=Don Michael|title=The Harvard Dictionary of Music|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0674011632|page=273|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=02rFSecPhEsC|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=28 November 2003|archive-date=29 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129221530/https://books.google.com/books?id=02rFSecPhEsC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hopfner|first1=Jonathan|title=Moon Living Abroad in South Korea|publisher=Avalon Travel|isbn=978-1612386324|page=21|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MhwXBQAAQBAJ|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=10 September 2013|archive-date=11 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111025306/https://books.google.com/books?id=MhwXBQAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0313038532|page=47|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ci_iGuAAqmsC&pg=PA47|access-date=30 September 2016|language=en|date=30 January 2005}}</ref> as evidenced by the [[Hwangnyongsa]], [[Seokguram]], and [[Emille Bell]]. Buddhism flourished during this time, and many Korean Buddhists gained great fame among Chinese Buddhists<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mun|first1=Chanju|last2=Green|first2=Ronald S.|title=Buddhist Exploration of Peace and Justice|publisher=Blue Pine Books|isbn=978-0977755301|page=147|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=au1oD1kKv94C|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|year=2006|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801022101/https://books.google.com/books?id=au1oD1kKv94C|url-status=live}}</ref> and contributed to Chinese Buddhism,<ref>{{cite book|last1=McIntire|first1=Suzanne|last2=Burns|first2=William E.|title=Speeches in World History|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1438126807|page=87|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-6ghsWDMTAC|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=25 June 2010|archive-date=11 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111025336/https://books.google.com/books?id=L-6ghsWDMTAC|url-status=live}}</ref> including: [[Woncheuk]], [[Wonhyo]], [[Uisang]], [[Kim Hwasang|Musang]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Buswell|first1=Robert E. Jr.|last2=Lopez|first2=Donald S. Jr.|title=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1400848058|page=187|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DXN2AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA187|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=24 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Poceski|first1=Mario|title=Ordinary Mind as the Way: The Hongzhou School and the Growth of Chan Buddhism|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0198043201|page=24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5fwRXrVPh-cC&pg=PA24|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=13 April 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Wu|first1=Jiang|last2=Chia|first2=Lucille|title=Spreading Buddha's Word in East Asia: The Formation and Transformation of the Chinese Buddhist Canon|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0231540193|page=155|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IX7ICgAAQBAJ&pg=PA155|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=15 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Wright|first1=Dale S.|title=The Zen Canon: Understanding the Classic Texts|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199882182|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JfHQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT124|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=25 March 2004}}</ref> and [[Kim Gyo-gak]], a Silla prince whose influence made [[Mount Jiuhua]] one of the Four [[Sacred Mountains of China|Sacred Mountains]] of Chinese Buddhism.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Su-il|first1=Jeong|title=The Silk Road Encyclopedia|publisher=Seoul Selection|isbn=978-1624120763|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UgOwDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT668|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=18 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Nikaido|first1=Yoshihiro|title=Asian Folk Religion and Cultural Interaction|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|isbn=978-3847004851|page=137|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TozUCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA137|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=28 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Leffman|first1=David|last2=Lewis|first2=Simon|last3=Atiyah|first3=Jeremy|title=China|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=978-1843530190|page=519|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dA_QbQiZkB4C&pg=PA519|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|year=2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Leffman|first1=David|title=The Rough Guide to China|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0241010372|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjqJAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT509|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=2 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: China|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1465455673|page=240|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rm7XCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA240|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=21 June 2016}}</ref>

[[Goryeo]] was founded in 918 and replaced Silla as the ruling dynasty of Korea. Goryeo's land was at first what is now South Korea and about 1/3 of North Korea, but later on managed to recover most of the Korean peninsula. Momentarily, Goryeo advanced to parts of [[Jiandao]] while conquering the [[Jurchen people|Jurchens]], but returned the territories due to the harsh climate and difficulties in defending them. The name "Goryeo" (高麗) is a short form of "[[Goguryeo]]" (高句麗) and was first used during the time of King [[Jangsu of Goguryeo|Jangsu]]. Goryeo regarded itself as the successor of Goguryeo, hence its name and efforts to recover the former territories of Goguryeo.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rossabi|first1=Morris|title=China Among Equals: The Middle Kingdom and Its Neighbors, 10th–14th Centuries|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520045620|page=323|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sNpD5UKmkswC|access-date=1 August 2016|language=en|date=20 May 1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Ki-baek|title=A New History of Korea|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674615762|page=103|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA103|access-date=20 October 2016|language=en|year=1984|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234927/https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA103|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9780313038532|page=57|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ci_iGuAAqmsC&pg=PA57|access-date=20 October 2016|language=en|date=30 January 2005|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234927/https://books.google.com/books?id=ci_iGuAAqmsC&pg=PA57|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Grayson|first1=James H.|title=Korea – A Religious History|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136869259|page=79|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LU78AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA79|access-date=20 October 2016|language=en|date=5 November 2013|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234958/https://books.google.com/books?id=LU78AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA79|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Wang Geon]], the founder of Goryeo, was of Goguryeo descent and traced his ancestry to a noble Goguryeo clan.<ref>{{cite book|last1=박|first1=종기|title=고려사의 재발견: 한반도 역사상 가장 개방적이고 역동적인 500년 고려 역사를 만나다|publisher=휴머니스트|isbn=9788958629023|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qn6TCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT59|access-date=27 October 2016|language=ko|date=24 August 2015|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234928/https://books.google.com/books?id=Qn6TCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT59|url-status=live}}</ref> He made [[Kaesong]], his hometown, the capital.

During this period, laws were codified and a civil service system was introduced. [[Buddhism]] flourished and spread throughout the peninsula. The development of [[Goryeo ware|celadon]] industries flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. The publication of the [[Tripitaka Koreana]] onto more than 80,000 wooden blocks and the invention of the world's first metal [[movable type]] in the 13th century attest to Goryeo's cultural achievements.<ref name="print_a">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Korean Metal Movable Type |encyclopedia=World Treasures: Beginnings |publisher=Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/world/world-record.html#obj152 |access-date=19 December 2018 |date=29 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829232346/http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/world/world-record.html#obj152 |archive-date=29 August 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="print_b">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title=Korean Classics |encyclopedia=Library of Congress Asian Collections: 2007 Illustrated Guide |publisher=Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/asian/guide2007/guide-korean.html |access-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191118063653/http://www.loc.gov/rr/asian/guide2007/guide-korean.html |archive-date=18 November 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="print_c">{{cite web |title=Gutenberg Bible |url=http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item100565.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025033159/http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item100565.html |archive-date=25 October 2016 |access-date=19 August 2016 |website=British Library |publisher=The British Library Board}}</ref><ref name="print_d">{{cite web |title=Korea, 1000–1400 A.D. {{!}} Chronology {{!}} Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History {{!}} The Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/07/eak.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818174906/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/07/eak.html |archive-date=18 August 2016 |access-date=19 August 2016 |website=The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref><ref name="print_e">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Movable type |encyclopedia=Oxford Reference |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100213284 |access-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026154750/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100213284 |archive-date=26 October 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="print_f">{{cite book |last1=Ebrey |first1=Patricia Buckley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfkWAAAAQBAJ |title=East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History |last2=Walthall |first2=Anne |date=1 January 2013 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1285528670 |language=en}}</ref>

Goryeo had to defend frequently against attacks by nomadic empires, especially the [[Khitan people|Khitans]] and the [[Mongols]]. Goryeo had a hostile relationship with the Khitans, because the [[Khitan Empire]] had destroyed [[Balhae]], also a successor state of Goguryeo. In 993, the Khitans, who had established the [[Liao dynasty]] in 907, [[First conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War|invaded Goryeo]], demanding that it make amity with them. Goryeo sent the diplomat [[SeoSŏ HuiHŭi]] to negotiate, who successfully persuaded the Khitans to let Goryeo expand to the banks of the [[Yalu River|Amnok (Yalu) River]], citing that in the past the land belonged to Goguryeo, the predecessor of Goryeo.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea, 2nd Edition|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781610695824|page=66|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgxvBAAAQBAJ|access-date=3 October 2016|language=en|date=30 May 2014}}</ref> During the [[Goryeo–Khitan War]], the Khitan Empire invaded Korea twice more in [[Second conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War|1009]] and [[Third conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War|1018]], but was defeated.

After defeating the Khitan Empire, which was the most powerful empire of its time,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bulliet|first1=Richard|last2=Crossley|first2=Pamela|last3=Headrick|first3=Daniel|last4=Hirsch|first4=Steven|last5=Johnson|first5=Lyman|title=The Earth and Its Peoples, Brief: A Global History|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=9781285445519|page=264|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9sbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA264|access-date=12 September 2016|language=en|date=1 January 2014|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010152/https://books.google.com/books?id=E9sbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA264|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Cohen|first1=Warren I.|title=East Asia at the Center: Four Thousand Years of Engagement with the World|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231502511|page=107|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Okjd2rDwb8IC&pg=PA107|access-date=12 September 2016|language=en|date=20 December 2000|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010157/https://books.google.com/books?id=Okjd2rDwb8IC&pg=PA107|url-status=live}}</ref> Goryeo experienced a golden age that lasted a century, during which the [[Tripitaka Koreana]] 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Kenneth B.|title=Korea and East Asia: The Story of a Phoenix|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780275958237|page=61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA61|access-date=28 July 2016|language=en|year=1997|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010152/https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA61|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bowman|first1=John|title=Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231500043|page=[https://archive.org/details/columbiachronolo00john/page/202 202]|url=https://archive.org/details/columbiachronolo00john|url-access=registration|quote=The Mongolian-Khitan invasions of the late tenth century challenge the stability of the Koryo government, but a period of prosperity follows the defeat of the Khitan in 1018..|access-date=1 August 2016|language=en|date=5 September 2000}}</ref>

Goryeo was [[Mongol invasions of Korea|invaded by the Mongols]] in seven major campaigns from the 1230s until the 1270s, but was never conquered.<ref name="Mongols">{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Kenneth B.|title=Korea and East Asia: The Story of a Phoenix|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780275958237|page=72|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA72|access-date=28 July 2016|language=en|year=1997|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010152/https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA72|url-status=live}}</ref> Exhausted after decades of fighting, Goryeo sent its [[Wonjong of Goryeo|crown prince]] to the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] capital to swear allegiance to the Mongols; [[Kublai Khan]] accepted, and married one of his daughters to the Korean crown prince,<ref name="Mongols" /> and the dynastic line of Goryeo continued to survive [[Korea under Yuan rule|under the overlordship]] of the Mongol Yuan dynasty as a semi-autonomous vassal state and compulsory ally. The two nations became intertwined for 80 years as all subsequent Korean kings married Mongol princesses,<ref name="Mongols" /> and the [[Empress Gi|last empress]] of the Yuan dynasty was a Korean princess.<ref>{{Citecite webnews |lastlast1=JacksKoon |firstfirst1=LauraleeWee |date=2019-01-12Kek |title=KiOpinion -{{!}} The Tarnishedtale Imageof a Korean empress of theChina, Lastan Mongolianimperial EmpressK-drama |url=https://www.historyofroyalwomenscmp.com/themagazines/post-royalmagazine/short-womenreads/kiarticle/3108600/tale-theempress-tarnishedgi-imagekorean-ofchina-thewhose-last-mongolian-empress/imperial |access-datework=2023-11-10South China Morning Post |websitedate=History of6 RoyalNovember Women2020 |language=en}}</ref>

In the 1350s, [[Gongmin of Goryeo|King Gongmin]] was free at last to reform the Goryeo government when the Yuan dynasty began to crumble. Gongmin had various problems that needed to be dealt with, which included the removal of pro-Mongol aristocrats and military officials, the question of land holding, and quelling the growing animosity between the Buddhists and [[Confucian]] scholars. During this tumultuous period, Goryeo momentarily conquered [[Liaoyang]] in 1356, repulsed two large [[Red Turban invasions of Goryeo|invasions by the Red Turbans]] in 1359 and 1360, and defeated the final attempt by the Yuan to dominate Goryeo when General [[ChoeCh'oe YeongYŏng]] defeated a Mongol [[Tumen (unit)|tumen]] in 1364. During the 1380s, Goryeo turned its attention to the [[Wokou]] threat and used [[Naval history of Korea|naval artillery]] created by [[ChoeCh'oe MuseonMu-sŏn]] to annihilate hundreds of pirate ships.

In 1392, the general [[Taejo of Joseon|Yi Seong-gye]] overthrew the [[Goryeo]] dynasty after he staged a coup and defeated General [[ChoeCh'oe YeongYŏng]]. Yi Seong-gye named his new dynasty [[Joseon]] and moved the capital from [[Kaesong]] to [[Hanseong]] (formerly Hanyang; modern-day [[Seoul]]) and built the [[Gyeongbokgung]] palace.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Ki-baek|title=A New History of Korea|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674615762|oclc=470671149|page=165|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC|access-date=27 July 2016|language=en|year=1984}}</ref> In 1394, he adopted [[Confucianism]] as the country's official ideology, resulting in much loss of power and wealth by the [[Korean Buddhism|Buddhists]]. The prevailing philosophy of the Joseon dynasty was [[Korean Confucianism|Neo-Confucianism]], which was epitomised by the [[seonbi]] class, scholars who passed up positions of wealth and power to lead lives of study and integrity.

Joseon was a nominal tributary state of [[China]] but exercised full sovereignty,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Em|first1=Henry|title=The Great Enterprise: Sovereignty and Historiography in Modern Korea|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0822353720|page=23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DxAd2Aw_jP0C|access-date=28 July 2016|language=en|date=25 March 2013|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407111632/https://books.google.com/books?id=DxAd2Aw_jP0C|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Seokwoo|last2=Lee|first2=Hee Eun|title=The Making of International Law in Korea: From Colony to Asian Power|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004315754|oclc=1006718121|page=21|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCoiDAAAQBAJ|access-date=28 July 2016|language=en|date=12 May 2016|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126050937/https://books.google.com/books?id=bCoiDAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> and maintained the highest position among China's tributary states,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wang|first1=Yuan-kang|title=Harmony and War: Confucian Culture and Chinese Power Politics|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231522403|oclc=774509438|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gxVfTuKsaJQC&q=seating+arrangement+highest|access-date=20 July 2016|language=en|date=15 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Seth|first1=Michael J.|title=A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=9780742567177|oclc=644646716|page=144|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WJtMGXyGlUEC|access-date=28 July 2016|language=en|date=16 October 2010|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407111611/https://books.google.com/books?id=WJtMGXyGlUEC|url-status=live}}</ref> which also included countries such as the [[Ryukyu Kingdom]], Vietnam, Burma, Brunei, Laos, Thailand,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gambe|first1=Annabelle R.|title=Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurship and Capitalist Development in Southeast Asia|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|isbn=9783825843861|page=99|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZUfNRG8IR44C|access-date=19 July 2016|language=en|year=2000|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407111628/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZUfNRG8IR44C|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Chinvanno|first1=Anuson|title=Thailand's Policies towards China, 1949–54|publisher=Springer|isbn=9781349124305|page=24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0vywCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|access-date=19 July 2016|language=en|date=18 June 1992|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407111657/https://books.google.com/books?id=0vywCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Leonard|first1=Jane Kate|title=Wei Yuan and China's Rediscovery of the Maritime World|publisher=Harvard Univ Asia Center|isbn=9780674948556|pages=137–138|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wQCm-bequYgC&pg=PA137|access-date=19 July 2016|language=en|year=1984|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407111553/https://books.google.com/books?id=wQCm-bequYgC&pg=PA137|url-status=live}}</ref> and the Philippines, among others.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tsai|first1=Shih-shan Henry|title=The Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=9780791426876|pages=119–120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ka6jNJcX_ygC&pg=PA119|access-date=20 July 2016|language=en|date=January 1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Eisemann|first1=Joshua|last2=Heginbotham|first2=Eric|last3=Mitchell|first3=Derek|title=China and the Developing World: Beijing's Strategy for the Twenty-first Century|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317282945|page=23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nM5mCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA23|access-date=20 July 2016|language=en|date=20 August 2015}}</ref> In addition, Joseon received tribute from Jurchens and Japanese until the 17th century,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lewis|first1=James B.|title=Frontier Contact Between Choson Korea and Tokugawa Japan|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135795986|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2SQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT139|access-date=20 July 2016|language=en|date=2 November 2005}} "Tribute trade was the oldest and most important component of the trade structure, not for its volume or content, but for its symbolism. Japanese brought items to "offer" to Korea and received in exchange "gifts" of higher value, since Korea was a greater land receiving supplicants. Koreans viewed tribute trade as a "burden" and a favor extended to needy islanders; the significance was diplomatic not economic."</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kang|first1=David C.|title=East Asia Before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231153195|page=122|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jgk0buCaLJ0C&pg=PT138|access-date=20 July 2016|language=en|year=2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kayoko|first1=Fujita|last2=Momoki|first2=Shiro|last3=Reid|first3=Anthony|title=Offshore Asia: Maritime Interactions in Eastern Asia Before Steamships|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=9789814311779|page=198|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lcT3AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA198|access-date=20 July 2016|language=en|year=2013}}</ref> and had a small enclave in the Ryukyu Kingdom that engaged in trade with Siam and Java.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Chun-gil|title=The History of Korea|year=2005|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780313332968|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofkorea0000kimc/page/77 77]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofkorea0000kimc|url-access=registration|access-date=28 July 2016|language=en}}</ref>

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Joseon enjoyed many benevolent rulers who promoted education and science.<ref name="JoseonGold">{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Kenneth B.|title=Korea and East Asia: The Story of a Phoenix|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780275958237|page=86|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA86|access-date=27 July 2016|language=en|year=1997|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010158/https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA86|url-status=live}}</ref> Most notable among them was [[Sejong the Great]] (r. 1418–50), who personally created and promulgated [[Hangul]], the Korean alphabet.<ref>{{cite web|title=알고 싶은 한글|url=http://www.korean.go.kr/hangeul/setting/002.html|website=[[National Institute of Korean Language]]|publisher=[[National Institute of Korean Language]]|access-date=4 December 2017|archive-date=18 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218134258/https://www.korean.go.kr/hangeul/setting/002.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This golden age<ref name="JoseonGold" /> saw great cultural and scientific advancements,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Haralambous|first1=Yannis|last2=Horne|first2=P. Scott|title=Fonts & Encodings|publisher="O'Reilly Media, Inc."|isbn=9780596102425|page=155|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qrElYgVLDwYC&pg=PA155|access-date=8 October 2016|language=en|date=26 September 2007|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010158/https://books.google.com/books?id=qrElYgVLDwYC&pg=PA155|url-status=live}}</ref> including in printing, [[rain gauge|meteorological observation]], astronomy, calendar science, [[Korean pottery and porcelain|ceramics]], military technology, geography, cartography, medicine, and agricultural technology, some of which were unrivaled elsewhere.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Selin|first1=Helaine|title=Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9789401714167|pages=505–506|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzjpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA505|access-date=27 July 2016|language=en|date=11 November 2013|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010157/https://books.google.com/books?id=GzjpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA505|url-status=live}}</ref> Joseon implemented a class system that consisted of ''[[yangban]]'' the noble class, ''jungin'' the middle class, ''yangin'' the common class, and ''cheonin'' the lowest class, which included occupations such as butchers, tanners, shamans, entertainers, and ''[[nobi]]'', the equivalent of slaves, bondservants, or [[serfs]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea, 2nd Edition|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781610695824|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgxvBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA113|access-date=27 July 2016|language=en|date=30 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Campbell|first1=Gwyn|title=Structure of Slavery in Indian Ocean Africa and Asia|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135759179|pages=153–157|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J0iRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA153|access-date=14 February 2017|language=en|date=23 November 2004}}</ref>

Korean resistance to the brutal Japanese occupation<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern|editor-last=Stearns|editor-first=Peter N.|url=http://www.bartleby.com/67/2488.html |edition=6th |year=2001 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |location=Boston |at=VI(H)(4) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304202716/http://www.bartleby.com/67/2488.html |archive-date=4 March 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Korea |publisher=Microsoft Corporation |encyclopedia=Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia |year=2009 |page=2 |url=http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557519_2/Korea.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519033254/http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557519_2/Korea.html |archive-date= 19 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Takahashi |first1=Kosuke |title=History Overshadows Japan-South Korea Rapprochement |journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus |date=March 28, 2005 |volume=3 |issue=3 |url=https://apjjf.org/-Kosuke-Takahashi/2067/article.html |id= |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050404192039/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/GC10Dh01.html |archive-date= 4 April 2005 |access-date=3 November 2009 }} NOTE: First published 10 March 2005 under the title "Roh reopens Japan's war wounds" in, and Copyright 2005, [https://asiatimes.com/2005/05/we-are-a-banana-republic/ ''Asia Times Online''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223124608/https://asiatimes.com/2005/05/we-are-a-banana-republic/ |date=23 February 2023 }} Ltd. This is a slightly abbreviated version of the article, posted at Japan Focus 16 March 2005. Archived copy is of full article text from ''Asia Times''.</ref> was manifested in the nonviolent [[March 1st Movement]] of 1919, during which 7,000 demonstrators were killed by Japanese police and military.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url= https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9050797?query=march%20first%20movement&ct= |title= March 1st Movement | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica. | date = 1 March 1919 |access-date= 3 November 2009 |archive-date= 11 December 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071211125737/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9050797?query=march |url-status= live }}</ref> The [[Korean independence movement|Korean liberation movement]] also spread to neighbouring [[Manchuria]] and [[Siberia]].

Over five million Koreans were conscripted for labour beginning in 1939,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.CHAP3.HTM |title=Statistics of Japanese Genocide And Mass Murder |publisher=Hawaii | access-date =3 November 2009 |archive-date=23 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323044733/http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.CHAP3.HTM |url-status=live }}</ref> and tens of thousands of men were forced into Japan's military.<ref>{{Citation | last = 山脇 Yamawaki | first = 啓造 Keizo | title = 近代日本と外国人労働者―1890年代後半と1920年代前半における中国人・朝鮮人労働者問題 |trans-title=Modern Japan and Foreign Laborers: Chinese and Korean Labourers in the late 1890s and early 1920s | publisher = 明石書店 Akashi-shoten | year = 1994 | others = et al. | isbn = 978-4-7503-0568-4}}</ref> Nearly 400,000 Korean labourers died.<ref>{{cite book| last = Gruhl| first = Werner| title = Imperial Japan's World War Two: 1931–1945| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zNN6M97vYMEC&pg=PA111| year = 2007| publisher = Transaction Publishers| isbn = 978-1-4128-0926-9| oclc = 1099050288| page = 111| access-date = 21 September 2020| archive-date = 26 January 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210126050942/https://books.google.com/books?id=zNN6M97vYMEC&pg=PA111| url-status = live}}</ref> Approximately 200,000 girls and women,<ref>{{Citation | first = Yoshimi | last = Yoshiaki | title = Comfort Women: Sexual Slavery in the Japanese Military During World War II | others = O'Brien, Suzanne transl | publisher = Columbia University Press | year = 2001 | isbn = 978-0-231-12032-6 | orig-year = 岩波書店, 1995 | url = https://archive.org/details/comfortwomen00yosh }}</ref> mostly from China and Korea, were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese military.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/03/29/japan.comfort.women.02/ |title=Japanese comfort women ruling overturned |date=29 March 2001 |work=CNN|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216122655/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/03/29/japan.comfort.women.02/ |archive-date=16 December 2008 }}</ref> In 1993, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary [[Yohei Kono]] acknowledged the terrible injustices faced by these euphemistically named "[[comfort women]]".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.comfort-women.org/ | title = Comfort Women | access-date = 3 November 2009 | archive-date = 3 November 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091103220622/http://www.comfort-women.org/ | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Yohei |last=Kono |url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/women/fund/state9308.html |title=Statement by the Chief Cabinet Secretary on the result of the study on the issue of 'comfort women' |publisher=MOFA |date=4 August 1993 |access-date=3 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709022903/http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/women/fund/state9308.html |archive-date= 9 July 2014 }}</ref>

During the Japanese annexation, the Korean language was suppressed in an effort to eradicate Korean national identity. Koreans were forced to take Japanese surnames, known as [[Sōshi-kaimei]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.han.org/a/fukuoka96a.html |title = Koreans in Japan: Past and Present |publisher = HAN | access-date = 3 November 2009 |archive-date = 6 June 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190606063047/http://www.han.org/a/fukuoka96a.html |url-status = dead }}</ref> Traditional [[Korean culture]] suffered heavy losses, as numerous Korean cultural artefacts were destroyed<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/66 |title=Gyeongbok Palace |work=Seoul City |location=South Korea |publisher=Life in Korea |access-date=3 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926031534/http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/66 |archive-date=26 September 2009 }}</ref> or taken to Japan.<ref name="Newsweek">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/48765/output/print |title=Korea: A tussle over treasures&nbsp;— Who rightfully owns Korean artifacts looted by Japan? |magazine= [[Newsweek]] |access-date= 6 June 2008 | first1 = Kay | last1 = Itoi | first2 =BJ | last2 = Lee |date=17 October 2007}}</ref> To this day, valuable Korean artefacts can often be found in Japanese museums or among private collections.<ref>{{Citation|newspaper=Newsweek |publisher=MSNBC |url=http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6919593/site/newsweek/ |title=Who rightfully owns Korean artifacts looted by Japan? |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925094845/http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6919593/site/newsweek/ |archive-date=25 September 2010 }}</ref> One investigation by the South Korean government identified 75,311 cultural assets that were taken from Korea, 34,369 in Japan and 17,803 in the United States. However, experts estimate that over 100,000 artefacts actually remain in Japan.<ref name="Newsweek" /><ref name="naver">{{Citation | url = http://news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=LSD&office_id=001&article_id=0001429084 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130723101422/http://news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=LSD&office_id=001&article_id=0001429084 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 23 July 2013 | title = News | publisher=[[Naver]] }}</ref> Japanese officials considered returning Korean cultural properties, but to date<ref name="Newsweek" /> this has not occurred.<ref name="naver" /> Both Koreas and Japan still dispute the ownership of the [[Liancourt Rocks|Dokdo]] islets, located east of the Korean Peninsula.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.vop.co.kr/A00000206601.html | title = 日독도 영유권 교육강화 방침, 2005년에 이미 발표 :: 한국의 대표 진보언론 민중의소리 | date = 19 May 2008 | publisher= Vop | location= KR | access-date= 3 November 2009 | archive-date= 15 May 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110515013115/http://www.vop.co.kr/A00000206601.html | url-status= live }}</ref>

There was significant emigration to the overseas territories of the [[Empire of Japan]] during the Japanese occupation period, including [[Korea under Japanese rule|Korea]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/BIB95/00korea_cohen.htm |title=Japanese Periodicals in Colonial Korea |publisher=Columbia | access-date= 3 November 2009 |archive-date=21 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111221234952/http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/BIB95/00korea_cohen.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> By the end of World War II, there were over 850,000 Japanese settlers in Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/CMTS/MonoPaper3-13.html |title=The Life Instability of Intermarried Japanese Women in Korea |publisher=USC |access-date=3 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991013000846/http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/CMTS/MonoPaper3-13.html |archive-date=13 October 1999 }}</ref> After World War II, most of these [[overseas Japanese]] repatriated to Japan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Park |first=Yi-Jin |date=2020 |title=Re-nationalizing Repatriated Japanese into Post-War Japan: From Imperial Subjects to Post-War Citizens |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/756096 |journal=Sungkyun Journal of East Asian Studies |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=113–138 |via=Project MUSE |access-date=16 June 2022 |archive-date=3 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703185515/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/756096 |url-status=live }}</ref> Migrants who remained [[Squatting in South Korea|squatted]] in [[informal settlements]].<ref name="Squatting">{{cite journal |last1=Ha |first1=Seong-Kyu |title=Housing poverty and the role of urban governance in Korea |journal=Environment and Urbanization |date=April 2004 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=139–154 |doi=10.1177/095624780401600112 |bibcode=2004EnUrb..16..139H |language=en |issn=0956-2478|doi-access=free }}</ref>

According to [[R. J. Rummel]], [[slavery|forced labour]], executions, and concentration camps were responsible for over one million deaths in North Korea from 1948 to 1987;<ref>{{Citation | last = Rummel | first = RJ | chapter-url = http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.CHAP10.HTM | chapter = 10. Statistics of North Korean Democide: Estimates, Calculations, and Sources | title = Statistics of Democide | year = 1997 | publisher = Hawaii | access-date = 5 February 2013 | archive-date = 3 December 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171203123703/http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.CHAP10.HTM | url-status = live }}</ref> others have estimated 400,000 deaths in concentration camps alone.<ref>Omestad, Thomas, [https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/030623/23gulag.htm "Gulag Nation"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050509131122/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/030623/23gulag.htm |date=9 May 2005 }}, [[U.S. News & World Report]], 23 June 2003.</ref> Estimates based on the most recent North Korean census suggest that 240,000 to 420,000 people died as a result of the [[North Korean famine|1990s famine]] and that there were 600,000 to 850,000 unnatural deaths in North Korea from 1993 to 2008.<ref name="Spoorenberg, Thomas pp. 133-158">{{Citation | last1 = Spoorenberg | first1 = Thomas | last2 = Schwekendiek | first2 = Daniel | edition = online | title = Demographic Changes in North Korea: 1993–2008 | journal = Population and Development Review | volume = 38 | issue = 1 | pages = 133–58 | doi=10.1111/j.1728-4457.2012.00475.x| year = 2012 }}</ref> In South Korea, as guerrilla activities expanded, the South Korean government used strong measures against peasants, such as forcefully moving their families from guerrilla areas. According to one estimate, these measures resulted in 36,000 people killed, 11,000 people wounded, and 432,000 people displaced.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A History of Korea|last=Hatada|first=Takashi|publisher=American Bibliographic Center-Clio Press|year=1969|location=Santa Barbara, California|pages=140}}</ref>

In November 2020, South Korea and China agreed to work together to mend South Korea's relationship with North Korea. During a meeting between President Moon and China's foreign minister, [[Wang Yi (politician)|Wang Yi]], Moon expressed his gratitude to China for its role in helping to foster peace in the Korean Peninsula. Moon was quoted telling Wang during their meeting that "[the South Korean] government will not stop efforts to put an end (formally) to war on the Korean Peninsula and achieve complete denuclearization and permanent peace together with the international community, including China."<ref>{{Cite web|date=27 November 2020|title=South Korea, China agree on North Korea talks, early Xi visit|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/27/china-south-korea-agree-on-early-xi-visit-north-korea-talks|access-date=16 March 2021|archive-date=17 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217105959/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/27/china-south-korea-agree-on-early-xi-visit-north-korea-talks|url-status=live}}</ref>

Korea consists of a [[peninsula]] and nearby islands located in [[East Asia]]. The peninsula extends southwards for about {{convert|1100|km|abbr=on}} from continental [[Asia]] into the [[Pacific Ocean]] and is surrounded by the [[Sea of Japan]] to the east and the [[Yellow Sea]] (West Sea) to the west, the [[Korea Strait]] connecting the two bodies of water.<ref>{{cite web |title=Geography of the Korean Peninsula |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/the-korean-peninsula-1435252 |website=Thoughtco |access-date=3 July 2018 |archive-date=3 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703133658/https://www.thoughtco.com/the-korean-peninsula-1435252 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/064th_issue/98100708.htm Korean Map] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723104323/http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/064th_issue/98100708.htm |date=23 July 2013 }}, The People's Korea, 1998.</ref> To the northwest, the [[Amnok River]] separates Korea from China and to the northeast, the [[Duman River]] separates it from China and Russia.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OyiXSQAACAAJ&q=korean+penin+geography|title=Geography of Korea|date=6 July 2011|publisher=General Books |isbn=9781157065555|access-date=14 November 2020|archive-date=9 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509180226/https://books.google.com/books?id=OyiXSQAACAAJ&q=korean+penin+geography|url-status=live}}</ref> Notable islands include [[Jeju Island]], [[Ulleung Island]], [[Dokdo]].

Korea has a temperate climate with comparatively fewer [[typhoons]] than other countries in East Asia. Due to the peninsula's position, it has a unique climate influenced by Siberia in the north, the Pacific Ocean in the east and the rest of Eurasia in the west. The peninsula has four distinct seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.<ref>{{cite web |title=Climate of Korea |url=https://web.kma.go.kr/eng/biz/climate_01.jsp |website=Korea Meteorological Administration |publisher=South Korean Government |access-date=3 July 2018 |archive-date=10 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710162728/http://web.kma.go.kr/eng/biz/climate_01.jsp |url-status=live }}</ref>

As influence from Siberia weakens, temperatures begin to increase while the high pressure begins to move away. If the weather is abnormally dry, Siberia will have more influence on the peninsula leading to wintry weather such as snow.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHoMAQAAIAAJ&q=climate+korea|title=Climate of Korea: Climatic Data|last1=McCune|first1=Shannon|year=1941|access-date=21 September 2020|archive-date=9 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509180224/https://books.google.com/books?id=EHoMAQAAIAAJ&q=climate+korea|url-status=live}}</ref>

Animal life of the Korean Peninsula includes a considerable number of bird species and native [[freshwater fish]]. Native or [[endemic]] species of the Korean Peninsula include [[Korean hare]], [[Water deer|Korean water deer]], [[Korean field mouse]], [[Korean brown frog]], [[Korean pine]] and [[Picea koraiensis|Korean spruce]]. The [[Korean Demilitarized Zone]] (DMZ) with its forest and natural [[wetlands]] is a unique biodiversity spot, which harbours eighty-two [[endangered species]]. Korea once hosted many [[Siberian tigers]], but as the number of people affected by the tigers increased, the tigers were killed in the Joseon Dynastydynasty and the Siberian tigers in the South Korea became extinct during the Japanese colonial era period. It has been confirmed that Siberian tigers are only on the side of [[North Korea]] now.

{{As of|2023}}, the combined population of the Koreas is about 77.9 million (NorthSouth Korea: 2651.17 million, SouthNorth Korea: 5126.71 million).{{UN_Population|ref}} Korea is chiefly populated by a highly [[wikt:homogeneous|homogeneous]] [[ethnic]] group, the [[Koreans]], who speak the [[Korean language]].<ref>{{cite web | work = Aparc | url = http://aparc.stanford.edu/news/koreas_ethnic_nationalism_is_a_source_of_both_pride_and_prejudice_according_to_giwook_shin_20060802/ | title = Korea's ethnic nationalism is a source of both pride and prejudice, according to Gi-Wook Shin | publisher = Stanford | access-date = 3 November 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110720053258/http://aparc.stanford.edu/news/koreas_ethnic_nationalism_is_a_source_of_both_pride_and_prejudice_according_to_giwook_shin_20060802 | archive-date = 20 July 2011 | url-status = dead}}</ref> The number of foreigners living in Korea has also steadily increased since the late 20th century, particularly in South Korea, where more than 1 million foreigners reside.<ref>{{Citation | date = 24 February 2009 | newspaper = [[Los Angeles Times]] | url = httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/2009archives/la-xpm-2009-feb/-24/world/-fg-korea-teach24-story.html | title = Trying to teach South Korea about discrimination | first = John M. | last = Glionna | access-date = 16 August 2009 | archive-date = 17 November 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161117013706/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/24/world/fg-korea-teach24 | url-status = live }}</ref> It was estimated in 2006 that only 26,700 of the old [[Ethnic Chinese in Korea|Chinese community]] now remain in South Korea.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/152641.html |date=29 August 2006|access-date=8 December 2006|title=No 'real' Chinatown in S. Korea, the result of xenophobic attitudes| last= Kim|first= Hyung-jin|publisher=[[Yonhap News Agency]]|archive-date=5 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105130257/http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/152641.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, in recent years, immigration from mainland China has increased; 624,994 persons of [[People's Republic of China|Chinese]] nationality have immigrated to South Korea, including 443,566 of [[Ethnic Koreans in China|ethnic Korean]] descent.<ref name="million">{{cite web | url = http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/08/06/2009080600243.html|title= More Than 1 Million Foreigners Live in Korea|work=[[The Chosun Ilbo]]|date=6 August 2009|access-date=16 August 2009|archive-date=9 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090909061931/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/08/06/2009080600243.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Small communities of ethnic Chinese and [[Japanese people in North Korea|Japanese]] are also found in North Korea.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/korea-north/ | work = The World Factbook | title = Korea, North | publisher = CIA | access-date = 3 November 2009 | archive-date = 27 September 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210927094507/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/korea-north/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

==Education=Religion===

{{Main|EducationReligion in North Korea|EducationReligion in South Korea|Religion in North Korea}}

{{location map+ |Korea |float=right|width=250 |caption=Location of World Heritage Sites in Korea.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/kp/ |title=Democratic People's Republic of Korea |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=30 June 2018 |archive-date=1 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701105958/https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/kp |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/kr/ |title=Republic of Korea |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=30 June 2018 |archive-date=30 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630214116/http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/kr/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{paragraph break}}Note: Seoul is home to three separate properties; Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty locate throughout the country, only one site is shown on map. |places=

Korean literature written before the end of the Joseon Dynastydynasty is called "Classical" or "Traditional." Literature, written in Chinese characters ([[hanja]]), was established at the same time as the Chinese script arrived on the peninsula. Korean scholars were writing poetry in the classical Korean style as early as the 2nd century BCE, reflecting Korean thoughts and experiences of that time. Classical Korean literature has its roots in traditional folk beliefs and folk tales of the peninsula, strongly influenced by [[Confucianism]], [[Buddhism]] and [[Taoism]].

Traditional Korean music includes combinations of the folk, vocal, religious and [[Korean Court Music|ritual]] music styles of the [[Korean people]]. Korean music has been practised since prehistoric times.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rare Korean musical instruments exhibited |url=https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20110511000879 |work=[[The Korea Herald]] |date=11 May 2011 |language=en |access-date=24 December 2023 |archive-date=24 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224043040/https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20110511000879 |url-status=live }}</ref> Korean music falls into two broad categories. The first, [[Hyangak]], literally means ''The local music'' or ''Music native to Korea'', a famous example of which is Sujechon, a piece of instrumental music often claimed to be at least 1,300 years old.<ref>{{cite book|last1=May|first1=Elizabeth|title=Musics of Many Cultures: An Introduction|date=1983|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0520047785|pages=[https://archive.org/details/musicsofmanycult00hood_0/page/32 32]–33|edition=Ethno Musicology|url=https://archive.org/details/musicsofmanycult00hood_0|url-access=registration|quote=hyangak korea.|access-date=10 July 2015}}</ref> The second, ''yangak'', represents a more Western style.

* {{Citation | url = http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/history.htm | publisher = Asian Info | title = Korea | contribution = History | access-date = 11 July 2006 | archive-date = 4 February 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120204050220/http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/history.htm | url-status = live }}.

* {{Citation | url = http://www.diamond-dilemma.com/kor/doc/TariqHussain_KoreaHerald_5Mar2007.pdf | title = The Korea Herald | newspaper = [[The Korea Herald]] | publisher = Diamond dilemma | first = Tariq | last = Hussain | date = 5 March 2007 | access-date = 27 April 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071127072907/http://www.diamond-dilemma.com/kor/doc/TariqHussain_KoreaHerald_5Mar2007.pdf | archive-date = 27 November 2007 | url-status = dead }}.

* {{Citation | url = http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/46/10/38979986.pdf | type = briefing note | title = OECD Health Data | year = 2009 | contribution = How Does Korea Compare | publisher = Organisation For Economic Co-operation and Development | access-date = 2 September 2009 | archive-date = 6 December 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081206100859/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/46/10/38979986.pdf | url-status = live }}.