Korean history

Korean history can be traced back to 2333 BC. It is said that Dangen is a legend in Korean history, born of a son of a god and a woman of a tribe with a totem of bears. Dangun established the first kingdom in Korean history. Historians call this early historical stage of South Korea the "ancient Korea" era.

The initial feature of ancient Korea was to form a clan society of small city-states, and then the small city-states gradually merged into a tribal alliance with complex political structure, and finally formed a kingdom.

Among these tribal alliances, Koguryo (37 BC-668 AD), located in the middle reaches of Yalu River, was the earliest. Koguryo invaders conquered the surrounding tribes one by one, and even captured Lelang area in China in 3 13 AD. Baekje (65438 BC+08-660 AD) is a tribal alliance kingdom similar to Koguryo, which developed from a small city-state located south of the Han River near Seoul today. Baekje developed into a centralized country ruled by nobles during the reign of King Xiaogu (346-375).

Silla Kingdom (57 BC-935 AD), located at the southernmost tip of the Korean Peninsula, was originally the weakest and most backward of the three countries. However, geographically far from the influence of China, it is easy to accept foreign customs and ideas that are not from China. Its social class characteristics are obvious, and later it produced a unique "Flower Lang Tuan" and developed Buddhism.

Unify Silla and Bohai Sea

In the middle of the 6th century, Silla Kingdom conquered the neighboring Kaye Kingdom (1 a group of city-states developed in the south of the Korean Peninsula from the middle of the 6th century), and formed a military alliance with the Tang Dynasty in China, thus conquering Goguryeo and Baekje Kingdom. When China revealed later in the Tang Dynasty that Goguryeo and Baekje were to be incorporated into its imperial territory, Silla resisted by force.

In 676 AD, Silla expelled China people from the Korean Peninsula. Later, the former Koguryo people living in south-central Manchuria established the Bohai Kingdom in 698.

There are not only Koguryo people in Bohai, but also many Mahas. According to the administrative structure of Koguryo Kingdom, Bohai State established a regime system of five capitals. Bohai has an advanced culture derived from Koguryo culture.

In the first half of the 9th century, the prosperity and strength of Bohai reached its peak. It occupied a vast area from amur river in the north to Kaiyuan in the south-central part of Manzhouli in the west, and established diplomatic relations with Turks and Japanese. In 926 AD, Bohai Kingdom was destroyed by the Khitans, and many people of its ruling class (mostly Koguryo people) moved south to join the newly established Korean Kingdom.

Silla unified the Korean peninsula in 668 AD, and entered the heyday of prosperity in the middle of the 8th century. Silla has always wanted to establish an ideal Buddhist country, and Buddhist temples were established during the period of unifying Silla. However, due to the princes and nobles indulging in comfortable and luxurious life, the worship of Buddhism in the kingdom began to decline. In addition, there was a conflict with regional leaders who claimed sovereignty over occupied Koguryo and Baekje. In 935 AD, King Silla formally surrendered to the newly established Koryo dynasty.

Goryeo

Although the Korean peninsula is frequently invaded by foreign countries, it has been ruled by a single government since the reunification of Silla in 668, maintaining political independence, culture and national traditions. Both Koryo dynasty (9 18- 1392) and Korea dynasty (1392- 19 10) consolidated political power, developed culture and expelled invaders such as Khitan, Mongolia and Japan. Wang Jian, the founding monarch of the Koryo dynasty, was a general under the rebellious Prince Gong of Silla. He chose his hometown of Song Yue (now Kaesong, North Korea) as the capital, and claimed to recover Koguryo's lost land in the northeast of China. He named his kingdom Koryo, hence the name of Korea. Although the Koryo dynasty failed to recover its lost territory, it made brilliant cultural achievements represented by the prosperity of celadon and Buddhism. Equally important, as early as 1234, that is, two centuries earlier than Gutenberg in Germany, Koreans invented the earliest metal movable type printing in the world. Around this period, Korean craftsmen also completed the arduous task of carving all Buddhist scriptures on big wooden boards.

There are more than 80,000 pieces of wood engraved with Buddhist scriptures, with the purpose of praying for Buddha's blessing to repel the Mongolian invasion. These woodcut prints, known as the Koryo Tripitaka, are now preserved in the historic Hai Yin Temple.

At the end of the Korean dynasty, the conflict between scholar-officials and warriors and the struggle between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism led to the decline of the Korean dynasty. Mongols invaded Korea in 123 1 year. Although the Korean people fought bravely against the Mongols, North Korea has been a vassal state of Mongolia for nearly 1 century.

North Korea; South Korea

1392, General Li Chenggui established a new dynasty-Korea. The early rulers of Korea supported Confucianism as the guiding philosophy of the kingdom to offset the dominant Buddhist influence in the Korean era.

The rulers of North Korea govern the country with a good moderate political system. The imperial examination system is the main way to select officials. During this period, the imperial examination became an important way to be an official. The Confucian-oriented society attaches great importance to the study of knowledge and despises industry and commerce.

During the reign of the fourth generation of King Sejong (14 18- 1450), North Korea's culture and art flourished unprecedentedly. At the initiative of King Sejong, scholars from royal academic institutions created the Korean character "Training Andrew".

King Sejong attached great importance to astronomy. Sundial, water leakage, astronomical chart and celestial globe are all made by him. Later, he passed the throne to his son Wenzong (reigned 1450- 1452). 1452 Wenzong died, and the prince who was only 1 1 years old succeeded to the throne.

1455, the uncle of Duanzong, Shouyang Dajun, usurped the throne of the young king and became the sai-jo king (1455- 1468 reigned). He promulgated a code called Guo Jing Grand Ceremony, which became the cornerstone of the dynasty's rule.

1592, Japan invaded Korea and prepared to launch a war of aggression against China. At sea, General Li Shunchen (1545- 1598), the most respected figure in Korean history, commanded the "Turtle Boat" to fight against the Japanese army and won a series of brilliant victories. This "turtle ship" is considered to be the earliest armored warship in the world.

On land, the armies of peasants and monks who volunteered to fight in the war also heroically killed the enemy. With the death of Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Japanese army began to retreat and the war ended on 1598. But this war left disastrous consequences for Korea and China in the Ming Dynasty. During the war, a large number of Korean craftsmen, including ceramic craftsmen, were robbed to Japan.

/kloc-At the beginning of the 7th century, the "practical learning" movement in South Korea began to prevail among enlightened literati. They want to build a modern country through practical study.

They strongly suggest improving industry and agriculture, and advocate a drastic reform of the land distribution system. Unfortunately, conservative aristocratic rulers are not ready to adapt to this drastic change.

In the late Korean dynasty, the conflict between the government and the upper class continued. In order to correct this bad political situation, South Korea's Yingzu (reigning 1724- 1776) adopted an impartial strategy, successfully consolidated the imperial power and achieved political stability.

Zheng Zu (reign time 1776- 1800) continued to implement the policy of justice after he succeeded to the throne, and established the Wang Library to collect Wang's documents and records. He also promoted other political and cultural reforms. During this period, the "practical learning" movement flourished. Many outstanding scholars have written many articles about the progress of industrial and agricultural reform, but the government has not adopted their suggestions.

Japanese occupation and Korean independence movement

/kloc-In the 9th century, South Korea remained "closed to the outside world" and resolutely opposed the western requirements for establishing diplomatic relations and trade. Since then, some Asian and European countries with imperialist ambitions have competed to exert influence on the Korean Peninsula. After defeating China and Russia, Japan forcibly annexed South Korea in 19 10 and began colonial rule.

Japanese colonial rule inspired the patriotism of the Korean people. The Japanese even forbid Koreans to teach in Korean in schools. This assimilation policy angered Korean intellectuals. 1 965438+In March 20091day, Koreans launched a nationwide protest, and thousands of people died.

Although the "March 1 independence movement" failed, it strengthened the unity of the Korean nation and inspired the spirit of patriotism. This movement led to the establishment of provisional Korean governments in China and Shanghai, and an organized armed struggle against Japanese colonialists in Manchuria. The Korean people still commemorate the "March 1 independence movement" every year and make it a national holiday.

Until 1945, when Japan was defeated, the Korean people lived in dire straits. Japan continued to exploit South Korea economically during its colonial rule.

The establishment of the Republic of Korea

The Korean people rejoiced in Japan's defeat in World War II, but they were unhappy for a long time. The economic recovery did not immediately bring them the national independence they bravely fought for.

On the contrary, the ideological differences caused by the cold war led to the division of the country. South Korea's efforts to establish an independent government failed because American troops occupied the southern part of the peninsula and Soviet troops controlled the northern part of the peninsula.

In June 1947+0 1, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution demanding that South Korea hold general elections under the supervision of a United Nations committee.

However, the Soviet Union refused to implement United Nations resolutions and refused to allow the United Nations Commission to enter northern Korea. Therefore, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new resolution calling for holding elections where the committee can reach. South Korea's first presidential election was held in May 1948, south of the 38th parallel. This line eventually divides the Korean peninsula into two parts: north and south.

From 65438 to 0948, Li Chengwan was elected as the first president of the Republic of Korea. At the same time, the * * * party regime under the leadership of Kim Il Sung was established north of the 38th parallel.

1On June 25th, 950, North Korea launched a large-scale invasion to the south for no reason, which triggered a three-year war involving foreign troops such as the United States and China. The whole peninsula was destroyed. 1953 a ceasefire agreement was signed in July.

The Korean people suffered nearly 3 million casualties in this war, and millions of people were displaced and separated. During the Li Chengwan administration, serious social unrest continued.

At that time, South Korea's democracy was not mature, and the country experienced great political and economic difficulties. President Li Chengwan finally stepped down in April because of the student-led uprising. Zhang Mian of the Democratic Party formed a government and established the Second Republic in August 1960.

However, the new government was overthrown by a coup staged by Major General park chung-hee on 6 May. The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction headed by park chung-hee took over the legislative, executive and judicial power of the government.

Park chung-hee was elected president in the election of 1963. Park chung-hee government is committed to rapid industrialization, and achieved high-speed economic growth known as the "miracle of Hanjiang River" in 1960s and 1970s. However, park chung-hee's rule was accompanied by strict restrictions on people's political rights and civil liberties.

1979 After the assassination of President park chung-hee in June, there was a martial law transition period. Acting President Cui Guixia resigned in August 1980, and Quan Doo-hwan, the leader of the once powerful military officer group, was elected President by the National Assembly (Electoral College).

The democratic movement rose in the 1980s. 1987 Amend the Constitution and restore the system of directly electing the President.

According to the new constitution, another general, Lu Taiyu, was elected president. During Lu Taiyu's administration, democracy made great progress, which laid the foundation for the first democratically elected president in 32 years.

Jin Yongsan, an activist who has been engaged in the democratic movement for a long time, was elected as the candidate of the ruling party on 1992.

1997, Kim Dae-jung, leader of the new political national assembly of the main opposition party, was elected president. Kim Dae-jung's government, known as the "national government", is the first government in the history of Korean constitution to be produced by the peaceful transfer of power from the ruling party to the opposition party.

Roh Moo-hyun's government, that is, the "national participation government", was established on February 25th, 2003, and is the16th government in Korean history. Roh Moo-hyun's government put forward three major goals: "building democracy for the people", "building a balanced development society for the people" and "welcoming the peaceful and prosperous Northeast Asia era".

Roh Moo-hyun's government is the product of national strength. Citizens who cherish principles and reason voluntarily raise funds for election activities, thus enabling Roh Moo-hyun to win the presidential election.

Most importantly, Roh Moo-hyun's government was established on the basis of universal participation. Therefore, from the beginning, citizen participation will play a key role in the future operation of the government.