The Lower Paleolithic era on the Korean Peninsula and in Manchuria began roughly half a million years ago.Christopher J. Norton, "The Current State of Korean Paleoanthropology", (2000), Journal of Human Evolution, 38: 803–825. The earliest known Korean pottery dates to around 8000 BC and the Neolithic period began thereafter, followed by the Bronze Age by 2000 BC,Jong Chan Kim, Christopher J Bae, "Radiocarbon Dates Documenting The Neolithic-Bronze Age Transition in Korea" , (2010), Radiocarbon, 52: 2, pp. 483–492. and the Iron Age around 700 BC. The Paleolithic people are likely not the direct ancestors of the present Korean people, but their direct ancestors are thought to be the Neolithic People of about 2000 BC.金両基監修『韓国の歴史』河出書房新社 2002、p.2
According to the mythic account recounted in the Samguk yusa (1281), the Gojoseon kingdom was founded in northern Korea and southern Manchuria in 2333 BC. The first written historical record on Gojoseon can be found from the text Guanzi. Gojoseon at Doosan Encyclopedia The Jin state was formed in southern Korea by the 3rd century BC. In the late 2nd century BC, Gojoseon eventually fell to the Han dynasty of China, which led to succeeding warring states, the Proto–Three Kingdoms period.
From the 1st century BC, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla grew to control the peninsula and Manchuria as the Three Kingdoms of Korea (57 BC–668 AD), until unification by Silla in 676. In 698, Dae Jo-young established Balhae in the old territories of Goguryeo, which led to the Northern and Southern States period (698–926) with Balhae and Silla coexisting.
In the late 9th century, Silla was divided into the Later Three Kingdoms (892–936), which ended with the unification by Wang Kŏn's Goryeo dynasty. Meanwhile, Balhae fell after invasions by the Khitan-led Liao dynasty; fleeing refugees including the last crown prince emigrated to Goryeo, where he was absorbed into the ruling family, thus unifying the two successor states of Goguryeo.Kim Jongseo, Jeong Inji, et al. "Goryeosa (The History of Goryeo)", 1451, Article for July 934, 17th year in the Reign of Taejo, "When Parhae perished at the hands of the Khitan around this same time, much of its ruling class, who were of Koguryŏ descent, fled to Koryŏ. Wang Kŏn warmly welcomed them and generously gave them land. Along with bestowing the name Wang Kye ("Successor of the Royal Wang") on the Parhae crown prince, Tae Kwang-hyŏn, Wang Kŏn entered his name in the royal household register, thus clearly conveying the idea that they belonged to the same lineage, and also had rituals performed in honor of his progenitor. Thus Koryŏ achieved a true national unification that embraced not only the Later Three Kingdoms but even survivors of Koguryŏ lineage from the Parhae kingdom." During the Goryeo period, laws were codified, a civil service system was introduced, and culture influenced by Buddhism flourished. However, Mongol invasions in the 13th century brought Goryeo under the influence of the Mongol Empire and the Yuan dynasty of China until the mid-14th century.
In 1392, General Yi Seong-gye established the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897) after a coup d'état in 1388 that overthrew the Goryeo dynasty. King Sejong the Great (1418–1450) implemented numerous administrative, social, scientific, and economic reforms, established royal authority in the early years of the dynasty, and personally created Hangul, the Korean alphabet.
After enjoying a period of peace for nearly two centuries, the Joseon dynasty faced foreign invasions from 1592 to 1637. Most notable of these were the Japanese invasions of Korea. The combined force of the Ming dynasty of China and the Joseon dynasty (whose naval fleet was successfully led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin) repelled these Japanese invasions, but at a cost to both countries. Henceforth, Joseon gradually became more and more isolationist and stagnant with frequent internal strifes.
By the mid 19th century, with the country unwilling to modernize, and under encroachment by European powers, Joseon Korea was forced to sign unequal treaties with foreign powers. After the assassination of Empress Myeongseong by Japanese mercenaries in 1895, the Donghak Peasant Revolution, and the Gabo Reforms of 1894 to 1896, the Korean Empire (1897–1910) came into existence, heralding a brief but rapid period of social reform and modernization. However, in 1905, the Korean Empire was forced to sign a protectorate treaty and in 1910, Japan effectively annexed the Korean Empire; the treaties involved were later confirmed to be null and void. Korea then became a de facto Japanese colony from 1910 to 1945. Korean resistance manifested in the widespread March First Movement of 1919. Thereafter the resistance movements, coordinated by the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in exile, became largely active in neighboring Manchuria, China proper, and Siberia.
After the end of World War II in 1945, the Allies divided the country into a northern area (protected by the Soviets) and a southern area (protected primarily by the United States). In 1948, when the great powers failed to agree on the formation of a single government, this partition became the modern states of North and South Korea. The peninsula was divided at the 38th Parallel: the "Republic of Korea" was created in the south, with the backing of the US and Western Europe, and the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" in the north, with the backing of the Soviets and the communist People's Republic of China. The new premier of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, launched the Korean War in 1950 in an attempt to reunify the country under Communist rule. After immense material and human destruction, the conflict ended with a ceasefire in 1953. In 1991, both states were accepted into the United Nations. In 2018, the two nations agreed to work toward a final settlement to formally end the Korean conflict and promote the common prosperity and reunification of Korea.
While both countries were essentially under authoritarian rule after the war, South Korea eventually liberalized. Since 1987 it has had a competitive electoral system. The South Korean economy has prospered, and the country is now considered to be fully developed. North Korea has maintained a totalitarian militarized rule, with a personality cult constructed around the Kim family. Economically, North Korea has remained heavily dependent on foreign aid.
Prehistory
Paleolithic
No fossil proven to be Homo erectus has been found in the Korean Peninsula,Early Human Evolution: Homo ergaster and erectus . Anthro.palomar.edu. Retrieved on 2013-07-12. though a candidate has been reported. Tool-making artifacts from the Paleolithic period have been found in present-day North Hamgyong, South Pyongan, Gyeonggi, and north and south Chungcheong provinces, which dates the Paleolithic Age to half a million years ago, though it may have begun as late as 400,000 years ago or as early as 600,000–700,000 years ago.
Neolithic
The earliest known Korean pottery dates back to around 8000 BC,Chong Pil Choe, Martin T. Bale, "Current Perspectives on Settlement, Subsistence, and Cultivation in Prehistoric Korea", (2002), Arctic Anthropology, 39: 1–2, pp. 95–121. and evidence of Mesolithic Pit–Comb Ware culture (or Yunggimun pottery) is found throughout the peninsula, such as in Jeju Island. Jeulmun pottery, or "comb-pattern pottery", is found after 7000 BC, and is concentrated at sites in west-central regions of the Korean Peninsula, where a number of prehistoric settlements, such as Amsa-dong, existed. Jeulmun pottery bears basic design and form similarities to that of Mongolia, the Amur and Songhua river basins of Manchuria, the Jōmon culture in Japan, and the Baiyue in Southern China and Southeast Asia.
Archaeological evidence demonstrates that agricultural societies and the earliest forms of social-political complexity emerged in the Mumun pottery period (c. 1500–300 BC).
People in southern Korea adopted intensive dry-field and paddy-field agriculture with a multitude of crops in the Early Mumun Period (1500–850 BC). The first societies led by big-men or chiefs emerged in the Middle Mumun (850–550 BC), and the first ostentatious elite burials can be traced to the Late Mumun (c. 550–300 BC). Bronze production began in the Middle Mumun and became increasingly important in ceremonial and political society after 700 BC. Archeological evidence from Songguk-ri, Daepyeong, Igeum-dong, and elsewhere indicate that the Mumun era was the first in which chiefdoms rose, expanded, and collapsed. The increasing presence of long-distance trade, an increase in local conflicts, and the introduction of bronze and iron metallurgy are trends denoting the end of the Mumun around 300 BC.
In addition, 73 tombs similar to the ones found in Japan, estimated to date back to Gojoseon (100 BC), have been found in the southern tip of the Korean peninsula, and the discovery of jar burials, suggest a close relationship with Japan小片丘彦「朝鮮半島出土古人骨の時代的特徴」『鹿児島大学歯学部紀要』 (18), 1–8, 1998 and Gojoseon, proving that Gojoseon and Yayoi period Japan maintained close relations with one another even during the ancient times.
Bronze Age The Bronze Age in Korea is often held to have begun around 900–800 BC, though the transition to the Bronze Age may have begun as far back as 2300 BC. Bronze daggers, mirrors, jewelry, and weaponry have been found, as well as evidence of walled-town polities. Rice, red beans, soybeans and millet were cultivated, and rectangular pit-houses and increasingly larger dolmen burial sites are found throughout the peninsula.Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites , UNESCO Contemporaneous records suggest that Gojoseon transitioned from a feudal federation of walled cities into a centralised kingdom at least before the 4th century BC. It is believed that by the 4th century BC, iron culture was developing in Korea by northern influence via today's Russia's Maritime Province.Wontack Hong, "The Yemaek Tungus of Central Manchuria and Korean Peninsula: Interactions between the Xianbei and the Yemaek Tungus"
Ancient Korea
Gojoseon
Gojoseon was the first Korean kingdom, located in the north of the peninsula and Manchuria, later alongside the state of Jin in the south of the peninsula.
The founding legend of Gojoseon, which is recorded in the Samguk yusa (1281) and other medieval Korean books,See also Jewang Ungi (1287) and Tongguk t'onggam (1485). states that the country was established in 2333 BC by Dangun, said to be descended from heaven. While no evidence has been found that supports whatever facts may lie beneath this,: "An extreme manifestation of nationalism and the family cult was the revival of interest in Tangun, the mythical founder of the first Korean state... Most textbooks and professional historians, however, treat him as a myth." : "Although Kija may have truly existed as a historical figure, Tangun is more problematical." : "Most [Korean historians] treat the [Tangun] myth as a later creation." : "The Tangun myth became more popular with groups that wanted Korea to be independent; the Kija myth was more useful to those who wanted to show that Korea had a strong affinity to China." : "If a choice is to be made between them, one is faced with the fact that the Tangun, with his supernatural origin, is more clearly a mythological figure than Kija." the account has played an important role in developing Korean national identity.