1.

Later Three Kingdoms

[edit]
Main article: Later Three Kingdoms

The Later Three Kingdoms period (892–936) consisted of Unified Silla and the revival
of Baekje and Goguryeo, known historiographically as "Later Baekje" and "Later
Goguryeo". During the late 9th century, as Silla declined in power and exorbitant taxes
were imposed on the people, rebellions erupted nationwide and powerful regional lords
rose up against the waning kingdom.[164]

Later Baekje was founded by the general Kyŏn Hwŏn in 892, and its capital was
established in Wansanju (modern Jeonju). The kingdom was based in the southwestern
regions in the former territories of Baekje. In 927, Later Baekje attacked Gyeongju, the
capital of Unified Silla, and placed a puppet on the throne. Eventually, Kyŏn Hwŏn was
ousted by his sons due to a succession dispute and escaped to Goryeo, where he
served as a general in the conquest of the kingdom he personally founded.[165]

Later Goguryeo was founded by the Buddhist monk Kung Ye in 901, and its original
capital was established in Songak (modern Kaesong). The kingdom was based in the
northern regions, which were the strongholds of Goguryeo refugees.[166][160] Later
Goguryeo's name was changed to Majin in 904, and Taebong in 911. In 918, Wang
Kŏn, a prominent general of Goguryeo descent, deposed the increasingly despotic and
paranoid Kung Ye, and established Goryeo. By 936, Goryeo conquered its rivals and
achieved the unification of the Later Three Kingdoms.[167]

Goryeo dynasty
[edit]
Main article: Goryeo
See also: Goryeo military regime and Korea under Yuan rule

Celadon Incense Burner from the Korean Goryeo dynasty (918–1392),

with kingfisher color glaze
Goryeo was founded by Wang Kŏn in 918 and became the ruling dynasty of Korea by
936. It was named "Goryeo" because Wang Kŏn, who was of Goguryeo descent,
[168]
deemed the nation as the successor of Goguryeo.[158][169][170][171][172][173] Wang Kŏn made his
hometown Kaesong (in present-day North Korea) the capital. The dynasty lasted until
1392, although the government was controlled by military regime leaders between 1170
and 1270. Goryeo (also spelled as Koryŏ) is the source of the English name "Korea". [174]
[175]

During this period, laws were codified and a civil service system was
introduced. Buddhism flourished and spread throughout the peninsula. The
development of celadon pottery flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries.[176][177] The
production of the Tripitaka Koreana onto 81,258 wooden printing blocks,[178] and the
invention of the metal movable type attest to Goryeo's cultural achievements.[179][180][181][182]
[183]

In 1018, the Liao dynasty, which was the most powerful empire of its time,[184][185] invaded
Goryeo but was defeated by General Kang Kam-ch'an at the Battle of Kuju to end
the Goryeo–Khitan War. After defeating the Khitan Empire, 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.[186][187]

In 1231, the Mongols began their invasions of Korea during seven major campaigns and
39 years of struggle, but were unable to conquer Korea.[188] Exhausted after decades of
fighting, Goryeo sent its crown prince to the Dadu to swear allegiance to the Yuan
dynasty; Kublai Khan accepted, and married one of his daughters to the Korean crown
prince,[188] and for the following 80 years Goryeo existed under the overlordship of the
Mongol-ruled Yuan dynasty in China.[189][190] The two nations became intertwined for 80
years as all subsequent Korean kings married Mongol princesses,[188] and the last
empress of the Yuan dynasty was a Korean woman.[191][self-published source]

In the 1350s, the Yuan dynasty declined rapidly due to internal struggles, enabling
King Gongmin to reform the Goryeo government.[192] Gongmin had various problems that
needed to be dealt with, including the removal of pro-Yuan aristocrats and military
officials, the question of land holding, and quelling the growing animosity between the
Buddhists and Confucian scholars.[193] During this tumultuous period, Goryeo
momentarily conquered Liaoyang in 1356, repulsed two large invasions by the Red
Turbans in 1359 and 1360, and defeated the final attempt by the Yuan to dominate
Goryeo when General Ch'oe Yŏng defeated an invading Yuan tumen in 1364. During
the 1380s, Goryeo turned its attention to the Wokou menace and used naval
artillery created by Ch'oe Mu-sŏn to annihilate hundreds of pirate ships.

The Goryeo dynasty would last until 1392. Yi Seong-gye, the founder of
the Joseon dynasty, took power in a coup in 1388 and after serving as the power behind
the throne for two monarchs, established the Joseon dynasty in 1392.[194]
Joseon dynasty
[edit]
Main article: Joseon

King Taejo's portrait

Donggwoldo

2. Political history
[edit]

In 1392, the general Yi Seong-gye, later known as Taejo, established

the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897), named in honor of the ancient kingdom Gojoseon,[12]
[195][note 3]
and founded on idealistic Confucianism-based ideology.[196] The prevailing
philosophy throughout the Joseon dynasty was Neo-Confucianism, which was
epitomized by the seonbi class, scholars who passed up positions of wealth and power
to lead lives of study and integrity.

Taejo moved the capital to Hanyang (modern-day Seoul) and built the
palace Gyeongbokgung. In 1394 he adopted Neo-Confucianism as the country's official
religion, and pursued the creation of a strong bureaucratic state. His son and
grandson, King Taejong and Sejong the Great, implemented numerous administrative,
social, and economic reforms and established royal authority in the early years of the
dynasty.[197]

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Joseon enjoyed many benevolent rulers who
promoted education and science.[198] Most notable among them was Sejong the Great (r.
1418–50), who personally created and promulgated Hangul, the Korean alphabet.
[199]
This golden age[198] saw great cultural and scientific advancements,[200] including in
printing, meteorological observation, astronomy, calendar science, ceramics, military
technology, geography, cartography, medicine, and agricultural technology, some of
which were unrivaled elsewhere.[201]

Internal conflicts within the royal court, civil unrest and other political struggles plagued
the nation in the years that followed, worsened by the Japanese invasion of
Korea between 1592 and 1598. Toyotomi Hideyoshi marshalled his forces and tried to
invade the Asian continent through Korea, but was eventually repelled by the Korean
military, with the assistance of the righteous armies and Chinese Ming dynasty. This
war also saw the rise of the career of Admiral Lee Sun-sin with the turtle ship. As Korea
was rebuilding, it had to repel invasions by the Manchu in 1627 and 1636. Internal
politics were bitterly divided and settled by violence.[202] Historian JaHyun Kim Haboush,
in the summary by her editor William Haboush in 2016, interpreted the decisive impact
of the victories against the Japanese and Manchu invaders:

Out of this great war at the end of the 16th century and the Manchu invasions of 1627
and 1636–1637, Koreans emerged with a discernible sense of themselves as a distinct
ethnic united by birth, language, and belief forged by this immense clash of the three
great powers of East Asia ... Korea arrived at the brink of the seventeenth century as a
nation.[203]
After the second Manchu invasion and stabilized relations with the new Qing
dynasty, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of external peace. However
internally, the bitter and violent factional battles raged on. In the 18th century, King
Yeongjo (r. 1724–76) and his grandson King Jeongjo (r. 1776–1800) led a new
renaissance.[204] Yeongjo and Jeongjo reformed the tax system which grew the
revenue stream into the treasury, strengthened the military and sponsored a revival
of learning. The printing press was rejuvenated by using movable metal type; the
number and quality of publications sharply increased. Jeongjo sponsored scholars
from various factions to work in the Kyujanggak, or Inner Royal Library, established
in 1776.[205]