The Beginnings of Korea’s History (Prehistoric Times – Gojoseon)

The history of the Korean nation began in Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula when people started settling there 700,000 years ago. Representative hist...

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Three Kingdoms and Other States

Towards the end of the Gojoseon Period, tribal states came into being one after another in Manchuria and on the Korean Peninsula. Buyeo was establishe...

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Northern and Southern States Period: Unified Silla and Balhae

With the unification of the three Kingdoms on the Korean Peninsula in 668, Silla enjoyed a marked expansion of both its territory and population. Un...

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Goryeo Dynasty

By the late 8th century, Silla had been weakened by an internal struggle for power among the nobility; by the 10th century, leaders of powerful local ...

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Joseon Dynasty

Towards the end of the 14th century, Goryeo found itself in a difficult situation due to internal and external problems, including a struggle for ...

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The Fall of Joseon: Imperial Japan’s Annexation of Korea

With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, capitalism developed in Europe and large businesses came into being. European countri...

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Independence Movement

During the colonial period, the Japanese pillaged Joseon’s resources, banned the use of the Korean language–even going so far in 1939 as to require Ko...

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Transition to a Democracy and Transformation into an Economic Powerhouse

On May 10, 1948, the first general election was held in a democratic manner in South Korea under the UN’s supervision to elect the 198 members of the ...

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