Topics on the Page

Location and Geography

Battleground Between China and Japan

Chinese Influences

Cultural Bridges

Traditional Roles for Women in Ancient Korea

Cross-Link: The Korean War and the Cold War

Focus Question:

How has Korea been both a battleground and a cultural bridge between China and Japan?

• Korea was a main focus of China and Japan. Both countries attacked multiple times to invade, with limited success, until the 1630s when the Manchu dynasty formed a tributary relationship with Korea.

• Cultural characteristics of China and Japan, such as art, literature, and ceramics, can be seen in Korean culture.

Yeon Gaesomun, 7th century leader 

  Video on Korean History during the Gaya Kingdom, which spanned across China, Korea, and Japan (don't read comments).

An animated timeline of Korean history provides an overview from 300-1000 CE.

Another interactive timeline including historical maps gives an overview of Asia from 2000 BC to the 21st century.

Location and Geography

Korea is a small country located between China and Japan. Between 1592 and 1598, Japan invaded and tried to occupy Korea. The Koreans, however, successfully chased off the Japanese with aid from the Chinese. The Chinese assisted the Koreans because they were interested in having access to Korea’s natural resources and for national security purposes (they wanted to protect their own borders from invasion).

Korea is located on the Korean Peninsula in northeast Asia. It is bound by two countries, Japan and China, and three seas. The Amnok River separates Korea from China. The Yellow Sea is to the west, the East China Sea is to the south, and the East Sea (also called the Sea of Japan, depending on whose point of view is being expressed) is to the east of Korea. This geography was pivotal in the histories of Korea, China and Japan, entwining their cultures and histories with common threads. Even their ancient peoples were closely related culturally, linguistically, and governmentally, starting in pre-historic times.

Why was Korea a battleground between China/Japan?

It is important to note that the Three Kingdoms of Korea are often referred to by two different names: Koguryo or Goguryeo, Paekche or Baekje, and Shilla or Silla. The following text uses the former pronunciations only, so as to avoid any confusion.

In the early Common Era, the Three Kingdoms of Koguryo, Paekche, and Shilla, were virtually stand alone kingdoms. They often competed for power, and at times, fought amongst each other. During this period, Koreans played an important role as transmitters of cultural advances, helping the formation of early Japanese culture and politics. Most Japanese aristocratic clans trace their lineage to the Korean peninsula. The Japanese Emperor stated that "it is recorded in the Chronicles of Japan that the mother of Emperor Kammu was of the line of King Muryeong of Baekje," and "I believe it was fortunate to see such culture and skills transmitted from Korea to Japan."

Check out this video playlist about the Baekje influence on Japan.

The Korean kingdoms competed with each other economically and militarily. While Koguryo and Paekche were more powerful in this era, defeating Chinese invasions several times, Shilla's power gradually extended across Korea, and eventually established the first unified state to cover most of the Korean peninsula by 676—a period is often called Unified Shilla

 Soon after the fall of the Goguryeo, a group led by former Koguryo general Dae Joyeong went to eastern Manchuria and founded Balhae (698 AD - 926 AD) as the successor to Koguryo. After Balhae was defeated in 926, much of its people, led by the Crown Prince, were absorbed into Koguryo.

After Unified Silla fell apart in the late 9th century, this gave way to the Later Three Kingdoms period (892-936), which ended with the establishment of the Goryeo Dynasty. During the Goryeo period, laws were made, a system of civil service was introduced, and Buddhism established itself and spread rapidly. In 1238, the Mongolian Empire invaded and, after nearly thirty years of war, the two sides signed a peace treaty.

Sejong the Great 

In 1392, General Yi Seong-gye established the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) after this treaty. King Sejong the Great (1418-1450) promulgated Hangul, the Korean alphabet, as an alternative to Chinese characters that were previously the only system of writing.

This period founded various other advances in culture and technology. Between 1592 and 1598, Japan invaded Korea,but was eventually repelled with the efforts by the Korean Navy led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin, resistance aid, and Chinese help. In the 1620s and 1630s, Joseon suffered invasions by the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

The inventor of Hangul (한글)Also contains Chinese characters

Chinese Influence on Korea

The Korean kingdoms were influenced by Chinese trade and culture. Korean writing systems, political systems, architecture, and religions originated from China. Korea adapted these ideas and made them into their own. An example of this is Koreans creating the world's first metal moveable type in the 12th century, based on the Chinese invented printing system using wooden blocks. 

More Cultural Bridges

• Pre historic Korean civilizations introduced metallurgy and rice farming to the Japanese.
• as wars between the Three Kingdoms intensified, many Koreans emigrated to Japan and had a profound impact on Japan, especially with their ability to develop underdeveloped areas.
• The Paekche peoples introduced Buddhism to the Japanese.
• The implementation of Chinese literature spread throughout the Three Kingdom elite.
• Buddhism was practiced heavily by its inhabitants after being adopted after unification.
• Later, Koreans adopted the western calendar from China.
• Made headway in literature.

. Traditional Roles for Women in Ancient Korea

In traditional Korean society women had set roles in family households. They were expected to cook, clean, and take care of the children and the elderly. They would sometimes work in outside farming the land. Women were expected to obey their husband and husband's family, along with looking up to the elder females who had more power than them. 

More Hidden Korean history & culture here and down below!

Learning Plans

 Click here for a downloadable PDF of a great multi-day lesson plan on teaching Korean History!

The Hidden Korea History provided by PBS online, has great resources covering a vast variety of topics!

 The Korean history channel provided a short 5 minute clip chronicling the Joseon Dynasty and its major achievements.

The University of Hawaii has a wide database of bibliographies of Korean works available to the public, find books on the ancient relationships here.

Traditional Korean Families is a reading on the role of women and families in Korean history.

A summary of Korean history from 1600-1800 on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's (NYC) web site includes the following text:

 
"The Manchu invasions of the Korean peninsula and the subsequent establishment of the Qing dynasty in China during the first half of the seventeenth century shape the Chosôn elite's view of its own culture. Scholars and officials increasingly take an interest in Korea's history, geography, agriculture, literature, and art. The new strain of research, now commonly termed sirhak, or "practical learning," is in vogue through much of the two centuries between 1600 and 1800. It is manifested in practical legislation that seeks to control and enhance the government's bureaucratic workings and the lives of the general population, especially the peasants.

"Culturally, a similar strain of interest in things Korean finds expression in works of art that explore native vernacular, geography, and social customs. Fiction written in han’gûl (Korean writing) explores nontraditional themes that fall outside of //yangban// (literati) interests, and are often authored by people of the lower classes. Paintings of the eighteenth century depicting famous sites in Korea and the daily lives of people—known as "true-view" landscape painting and genre painting—evidence the vibrant and "Korean" artistic expressions of this period. Ceramic production, having suffered setbacks following major Japanese and Manchu invasions of the peninsula, reemerges with fresh creativity by the second half of the seventeenth century and through the eighteenth century.

"Attention to Korea's history and culture does not mean indifference to foreign stimuli. On the contrary, there is enduring, if selective, interest in and relations with the world outside, alongside discoveries of native potentials. Diplomatic and cultural exchanges with Japan continued, despite ambivalence and mistrust, and contributed significantly to shaping Chosôn culture. Sporadic and largely accidental contact with the West sparks the two worlds' awareness of each other."

Sources

1. The Metropolitan Museum of art, (2007). Korea. Retrieved March 25, 2007, from The Metropolitan museum of art Web site: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/06/eak/ht06eak.htm
2. Duiker, William J. and Spielvogel, Jackson J., (2005). The essential world history. Belmonet, CA: Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc.
3. Caraway, William (2007). Korean History Project. Retrieved March 8, 2007, from Where the Past is Always Present Web site: http://www.koreanhistoryproject.org/
4. East Asian Curriculum Program, (2007). Imperialism, War, and Revolution in East Asia. Retrieved March 8, 2007, from Asia for Educators Web site: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/webcourse/key_points/kp_11.htm
5. PBS, (2007). Hidden Korea. Retrieved March 8, 2007, from PBS Online Web site: http://www.pbs.org/hiddenkorea/history.htm
6. Library of Congress, (2007). Korean Under Japanese Rule. Retrieved March 8, 2007, from Library of Congress Web site: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+kr0021)
7. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/09/eak/ht09eak.htm for summary and key events until 1800
8. http://asianhistory.about.com/od/southkorea/p/JoseonDynasty.htm for summary of Joseon Dynasty
9. Map, http://mappery.com/map-of/East-Asia-Map.
10. Bibliography, http://www.hawaii.edu/korea/biblio/ancientKJrels.html.
11. Timeline, http://www.ecai.org/Area/AreaTeamExamples/Korea/KoreaHistoryAnimation.html.
12. Map of Asia & interactive timeline https://www.timemaps.com/history/east-asia-1453ad/