Editing Korea (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Korea}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of Korean history}}
<!--Note: this is a short summary. Do not add details here: please expand content in the main article (History of Korea) -->
{{History of Korea}}

===Prehistory===
{{Main|Prehistoric Korea}}
The Korean Academy claimed ancient hominid fossils originating from about 100,000 BCE in the lava at a stone city site in Korea. Fluorescent and high-magnetic analyses indicate the volcanic fossils may be from as early as 300,000 BCE.<ref>{{cite web | last = Li | first = Jie | url = http://www.pureinsight.org/node/1065 | title = Some Discoveries of Fossils and Relics of Prehistoric Civilizations From Around the World | publisher = Pureinsight | date = 21 August 2002 | access-date = 3 November 2009 | archive-date = 12 October 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081012164208/http://www.pureinsight.org/node/1065 | url-status = live }}</ref> The best preserved Korean pottery goes back to the [[Paleolithic]] times around 10,000 BCE and the [[Neolithic]] period begins around 6000 BCE.

Beginning around 300 BC, the [[Japonic]]-speaking [[Yayoi people]] from the Korean Peninsula entered the Japanese islands and displaced or intermingled with the original [[Jōmon people|Jōmon]] inhabitants.<ref>{{cite book | surname = Vovin | given = Alexander | author-link = Alexander Vovin | chapter = Origins of the Japanese Language | doi = 10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.277 | doi-access = free | title = Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2017 | isbn = 978-0-19-938465-5}}</ref> The linguistic homeland of Proto-[[Koreans]] is located somewhere in Southern Siberia / Manchuria, such as the [[Liao river]] area or the Amur region. Proto-Koreans arrived in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula at around 300 BC, replacing and assimilating Japonic-speakers and likely causing the [[Yayoi culture|Yayoi]] migration.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Janhunen|first=Juha|date=2010|title=RReconstructing the Language Map of Prehistorical Northeast Asia|journal=Studia Orientalia|quote=... there are strong indications that the neighbouring Baekje state (in the southwest) was predominantly Japonic-speaking until it was linguistically Koreanized.|number=108}}</ref>

===Gojoseon===
{{Main|Gojoseon}}
According to Korean legend, [[Dangun]], a descendant of [[Heaven]], established [[Gojoseon]] in 2333 BCE. In 108 BCE, the [[Han dynasty]] defeated Gojoseon and installed [[Four Commanderies of Han|four commanderies]] in the northern Korean peninsula. Three of the commanderies fell or retreated westward within a few decades, but the [[Lelang Commandery]] remained as a center of cultural and economic exchange with successive Chinese dynasties for four centuries. By 313, [[Goguryeo]] annexed all of the Chinese commanderies.

===Proto–Three Kingdoms===
{{Main|Proto–Three Kingdoms of Korea}}
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
The Proto–Three Kingdoms period, sometimes called the Multiple States Period, is the earlier part of what is commonly called the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea|Three Kingdoms Period]], following the fall of [[Gojoseon]] but before [[Goguryeo]], [[Baekje]], and [[Silla]] fully developed into kingdoms.

This time period saw numerous states spring up from the former territories of Gojoseon, which encompassed northern Korea and southern [[Manchuria]]. With the fall of Gojoseon, southern Korea entered the [[Samhan]] period.

Located in the southern part of Korea, Samhan referred to the three confederacies of [[Mahan confederacy|Mahan]], [[Jinhan confederacy|Jinhan]], and [[Byeonhan confederacy|Byeonhan]]. Mahan was the largest and consisted of 54 states. [[Byeonhan]] and [[Jinhan]] both consisted of twelve states, bringing a total of 78 states within the [[Samhan]]. These three confederacies eventually developed into [[Baekje]], [[Silla]], and [[Gaya confederacy|Gaya]].

===Three Kingdoms===
{{Main|Three Kingdoms of Korea|Baekje|Goguryeo|Silla}}
{{Self-published|section|date=November 2022}}
[[File:7th century painting of Koreans.png|thumb|7th century Tang dynasty painting of envoys from the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla]]
The [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]] consisted of [[Goguryeo]], [[Silla]], and [[Baekje]]. Silla and Baekje controlled the southern half of the [[Korean Peninsula]], maintaining the former [[Samhan]] territories, while Goguryeo controlled the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria and the [[Liaodong Peninsula]], uniting [[Buyeo]], [[Okjeo]], [[Eastern Ye|Dongye]], and other states in the former [[Gojoseon]] territories.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/history.htm |title=Korea |publisher=Asian info |access-date=3 November 2009 |archive-date=4 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204050220/http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/history.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Goguryeo]] was a highly militaristic state,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Ki-baek|title=A New History of Korea|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674615762|pages=23–24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA23|access-date=21 November 2016|language=en|year=1984}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Walker|first1=Hugh Dyson|title=East Asia: A New History|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=9781477265161|page=104|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Z3a0NU4RHMC|language=en|date=2012|access-date=21 November 2016|archive-date=18 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818181135/https://books.google.com/books?id=3Z3a0NU4RHMC|url-status=live}}{{self-published source|date=September 2020}}</ref> and a large empire in East Asia,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Roberts|first1=John Morris|last2=Westad|first2=Odd Arne|title=The History of the World|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199936762|page=443|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A2cfZkU5aQgC&q=koguryo+powerful+empire|access-date=15 July 2016|language=en|year=2013|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234403/https://books.google.com/books?id=A2cfZkU5aQgC&q=koguryo+powerful+empire|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Gardner|first=Hall|title=Averting Global War: Regional Challenges, Overextension, and Options for American Strategy|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9780230608733|pages=158–159|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=acvGAAAAQBAJ&q=great+powers|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417203941/https://books.google.com/books?id=acvGAAAAQBAJ&q=great+powers|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2021|access-date=15 July 2016|language=en|date=27 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=de Laet|first=Sigfried J.|title=History of Humanity: From the seventh to the sixteenth century|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=9789231028137|page=1133|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PvlthkbFU1UC&pg=PA1133|access-date=10 October 2016|language=en|year=1994|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234404/https://books.google.com/books?id=PvlthkbFU1UC&pg=PA1133|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Walker">{{cite book|last=Walker|first=Hugh Dyson|title=East Asia: A New History|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=9781477265178|pages=6–7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBvRs-za0CIC&pg=PA6|access-date=18 November 2016|language=en|date=20 November 2012}}{{self-published source|date=September 2020}}</ref> reaching its zenith in the 5th century when its territories expanded to encompass most of Manchuria to the north, parts of [[Inner Mongolia]] to the west,<ref>{{cite book|last=Tudor|first=Daniel|title=Korea: The Impossible Country: The Impossible Country|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=9781462910229|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BA_QAgAAQBAJ&q=Inner+Mongolia|access-date=15 July 2016|language=en|date=10 November 2012|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234917/https://books.google.com/books?id=BA_QAgAAQBAJ&q=Inner+Mongolia|url-status=live}}</ref> parts of Russia to the east,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kotkin|first1=Stephen|last2=Wolff|first2=David|title=Rediscovering Russia in Asia: Siberia and the Russian Far East: Siberia and the Russian Far East|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317461296|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_DqBgAAQBAJ&q=Koguryo+Siberia+Russia%27s|access-date=15 July 2016|language=en|date=4 March 2015}}</ref> and the Seoul region to the south.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kim|first=Jinwung|title=A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict|date=2012|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington, Indiana|isbn=978-0253000781|page=35|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&pg=PA35|access-date=15 July 2016|language=en|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234408/https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&pg=PA35|url-status=live}}</ref> Goguryeo experienced a golden age under [[Gwanggaeto the Great]] and his son [[Jangsu of Goguryeo|Jangsu]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Hyŏn-hŭi|last2=Pak|first2=Sŏng-su|last3=Yun|first3=Nae-hyŏn|title=New history of Korea|publisher=Jimoondang|isbn=9788988095850|page=201|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KO8MAQAAMAAJ|language=en|year=2005|access-date=29 July 2016|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234407/https://books.google.com/books?id=KO8MAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} "He launched a military expedition to expand his territory, opening the golden age of Goguryeo."</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hall|first=John Whitney|title=The Cambridge History of Japan|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521223522|page=362|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A3_6lp8IOK8C|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|year=1988}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Embree|first=Ainslie Thomas|title=Encyclopedia of Asian history|publisher=Scribner|isbn=9780684188997|page=324|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LtwpAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Nevertheless%2C+the+reigns+of+Kwanggaet%27o+and+his+successor+Changsu+%28413-491%29+constituted+the+golden+age+of+Koguryo.%22|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|year=1988|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328145304/https://books.google.com/books?id=LtwpAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Nevertheless%2C+the+reigns+of+Kwanggaet%27o+and+his+successor+Changsu+%28413-491%29+constituted+the+golden+age+of+Koguryo.%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Cohen|first=Warren I.|title=East Asia at the Center: Four Thousand Years of Engagement with the World|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231502511|page=50|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Okjd2rDwb8IC&q=%22Koguryo%27s+Golden+Age%22|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=20 December 2000|archive-date=4 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204041023/https://books.google.com/books?id=Okjd2rDwb8IC&q=%22Koguryo%27s+Golden+Age%22|url-status=live}}</ref> who both subdued Baekje and Silla during their times, achieving a brief unification of the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]] and becoming the most dominant power on the Korean Peninsula.<ref name="Jinwung">{{cite book|last=Kim|first=Jinwung|title=A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253000781|page=35|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&pg=PA35|access-date=11 October 2016|language=en|date=5 November 2012|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234408/https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&pg=PA35|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kings and Queens of Korea|url=http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/archive/program/program_dynasty.htm?no=10039827|website=[[KBS World]] Radio|publisher=Korea Communications Commission|access-date=26 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828051916/http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/archive/program/program_dynasty.htm?no=10039827|archive-date=28 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In addition to contesting for control of the Korean Peninsula, Goguryeo had many [[Military history of Goguryeo|military conflicts]] with various Chinese dynasties,<ref>{{cite book|last=Walker|first=Hugh Dyson|title=East Asia: A New History|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=9781477265178|page=161|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBvRs-za0CIC&pg=PA161|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|date=20 November 2012}}{{self-published source|date=September 2020}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=June 2020}} most notably the [[Goguryeo–Sui War]], in which Goguryeo defeated a huge force said to number over a million men.<ref>{{cite book|last1=White|first1=Matthew|title=Atrocities: The 100 Deadliest Episodes in Human History|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=9780393081923|page=78|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0-fQHlaIpR4C&pg=PA78|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|date=7 November 2011|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234918/https://books.google.com/books?id=0-fQHlaIpR4C&pg=PA78|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Grant|first1=Reg G.|title=1001 Battles That Changed the Course of World History|publisher=Universe Pub.|isbn=9780789322333|page=104|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s4njwZGrZg4C&pg=PA104|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|year=2011|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005647/https://books.google.com/books?id=s4njwZGrZg4C&pg=PA104|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bedeski|first1=Robert|title=Human Security and the Chinese State: Historical Transformations and the Modern Quest for Sovereignty|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781134125975|page=90|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iNl9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA90|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|date=12 March 2007|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234920/https://books.google.com/books?id=iNl9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA90|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Ki-baek|title=A New History of Korea|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674615762|page=47|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA47|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|year=1984|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234931/https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA47|url-status=live}} "Koguryŏ was the first to open hostilities, with a bold assault across the Liao River against Liao-hsi, in 598. The Sui emperor, Wen Ti, launched a retaliatory attack on Koguryŏ but met with reverses and turned back in mid-course. Yang Ti, the next Sui emperor, proceeded in 612 to mount an invasion of unprecedented magnitude, marshalling a huge force said to number over a million men. And when his armies failed to take Liao-tung Fortress (modern Liao-yang), the anchor of Koguryŏ's first line of defense, he had a nearly a third of his forces, some 300,000 strong, break off the battle there and strike directly at the Koguryŏ capital of P'yŏngyang. But the Sui army was lured into a trap by the famed Koguryŏ commander Ŭlchi Mundŏk, and suffered a calamitous defeat at the Salsu (Ch'ŏngch'ŏn) River. It is said that only 2,700 of the 300,000 Sui soldiers who had crossed the Yalu survived to find their way back, and the Sui emperor now lifted the siege of Liao-tung Fortress and withdrew his forces to China proper. Yang Ti continued to send his armies against Koguryŏ but again without success, and before long his war-weakened empire crumbled."</ref><ref name="Nahm">{{cite book|last1=Nahm|first1=Andrew C.|title=A Panorama of 5000 Years: Korean History|date=2005|publisher=Hollym International Corporation|location=Seoul|isbn=978-0930878689|page=[https://archive.org/details/panoramaof5000ye0000nahm/page/18 18]|edition=Second revised|url=https://archive.org/details/panoramaof5000ye0000nahm/page/18}} "China, which had been split into many states since the early 3rd century, was reunified by the Sui dynasty at the end of the 6th century. Soon afterward, Sui China mobilized its army and invaded Koguryŏ. However, the people of Koguryŏ were united and able to repel the Chinese invasion. In 612, Sui troops invaded Korea again, but Koguryŏ forces fought bravely and destroyed Sui troops everywhere. General Ŭlchi Mundŏk of Koguryŏ completely wiped out some 300,000 Sui troops which came across the Yalu River in the battles near the Salsu River (now Ch'ŏngch'ŏn River) with his ingenious military tactics. Only 2,700 Sui troops were able to flee from Korea. The Sui dynasty, which wasted so much energy and manpower in aggressive wars against Koguryŏ, fell in 618."</ref> In 642, the powerful general [[Yeon Gaesomun]] led a coup and gained complete control over Goguryeo. In response, Emperor [[Tang Taizong]] of China led a [[First conflict of the Goguryeo–Tang War|campaign against Goguryeo]], in which the Gorguryeo forces were decimated by the Tang at the [[Battle of Mount Jupil]]. Taizong was later defeated at the [[Battle of Ansi]] and withdrew his forces from Goguryeo.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tucker|first1=Spencer C.|title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East [6 volumes]: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781851096725|page=406|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC|language=en|date=23 December 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Walker|first1=Hugh Dyson|title=East Asia: A New History|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=9781477265178|page=161|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBvRs-za0CIC&pg=PA161|access-date=4 November 2016|language=en|date=20 November 2012}}{{self-published source|date=September 2020}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=June 2020}} After the death of Tang Taizong, his son Emperor [[Tang Gaozong]] allied with the Korean kingdom of Silla and invaded Goguryeo again, but were forced to withdraw in 662.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ring|first1=Trudy|last2=Watson|first2=Noelle|last3=Schellinger|first3=Paul|title=Asia and Oceania: International Dictionary of Historic Places|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136639791|page=486|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=voerPYsAB5wC&q=stalwart+defenses|access-date=16 July 2016|language=en|date=12 November 2012|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234935/https://books.google.com/books?id=voerPYsAB5wC&q=stalwart+defenses|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Maps">{{cite book|last1=Injae|first1=Lee|last2=Miller|first2=Owen|last3=Jinhoon|first3=Park|last4=Hyun-Hae|first4=Yi|title=Korean History in Maps|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107098466|page=29|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46OTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|access-date=17 July 2016|language=en|date=15 December 2014|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234923/https://books.google.com/books?id=46OTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|url-status=live}}</ref> However, Yeon Gaesomun died of a natural cause in 666 and Goguryeo was thrown into chaos and weakened by a succession struggle among his sons and younger brother, with his eldest son defecting to [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] and his younger brother defecting to Silla.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Ki-baek|title=A New History of Korea|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674615762|page=67|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA67|access-date=2 August 2016|language=en|year=1984|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234925/https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA67|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea, 2nd Edition|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781610695824|page=49|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgxvBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA49|access-date=17 July 2016|language=en|date=30 May 2014}}</ref> The Tang-Silla alliance conquered Goguryeo in 668. After the collapse of Goguryeo, Tang and Silla ended their alliance and fought over control of the Korean Peninsula. Silla succeeded in gaining control over most of the Korean Peninsula, while Tang gained control over Goguryeo's northern territories. However, 30 years after the fall of Goguryeo, a Goguryeo general by the name of [[Dae Joyeong]] founded the Korean-Mohe state of [[Balhae]] and successfully expelled the Tang presence from much of the former Goguryeo territories.

[[File:Seokguram Buddha.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Seokguram Grotto]] from the [[Silla]] era, a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]]]
The southwestern Korean kingdom of [[Baekje]] was founded around modern-day [[Seoul]] by a [[Onjo of Baekje|Goguryeo prince]], a son of the [[Dongmyeong of Goguryeo|founder of Goguryeo]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pratt|first1=Chairman Department of East Asian Studies Keith|last2=Pratt|first2=Keith|last3=Rutt|first3=Richard|title=Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136793936|page=135|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r15cAgAAQBAJ&q=%22prince+of+Koguryo%22|access-date=22 July 2016|language=en|date=16 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Yu|first1=Chai-Shin|title=The New History of Korean Civilization|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=9781462055593|page=27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYKNdiDCGLAC&pg=PA27|access-date=22 July 2016|language=en|year=2012|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005648/https://books.google.com/books?id=TYKNdiDCGLAC&pg=PA27|url-status=live}}{{self-published source|date=September 2020}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=June 2020}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Jinwung|title=A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253000781|page=28|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&q=%22son+of+Chumong%22|access-date=22 July 2016|language=en|date=5 November 2012}}</ref> Baekje absorbed all of the [[Mahan confederacy|Mahan]] states and subjugated most of the western Korean peninsula (including the modern provinces of [[Gyeonggi]], [[Chungcheong-do|Chungcheong]], and [[Jeolla]], as well as parts of [[Hwanghae]] and [[Gangwon-do (South Korea)|Gangwon]]) to a centralised government; during the expansion of its territory, Baekje acquired Chinese culture and technology through maritime contacts with the [[Southern Dynasties]]. Baekje was a great maritime power;<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ebrey|first1=Patricia Buckley|last2=Walthall|first2=Anne|last3=Palais|first3=James B.|title=East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|isbn=9780618133840|page=123|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0entAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Paekche+was+probably+the+most+important+maritime+nation+in+the+late+fourth+century%22|access-date=12 September 2016|language=en|year=2006|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328145155/https://books.google.com/books?id=0entAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Paekche+was+probably+the+most+important+maritime+nation+in+the+late+fourth+century%22|url-status=live}}</ref> its nautical skill, which made it the [[Phoenicia]] of East Asia, was instrumental in the dissemination of Buddhism throughout East Asia and continental culture to Japan.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kitagawa|first1=Joseph|title=The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136875908|page=348|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fyzAAAAQBAJ|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=5 September 2013|archive-date=3 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703151449/https://books.google.com/books?id=9fyzAAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Ebrey|first1=Patricia Buckley|last2=Walthall|first2=Anne|last3=Palais|first3=James B.|title=East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1111808150|page=104|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CWE8AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA104|access-date=12 September 2016|language=en|year=2013|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005701/https://books.google.com/books?id=CWE8AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA104|url-status=live}}</ref> Historic evidence suggests that Japanese culture, art, and language were influenced by the kingdom of Baekje and Korea itself;<ref name="Walker" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Griffis|first1=William Elliot|title=Corea, Without and Within: Chapters on Corean History, Manners and Religion|year=1885|publisher=Presbyterian Board of Publication|url=https://archive.org/details/coreawithoutwith00grif_0|page=[https://archive.org/details/coreawithoutwith00grif_0/page/251 251]|quote=Corea was not only the road by which the art of China reached Japan, but it is the original home of many of the art-ideas which the world believes to be purely Japanese..|access-date=25 September 2016|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | publisher = [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] | title = Yayo | url = http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/yayo/hd_yayo.htm | quote = Metallurgy was also introduced from the Asian mainland during this time. Bronze and iron were used to make weapons, armor, tools, and ritual implements such as bells (dotaku) | access-date = 17 July 2011 | archive-date = 4 January 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200104161858/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/yayo/hd_yayo.htm | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | newspaper = [[Choson Sinbo]]| publisher = Korea NP  | title = Kitora Tomb Originates in Koguryo Murals | place = [[Japan|JP]] | last = Chon | first = Ho Chon | url = http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/035th_issue/98032502.htm | issue = 35 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120226023335/http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/035th_issue/98032502.htm | archive-date = 26 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/japan/yayoi/yayoi.html |publisher=MNSU |title=eMuseum |contribution=Yayoi |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226121349/http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/japan/yayoi/yayoi.html |archive-date=26 February 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2131.html | title = Japanese history: Jomon, Yayoi, Kofun | publisher = Japan guide | date = 9 June 2002 | access-date = 21 May 2012 | archive-date = 19 November 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181119100114/https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2131.html | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asiasocietymuseum.com/ |title=Asia Society: The Collection in Context |publisher=Asia society museum |access-date=21 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090919042244/http://www.asiasocietymuseum.com/ |archive-date=19 September 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Pottery – MSN Encarta |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761568150_4/Pottery.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029161656/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761568150_4/Pottery.html |archive-date=29 October 2009 |url-status=dead}} "The pottery of the Yayoi culture ({{c.|lk=no|300}} BCE – CE {{c.|lk=no|250}}), made by a Mongol people who came from Korea to Kyūshū, has been found throughout Japan. "</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2046.html |title=Kanji |publisher=Japan guide |date=25 November 2010 |access-date=21 May 2012 |archive-date=10 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510085157/http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2046.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Noma| first = Seiroku| title = The Arts of Japan: Late Medieval to Modern| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hhOj8JrLQBMC&pg=PA218| access-date = 21 May 2012| year = 2003| publisher = Kodansha International| isbn = 978-4-7700-2978-2| archive-date = 15 February 2023| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230215234434/https://books.google.com/books?id=hhOj8JrLQBMC&pg=PA218| url-status = live}}</ref><ref name = "www2.kenyon.edu">{{cite web | url= http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln275/Jap-Kor-art.htm | title= Japanese Art and Its Korean Secret | publisher= Kenyon | date= 6 April 2003 | access-date= 21 May 2012 | archive-date= 9 July 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110709082157/http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln275/Jap-Kor-art.htm | url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080428-ancient-tomb.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501083556/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080428-ancient-tomb.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 May 2008 |title = Japanese Royal Tomb Opened to Scholars for First Time |publisher= National geographic |date= 28 October 2010 | access-date = 21 May 2012}}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=November 2022}} Baekje also played an important role in transmitting advanced Chinese culture to the Japanese archipelago. Baekje was once a great military power on the Korean Peninsula, most notably in the 4th century during the rule of [[Geunchogo of Baekje|Geunchogo]] when its influence extended across the sea to [[Liaoxi]] and [[Shandong]] in China, taking advantage of the weakened state of [[Former Qin]], and [[Kyushu]] in the Japanese archipelago;<ref>{{cite book|title=A Brief History of Korea|publisher=Ewha Womans University Press|isbn=9788973006199|pages=29–30|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o-WlUd3cjh0C&pg=PT29|access-date=21 November 2016|language=en|date=1 January 2005}}</ref> however, Baekje was critically defeated by Gwanggaeto the Great and declined.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yu|first1=Chai-Shin|title=The New History of Korean Civilization|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=9781462055593|page=27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYKNdiDCGLAC&pg=PA27|access-date=21 November 2016|language=en|year=2012|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005648/https://books.google.com/books?id=TYKNdiDCGLAC&pg=PA27|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Three Kingdoms of Korea Map.png|thumb|The [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]], at the end of the 5th century]]
Although later records claim that [[Silla]] was the oldest of the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]], it is now believed to have been the last kingdom to develop. By the 2nd century, Silla existed as a large state in the southeast, occupying and influencing its neighbouring city-states. In 562, Silla annexed the [[Gaya confederacy]], which was located between Baekje and Silla. The Three Kingdoms of Korea often warred with each other and Silla was often dominated by Baekje and Goguryeo. Silla was the smallest and weakest of the three, but it used cunning diplomatic means to make opportunistic pacts and alliances with the more powerful Korean kingdoms, and eventually Tang China, to its great advantage.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Jinwung|title=A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253000248|pages=44–45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s2EVi-MpnUsC&pg=PA44|access-date=12 September 2016|language=en|year=2012|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005648/https://books.google.com/books?id=s2EVi-MpnUsC&pg=PA44|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Wells|first1=Kenneth M.|title=Korea: Outline of a Civilisation|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004300057|pages=18–19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6zoLCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA18|access-date=12 September 2016|language=en|date=3 July 2015|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005648/https://books.google.com/books?id=6zoLCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA18|url-status=live}}</ref> In 660, King [[Muyeol of Silla|Muyeol]] ordered his armies to attack [[Baekje]]. General [[Kim Yu-shin]], aided by [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] forces, conquered Baekje after defeating General [[Gyebaek]] at the [[Battle of Hwangsanbeol]]. In 661, Silla and Tang attacked Goguryeo but were repelled. King [[Munmu of Silla|Munmu]], son of Muyeol and nephew of General Kim Yu-shin, launched another campaign in 667 and Goguryeo fell in the following year.<!--Note: this is a short summary.  Do not add details here: please expand content on the main article (History of Korea) -->

===North–South States Period===
{{Main|North–South States Period|Later Silla|Balhae}}
Beginning in the 6th century, [[Silla]]'s power gradually extended across the Korean Peninsula. Silla first annexed the adjacent [[Gaya confederacy]] in 562. By the 640s, Silla formed an alliance with the [[Tang dynasty]] of China to conquer [[Baekje]] and later [[Goguryeo]]. After conquering Baekje and Goguryeo, Silla repulsed Tang China from the Korean peninsula in 676. Even though Silla unified most of the Korean Peninsula, most of the Goguryeo territories to the north of the Korean Peninsula were ruled by [[Balhae]]. Former Goguryeo general<ref>''Old records of Silla'' 新羅古記({{ill|Silla gogi|ko|신라고기}}): ...{{nbsp}}高麗舊將祚榮</ref><ref>''Rhymed Chronicles of Sovereigns'' 帝王韻紀([[Jewang ungi]]): ...{{nbsp}}前麗舊將大祚榮</ref> or chief of Sumo Mohe<ref>''Solitary Cloud'' 孤雲集(Gounjib): ...{{nbsp}}渤海之源流也句驪未滅之時本爲疣贅部落靺羯之屬寔繁有徒是名栗末小蕃甞逐句驪, 內徙其首領乞四羽及大祚榮等至武后臨朝之際自營州作孼而逃輒據荒丘始稱振國時有句驪遺燼勿吉雜流梟音則嘯聚白山鴟義則喧張黑姶與契丹濟惡旋於突厥通謀萬里耨苗累拒渡遼之轍十年食葚晚陳降漢之旗.</ref><ref>''Solitary Cloud'' 孤雲集(Gounjip): ...{{nbsp}}其酋長大祚榮, 始受臣藩第五品大阿餐之秩</ref><ref>''Comprehensive Institutions'' 通典([[Tongdian]]): ...{{nbsp}}渤海夲栗末靺鞨至其酋祚榮立國自號震旦, 先天中 玄宗王子始去靺鞨號專稱渤海</ref> [[Dae Jo-yeong]] led a group of Goguryeo and [[Mohe people|Mohe]] refugees to the [[Jilin]] and founded the kingdom of [[Balhae]], 30 years after the collapse of Goguryeo, as the successor to Goguryeo. At its height, Balhae's territories extended from southern [[Manchuria]] down to the northern Korean peninsula. Balhae was called the "Prosperous Country in the East".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Injae|first1=Lee|last2=Miller|first2=Owen|last3=Jinhoon|first3=Park|last4=Hyun-Hae|first4=Yi|title=Korean History in Maps|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1107098466|pages=64–65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46OTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA64|access-date=24 February 2017|language=en|date=15 December 2014|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124005648/https://books.google.com/books?id=46OTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA64|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Unified Silla and Balhae (8th Century) (4261052261).jpg|thumb|[[Unified Silla]] and [[Balhae]] in the 8th century CE]]
[[Later Silla]] carried on the maritime prowess of [[Baekje]], which acted like the [[Phoenicia]] of medieval [[East Asia]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kitagawa|first1=Joseph|title=The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1136875908|page=348|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fyzAAAAQBAJ|language=en|date=5 September 2013|access-date=21 July 2016|archive-date=3 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703151449/https://books.google.com/books?id=9fyzAAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> and during the 8th and 9th centuries dominated the seas of East Asia and the trade between China, Korea and Japan, most notably during the time of [[Jang Bogo]]; in addition, Silla people made overseas communities in China on the [[Shandong Peninsula]] and the mouth of the [[Yangtze River]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gernet|first1=Jacques|title=A History of Chinese Civilization|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521497817|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofchinese00gern/page/291 291]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofchinese00gern|url-access=registration|quote=Korea held a dominant position in the north-eastern seas.|access-date=21 July 2016|language=en|date=31 May 1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Reischauer|first1=Edwin Oldfather|title=Ennins Travels in Tang China|publisher=John Wiley & Sons Canada, Limited|isbn=978-0471070535|pages=276–283|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HXqEAAAACAAJ|access-date=21 July 2016|language=en|date=1955|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328145156/https://books.google.com/books?id=HXqEAAAACAAJ|url-status=live}} "From what Ennin tells us, it seems that commerce between East China, Korea and Japan was, for the most part, in the hands of men from Silla. Here in the relatively dangerous waters on the eastern fringes of the world, they performed the same functions as did the traders of the placid Mediterranean on the western fringes. This is a historical fact of considerable significance but one which has received virtually no attention in the standard historical compilations of that period or in the modern books based on these sources. . . . While there were limits to the influence of the Koreans along the eastern coast of China, there can be no doubt of their dominance over the waters off these shores. . . . The days of Korean maritime dominance in the Far East actually were numbered, but in Ennin's time the men of Silla were still the masters of the seas in their part of the world."</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea, 2nd Edition|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1610695824|page=3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgxvBAAAQBAJ|language=en|date=30 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Seth|first1=Michael J.|title=A Concise History of Korea: From the Neolithic Period Through the Nineteenth Century|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0742540057|page=65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qe4PoOd89XIC|access-date=21 July 2016|language=en|year=2006}}</ref> Later Silla was a prosperous and wealthy country,<ref>{{cite book|last1=MacGregor|first1=Neil|title=A History of the World in 100 Objects|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn=978-0141966830|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3mUtaSxCncC&pg=PT408|access-date=30 September 2016|language=en|year=2011}}</ref> and its metropolitan capital of [[Gyeongju]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chŏng|first1=Yang-mo|last2=Smith|first2=Judith G.|last3=Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)|title=Arts of Korea|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|isbn=978-0870998508|page=230|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnaiYKYmQegC&pg=PA230|access-date=30 September 2016|language=en|year=1998}}</ref> was the fourth largest city in the world.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Adams|first=Edward B.|title=The Legacy of Kyongju|magazine=The Rotarian|publisher=Rotary International|issn=0035-838X|volume=154|issue=4|page=28|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28|access-date=19 December 2018|language=en|year=1989}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Ross|first1=Alan|title=After Pusan|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0571299355|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bur02Vwn9jgC&pg=PT20|access-date=30 September 2016|language=en|date=17 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Mason|first1=David A.|title=Gyeongju, Korea's treasure house|url=http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Column/view?articleId=109953|website=[[Korea.net]]|publisher=[[Korean Culture and Information Service]]|access-date=30 September 2016|archive-date=3 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003092928/http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Column/view?articleId=109953|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Adams|first1=Edward Ben|title=Koreaʾs Pottery Heritage|publisher=Seoul International Pub. House|volume=1|page=53|oclc=1014620947|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=riLrAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Kyongju+City+became+one+of+the+most+influential+centers+of+Asia+and+fourth+largest+city+in+the+ancient+world+during+this+period%22|access-date=19 December 2018|language=en|year=1990|isbn=9788985113069|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328145304/https://books.google.com/books?id=riLrAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Kyongju+City+became+one+of+the+most+influential+centers+of+Asia+and+fourth+largest+city+in+the+ancient+world+during+this+period%22|url-status=live}}</ref> Later Silla experienced a golden age of art and culture,<ref>{{cite book|last1=DuBois|first1=Jill|title=Korea|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0761417866|page=[https://archive.org/details/koreadubo00dubo/page/22 22]|url=https://archive.org/details/koreadubo00dubo|url-access=registration|quote=golden age of art and culture.|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|year=2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Randel|first1=Don Michael|title=The Harvard Dictionary of Music|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0674011632|page=273|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=02rFSecPhEsC|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=28 November 2003|archive-date=29 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129221530/https://books.google.com/books?id=02rFSecPhEsC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hopfner|first1=Jonathan|title=Moon Living Abroad in South Korea|publisher=Avalon Travel|isbn=978-1612386324|page=21|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MhwXBQAAQBAJ|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=10 September 2013|archive-date=11 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111025306/https://books.google.com/books?id=MhwXBQAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0313038532|page=47|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ci_iGuAAqmsC&pg=PA47|access-date=30 September 2016|language=en|date=30 January 2005}}</ref> as evidenced by the [[Hwangnyongsa]], [[Seokguram]], and [[Emille Bell]]. Buddhism flourished during this time, and many Korean Buddhists gained great fame among Chinese Buddhists<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mun|first1=Chanju|last2=Green|first2=Ronald S.|title=Buddhist Exploration of Peace and Justice|publisher=Blue Pine Books|isbn=978-0977755301|page=147|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=au1oD1kKv94C|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|year=2006|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801022101/https://books.google.com/books?id=au1oD1kKv94C|url-status=live}}</ref> and contributed to Chinese Buddhism,<ref>{{cite book|last1=McIntire|first1=Suzanne|last2=Burns|first2=William E.|title=Speeches in World History|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1438126807|page=87|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-6ghsWDMTAC|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=25 June 2010|archive-date=11 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111025336/https://books.google.com/books?id=L-6ghsWDMTAC|url-status=live}}</ref> including: [[Woncheuk]], [[Wonhyo]], [[Uisang]], [[Kim Hwasang|Musang]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Buswell|first1=Robert E. Jr.|last2=Lopez|first2=Donald S. Jr.|title=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1400848058|page=187|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DXN2AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA187|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=24 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Poceski|first1=Mario|title=Ordinary Mind as the Way: The Hongzhou School and the Growth of Chan Buddhism|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0198043201|page=24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5fwRXrVPh-cC&pg=PA24|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=13 April 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Wu|first1=Jiang|last2=Chia|first2=Lucille|title=Spreading Buddha's Word in East Asia: The Formation and Transformation of the Chinese Buddhist Canon|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0231540193|page=155|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IX7ICgAAQBAJ&pg=PA155|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=15 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Wright|first1=Dale S.|title=The Zen Canon: Understanding the Classic Texts|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199882182|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JfHQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT124|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=25 March 2004}}</ref> and [[Kim Gyo-gak]], a Silla prince whose influence made [[Mount Jiuhua]] one of the Four [[Sacred Mountains of China|Sacred Mountains]] of Chinese Buddhism.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Su-il|first1=Jeong|title=The Silk Road Encyclopedia|publisher=Seoul Selection|isbn=978-1624120763|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UgOwDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT668|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=18 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Nikaido|first1=Yoshihiro|title=Asian Folk Religion and Cultural Interaction|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|isbn=978-3847004851|page=137|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TozUCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA137|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=28 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Leffman|first1=David|last2=Lewis|first2=Simon|last3=Atiyah|first3=Jeremy|title=China|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=978-1843530190|page=519|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dA_QbQiZkB4C&pg=PA519|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|year=2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Leffman|first1=David|title=The Rough Guide to China|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0241010372|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjqJAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT509|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=2 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: China|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1465455673|page=240|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rm7XCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA240|access-date=29 July 2016|language=en|date=21 June 2016}}</ref>

Later Silla fell apart in the late 9th century, giving way to the tumultuous [[Later Three Kingdoms period]] (892–935), and Balhae was destroyed by the [[Khitan people|Khitan]]s in 926. [[Goryeo]] unified the Later Three Kingdoms and received the [[Dae Gwang-hyeon|last crown prince]] and much of the ruling class of Balhae, thus bringing about a unification of the two successor nations of [[Goguryeo]].<ref name="Balhae">{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Ki-Baik|title=A New History of Korea|date=1984|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=978-0674615762|page=103|quote=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.}}</ref>

===Goryeo dynasty===
{{Main|Goryeo}}
[[Goryeo]] was founded in 918 and replaced Silla as the ruling dynasty of Korea. Goryeo's land was at first what is now South Korea and about 1/3 of North Korea, but later on managed to recover most of the Korean peninsula. Momentarily, Goryeo advanced to parts of [[Jiandao]] while conquering the [[Jurchen people|Jurchens]], but returned the territories due to the harsh climate and difficulties in defending them. The name "Goryeo" (高麗) is a short form of "[[Goguryeo]]" (高句麗) and was first used during the time of King [[Jangsu of Goguryeo|Jangsu]]. Goryeo regarded itself as the successor of Goguryeo, hence its name and efforts to recover the former territories of Goguryeo.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rossabi|first1=Morris|title=China Among Equals: The Middle Kingdom and Its Neighbors, 10th–14th Centuries|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520045620|page=323|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sNpD5UKmkswC|access-date=1 August 2016|language=en|date=20 May 1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Ki-baek|title=A New History of Korea|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674615762|page=103|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA103|access-date=20 October 2016|language=en|year=1984|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234927/https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA103|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9780313038532|page=57|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ci_iGuAAqmsC&pg=PA57|access-date=20 October 2016|language=en|date=30 January 2005|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234927/https://books.google.com/books?id=ci_iGuAAqmsC&pg=PA57|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Grayson|first1=James H.|title=Korea – A Religious History|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136869259|page=79|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LU78AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA79|access-date=20 October 2016|language=en|date=5 November 2013|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234958/https://books.google.com/books?id=LU78AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA79|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Wang Geon]], the founder of Goryeo, was of Goguryeo descent and traced his ancestry to a noble Goguryeo clan.<ref>{{cite book|last1=박|first1=종기|script-title=ko:고려사의 재발견: 한반도 역사상 가장 개방적이고 역동적인 500년 고려 역사를 만나다|publisher=휴머니스트|isbn=9788958629023|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qn6TCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT59|access-date=27 October 2016|language=ko|date=24 August 2015|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234928/https://books.google.com/books?id=Qn6TCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT59|url-status=live}}</ref> He made [[Kaesong]], his hometown, the capital.

During this period, laws were codified and a civil service system was introduced. [[Buddhism]] flourished and spread throughout the peninsula. The development of [[Goryeo ware|celadon]] industries flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. The publication of the [[Tripitaka Koreana]] onto more than 80,000 wooden blocks and the invention of the world's first metal [[movable type]] in the 13th century attest to Goryeo's cultural achievements.<ref name="print_a">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Korean Metal Movable Type |encyclopedia=World Treasures: Beginnings |publisher=Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/world/world-record.html#obj152 |access-date=19 December 2018 |date=29 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829232346/http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/world/world-record.html#obj152 |archive-date=29 August 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="print_b">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title=Korean Classics |encyclopedia=Library of Congress Asian Collections: 2007 Illustrated Guide |publisher=Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/asian/guide2007/guide-korean.html |access-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191118063653/http://www.loc.gov/rr/asian/guide2007/guide-korean.html |archive-date=18 November 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="print_c">{{cite web |title=Gutenberg Bible |url=http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item100565.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025033159/http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item100565.html |archive-date=25 October 2016 |access-date=19 August 2016 |website=British Library |publisher=The British Library Board}}</ref><ref name="print_d">{{cite web |title=Korea, 1000–1400 A.D. {{!}} Chronology {{!}} Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History {{!}} The Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/07/eak.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818174906/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/07/eak.html |archive-date=18 August 2016 |access-date=19 August 2016 |website=The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref><ref name="print_e">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Movable type |encyclopedia=Oxford Reference |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100213284 |access-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026154750/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100213284 |archive-date=26 October 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="print_f">{{cite book |last1=Ebrey |first1=Patricia Buckley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfkWAAAAQBAJ |title=East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History |last2=Walthall |first2=Anne |date=1 January 2013 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1285528670 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:History of Korea-1374.png|thumb|Goryeo in 1374]]
Goryeo had to defend frequently against attacks by nomadic empires, especially the [[Khitan people|Khitans]] and the [[Mongols]]. Goryeo had a hostile relationship with the Khitans, because the [[Khitan Empire]] had destroyed [[Balhae]], also a successor state of Goguryeo. In 993, the Khitans, who had established the [[Liao dynasty]] in 907, [[First conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War|invaded Goryeo]], demanding that it make amity with them. Goryeo sent the diplomat [[Sŏ Hŭi]] to negotiate, who successfully persuaded the Khitans to let Goryeo expand to the banks of the [[Yalu River|Amnok (Yalu) River]], citing that in the past the land belonged to Goguryeo, the predecessor of Goryeo.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea, 2nd Edition|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781610695824|page=66|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgxvBAAAQBAJ|access-date=3 October 2016|language=en|date=30 May 2014}}</ref> During the [[Goryeo–Khitan War]], the Khitan Empire invaded Korea twice more in [[Second conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War|1009]] and [[Third conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War|1018]], but was defeated.

After defeating the Khitan Empire, which was the most powerful empire of its time,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bulliet|first1=Richard|last2=Crossley|first2=Pamela|last3=Headrick|first3=Daniel|last4=Hirsch|first4=Steven|last5=Johnson|first5=Lyman|title=The Earth and Its Peoples, Brief: A Global History|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=9781285445519|page=264|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9sbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA264|access-date=12 September 2016|language=en|date=1 January 2014|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010152/https://books.google.com/books?id=E9sbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA264|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Cohen|first1=Warren I.|title=East Asia at the Center: Four Thousand Years of Engagement with the World|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231502511|page=107|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Okjd2rDwb8IC&pg=PA107|access-date=12 September 2016|language=en|date=20 December 2000|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010157/https://books.google.com/books?id=Okjd2rDwb8IC&pg=PA107|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Kenneth B.|title=Korea and East Asia: The Story of a Phoenix|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780275958237|page=61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA61|access-date=28 July 2016|language=en|year=1997|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010152/https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA61|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bowman|first1=John|title=Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231500043|page=[https://archive.org/details/columbiachronolo00john/page/202 202]|url=https://archive.org/details/columbiachronolo00john|url-access=registration|quote=The Mongolian-Khitan invasions of the late tenth century challenge the stability of the Koryo government, but a period of prosperity follows the defeat of the Khitan in 1018..|access-date=1 August 2016|language=en|date=5 September 2000}}</ref>

Goryeo was [[Mongol invasions of Korea|invaded by the Mongols]] in seven major campaigns from the 1230s until the 1270s, but was never conquered.<ref name="Mongols">{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Kenneth B.|title=Korea and East Asia: The Story of a Phoenix|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780275958237|page=72|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA72|access-date=28 July 2016|language=en|year=1997|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010152/https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA72|url-status=live}}</ref> Exhausted after decades of fighting, Goryeo sent its [[Wonjong of Goryeo|crown prince]] to the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] capital to swear allegiance to the Mongols; [[Kublai Khan]] accepted, and married one of his daughters to the Korean crown prince,<ref name="Mongols" /> and the dynastic line of Goryeo continued to survive [[Korea under Yuan rule|under the overlordship]] of the Mongol Yuan dynasty as a semi-autonomous vassal state and compulsory ally. The two nations became intertwined for 80 years as all subsequent Korean kings married Mongol princesses,<ref name="Mongols" /> and the [[Empress Gi|last empress]] of the Yuan dynasty was a Korean princess.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Koon |first1=Wee Kek |title=Opinion {{!}} The tale of a Korean empress of China, an imperial K-drama |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3108600/tale-empress-gi-korean-china-whose-imperial |work=South China Morning Post |date=6 November 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

In the 1350s, [[Gongmin of Goryeo|King Gongmin]] was free at last to reform the Goryeo government when the Yuan dynasty began to crumble. Gongmin had various problems that needed to be dealt with, which included the removal of pro-Mongol aristocrats and military officials, the question of land holding, and quelling the growing animosity between the Buddhists and [[Confucian]] scholars. During this tumultuous period, Goryeo momentarily conquered [[Liaoyang]] in 1356, repulsed two large [[Red Turban invasions of Goryeo|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 a Mongol [[Tumen (unit)|tumen]] in 1364. During the 1380s, Goryeo turned its attention to the [[Wokou]] threat and used [[Naval history of Korea|naval artillery]] created by [[Ch'oe Mu-sŏn]] to annihilate hundreds of pirate ships.

===Joseon dynasty===
{{Main|Joseon}}
[[File:경복궁 전경.jpg|thumb|[[Gyeongbokgung]] Palace]]
[[File:Donggwol-do.jpg|thumb|''[[Donggwoldo]]'']]
In 1392, the general [[Taejo of Joseon|Yi Seong-gye]] overthrew the [[Goryeo]] dynasty after he staged a coup and defeated General [[Ch'oe Yŏng]]. Yi Seong-gye named his new dynasty [[Joseon]] and moved the capital from [[Kaesong]] to [[Hanseong]] (formerly Hanyang; modern-day [[Seoul]]) and built the [[Gyeongbokgung]] palace.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Ki-baek|title=A New History of Korea|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674615762|oclc=470671149|page=165|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC|access-date=27 July 2016|language=en|year=1984}}</ref> In 1394, he adopted [[Confucianism]] as the country's official ideology, resulting in much loss of power and wealth by the [[Korean Buddhism|Buddhists]]. The prevailing philosophy of the Joseon dynasty was [[Korean Confucianism|Neo-Confucianism]], which was epitomised by the [[seonbi]] class, scholars who passed up positions of wealth and power to lead lives of study and integrity.

Joseon was a nominal tributary state of [[China]] but exercised full sovereignty,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Em|first1=Henry|title=The Great Enterprise: Sovereignty and Historiography in Modern Korea|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0822353720|page=23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DxAd2Aw_jP0C|access-date=28 July 2016|language=en|date=25 March 2013|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407111632/https://books.google.com/books?id=DxAd2Aw_jP0C|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Seokwoo|last2=Lee|first2=Hee Eun|title=The Making of International Law in Korea: From Colony to Asian Power|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004315754|oclc=1006718121|page=21|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCoiDAAAQBAJ|access-date=28 July 2016|language=en|date=12 May 2016|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126050937/https://books.google.com/books?id=bCoiDAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> and maintained the highest position among China's tributary states,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wang|first1=Yuan-kang|title=Harmony and War: Confucian Culture and Chinese Power Politics|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231522403|oclc=774509438|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gxVfTuKsaJQC&q=seating+arrangement+highest|access-date=20 July 2016|language=en|date=15 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Seth |first1=Michael J. |title=A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present |title-link=A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present |date=16 October 2010 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=9780742567177 |page=144 |language=en |oclc=644646716}}</ref> which also included countries such as the [[Ryukyu Kingdom]], Vietnam, Burma, Brunei, Laos, Thailand,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gambe|first1=Annabelle R.|title=Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurship and Capitalist Development in Southeast Asia|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|isbn=9783825843861|page=99|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZUfNRG8IR44C|access-date=19 July 2016|language=en|year=2000|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407111628/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZUfNRG8IR44C|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Chinvanno|first1=Anuson|title=Thailand's Policies towards China, 1949–54|publisher=Springer|isbn=9781349124305|page=24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0vywCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|access-date=19 July 2016|language=en|date=18 June 1992|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407111657/https://books.google.com/books?id=0vywCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Leonard|first1=Jane Kate|title=Wei Yuan and China's Rediscovery of the Maritime World|publisher=Harvard Univ Asia Center|isbn=9780674948556|pages=137–138|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wQCm-bequYgC&pg=PA137|access-date=19 July 2016|language=en|year=1984|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407111553/https://books.google.com/books?id=wQCm-bequYgC&pg=PA137|url-status=live}}</ref> and the Philippines, among others.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tsai|first1=Shih-shan Henry|title=The Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=9780791426876|pages=119–120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ka6jNJcX_ygC&pg=PA119|access-date=20 July 2016|language=en|date=January 1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Eisemann|first1=Joshua|last2=Heginbotham|first2=Eric|last3=Mitchell|first3=Derek|title=China and the Developing World: Beijing's Strategy for the Twenty-first Century|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317282945|page=23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nM5mCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA23|access-date=20 July 2016|language=en|date=20 August 2015}}</ref> In addition, Joseon received tribute from Jurchens and Japanese until the 17th century,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lewis|first1=James B.|title=Frontier Contact Between Choson Korea and Tokugawa Japan|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135795986|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2SQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT139|access-date=20 July 2016|language=en|date=2 November 2005}} "Tribute trade was the oldest and most important component of the trade structure, not for its volume or content, but for its symbolism. Japanese brought items to "offer" to Korea and received in exchange "gifts" of higher value, since Korea was a greater land receiving supplicants. Koreans viewed tribute trade as a "burden" and a favor extended to needy islanders; the significance was diplomatic not economic."</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kang|first1=David C.|title=East Asia Before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231153195|page=122|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jgk0buCaLJ0C&pg=PT138|access-date=20 July 2016|language=en|year=2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kayoko|first1=Fujita|last2=Momoki|first2=Shiro|last3=Reid|first3=Anthony|title=Offshore Asia: Maritime Interactions in Eastern Asia Before Steamships|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=9789814311779|page=198|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lcT3AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA198|access-date=20 July 2016|language=en|year=2013}}</ref> and had a small enclave in the Ryukyu Kingdom that engaged in trade with Siam and Java.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Chun-gil|title=The History of Korea|year=2005|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780313332968|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofkorea0000kimc/page/77 77]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofkorea0000kimc|url-access=registration|access-date=28 July 2016|language=en}}</ref>

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Joseon enjoyed many benevolent rulers who promoted education and science.<ref name="JoseonGold">{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Kenneth B.|title=Korea and East Asia: The Story of a Phoenix|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780275958237|page=86|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA86|access-date=27 July 2016|language=en|year=1997|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010158/https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA86|url-status=live}}</ref> Most notable among them was [[Sejong the Great]] (r. 1418–50), who personally created and promulgated [[Hangul]], the Korean alphabet.<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ko:알고 싶은 한글|url=http://www.korean.go.kr/hangeul/setting/002.html|website=[[National Institute of Korean Language]]|access-date=4 December 2017|archive-date=18 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218134258/https://www.korean.go.kr/hangeul/setting/002.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This golden age<ref name="JoseonGold" /> saw great cultural and scientific advancements,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Haralambous|first1=Yannis|last2=Horne|first2=P. Scott|title=Fonts & Encodings|publisher="O'Reilly Media, Inc."|isbn=9780596102425|page=155|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qrElYgVLDwYC&pg=PA155|access-date=8 October 2016|language=en|date=26 September 2007|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010158/https://books.google.com/books?id=qrElYgVLDwYC&pg=PA155|url-status=live}}</ref> including in printing, [[rain gauge|meteorological observation]], astronomy, calendar science, [[Korean pottery and porcelain|ceramics]], military technology, geography, cartography, medicine, and agricultural technology, some of which were unrivaled elsewhere.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Selin|first1=Helaine|title=Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9789401714167|pages=505–506|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzjpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA505|access-date=27 July 2016|language=en|date=11 November 2013|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010157/https://books.google.com/books?id=GzjpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA505|url-status=live}}</ref> Joseon implemented a class system that consisted of ''[[yangban]]'' the noble class, ''jungin'' the middle class, ''yangin'' the common class, and ''cheonin'' the lowest class, which included occupations such as butchers, tanners, shamans, entertainers, and ''[[nobi]]'', the equivalent of slaves, bondservants, or [[serfs]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea, 2nd Edition|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781610695824|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgxvBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA113|access-date=27 July 2016|language=en|date=30 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Campbell|first1=Gwyn|title=Structure of Slavery in Indian Ocean Africa and Asia|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135759179|pages=153–157|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J0iRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA153|access-date=14 February 2017|language=en|date=23 November 2004}}</ref>
[[File:남산 정상에서 바라본 서울 풍경 (1884).jpg|thumb|Seoul taken from [[Namsan]] (1884)-[[George Clayton Foulk]] The photo shows [[Gwanghwamun Plaza]] and [[Namdaemunno]].]]
In 1592 and again in 1597, the [[Imjin War|Japanese invaded Korea]]; the Korean military at the time was unprepared and untrained, due to two centuries of peace on the [[Korean Peninsula]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kang|first1=David C.|title=East Asia Before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231153195|pages=93–94|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jgk0buCaLJ0C|access-date=27 July 2016|language=en|year=2012|archive-date=5 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105000940/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jgk0buCaLJ0C|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] intended to conquer China and India<ref>{{cite book|last1=Black|first1=Jeremy|title=War in the World: A Comparative History, 1450–1600|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9780230345515|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kv0mBQAAQBAJ|access-date=27 July 2016|language=en|date=28 September 2011}}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> through the Korean Peninsula, but was defeated by strong resistance from the [[Righteous Army]], the naval superiority of Admiral [[Yi Sun-sin]] and his [[turtle ship]]s, and assistance from [[Wanli Emperor]] of [[Ming dynasty|Ming China]]. However, Joseon experienced great destruction, including a tremendous loss of cultural sites such as temples and palaces to Japanese pillaging, and the Japanese brought back to Japan an estimated 100,000–200,000 [[Nose tomb|noses]] cut from Korean victims.<ref>{{cite book| last = Kiernan| first = Ben| title = Blood and soil : a world history of genocide and extermination from Sparta to Darfur| url = https://archive.org/details/bloodan_kie_2007_00_0326| url-access = registration| year = 2007| publisher = Yale University Press| isbn = 978-0-300-10098-3 }}</ref> Less than 30 years after the Japanese invasions, the [[Manchus]] took advantage of Joseon's war-weakened state and [[Manchu invasion of Korea|invaded]] in 1627 and 1637, and then went on to [[Qing conquest of the Ming|conquer]] the destabilised Ming dynasty.

After normalising relations with the new [[Qing dynasty]], Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of peace. Kings [[Yeongjo of Joseon|Yeongjo]] and [[Jeongjo of Joseon|Jeongjo]] led a new renaissance of the Joseon dynasty during the 18th century.<ref>{{cite book|last1=신형식|title=A Brief History of Korea|publisher=Ewha Womans University Press|isbn=9788973006199|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o-WlUd3cjh0C&pg=PT98|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|date=1 January 2005|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010158/https://books.google.com/books?id=o-WlUd3cjh0C&pg=PT98|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Beirne|first1=Paul|title=Su-un and His World of Symbols: The Founder of Korea's First Indigenous Religion|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317047490|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OPeCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT38|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|date=1 April 2016|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010159/https://books.google.com/books?id=8OPeCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT38|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 19th century, the royal in-law families gained control of the government, leading to mass corruption and weakening of the state, with severe poverty and peasant rebellions spreading throughout the country. Furthermore, the Joseon government adopted a strict isolationist policy, earning the nickname "the [[hermit kingdom]]", but ultimately failed to protect itself against [[imperialism]] and was forced to open its borders, beginning an era leading into [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese imperial rule]].<!--Note: this is a short summary. Do not add details here: please expand content on the main article (History of Korea) -->

===Korean Empire===
{{Main|Korean Empire}}
[[File:Flag of Korea 1882.svg|thumb|The earliest surviving depiction of the Korean flag was printed in a US Navy book ''Flags of Maritime Nations'' in July 1889.]]
Beginning in 1871, [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] began to exert more influence in Korea, forcing it out of China's traditional sphere of influence. As a result of the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] (1894–95), the [[Qing dynasty]] had to give up such a position according to Article 1 of the [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]], which was concluded between China and Japan in 1895. That same year, [[Empress Myeongseong]] of Korea was assassinated by Japanese agents.<ref name="autogenerated3">{{Citation|title=Japan rape |year=2002 |publisher=Kim soft |url=http://www.kimsoft.com/2002/jp-rape.htm |contribution=Murder of Empress Myeongseong |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041009171355/http://www.kimsoft.com/2002/jp-rape.htm |archive-date= 9 October 2004 }}</ref>

In 1897, the [[Joseon dynasty]] proclaimed the [[Korean Empire]] (1897–1910). [[Gojong of the Korean Empire|King Gojong]] became emperor. During this brief period, Korea had some success in modernising the military, economy, real property laws, education system, and various industries. [[Russian Empire|Russia]], Japan, [[French Third Republic|France]], and the United States all invested in the country and sought to influence it politically.

The Russians were pushed out of the fight for Korea following the conclusion of the [[Russo-Japanese War]] (1904–1905). Korea became a [[protectorate]] of Japan shortly afterwards. In [[Manchuria]] on 26 October 1909, [[An Jung-geun]] assassinated the former [[Governor-General of Korea|Resident-General of Korea]], [[Itō Hirobumi]], for his role in trying to force Korea into occupation.

===Japanese annexation and occupation of Korea===
{{Main|Korea under Japanese rule}}
{{See also|Japanese war crimes}}
[[File:March 1st movement.jpg|thumb|The memorial tablet for the [[March First Movement]] in Pagoda Park, Seoul]]
In 1910, an already militarily occupied Korea was a forced party to the [[Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty]]. The treaty was signed by [[Lee Wan-Yong]], who was given the General Power of Attorney by the Emperor. However, the Emperor is said to have not actually ratified the treaty according to Yi Tae-jin.<ref>{{Citation | script-title=ko:서울대이태진교수의동경대생들에게들려준한국사 : 메이지일본의한국침략사 | last = Yi | first = Tae-jin | year = 2005 | publisher = 태학사 | isbn = 978-89-7626-999-7}}</ref> There is a long dispute whether this treaty was legal or illegal due to its signing under duress, threat of force and bribes.

Korean resistance to the brutal Japanese occupation<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern|editor-last=Stearns|editor-first=Peter N.|url=http://www.bartleby.com/67/2488.html |edition=6th |year=2001 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |location=Boston |at=VI(H)(4) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304202716/http://www.bartleby.com/67/2488.html |archive-date=4 March 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Korea |publisher=Microsoft Corporation |encyclopedia=Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia |year=2009 |page=2 |url=http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557519_2/Korea.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519033254/http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557519_2/Korea.html |archive-date= 19 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Takahashi |first1=Kosuke |title=History Overshadows Japan-South Korea Rapprochement |journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus |date=March 28, 2005 |volume=3 |issue=3 |url=https://apjjf.org/-Kosuke-Takahashi/2067/article.html |id= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050404192039/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/GC10Dh01.html |archive-date=4 April 2005 |access-date=3 November 2009 }} NOTE: First published 10 March 2005 under the title "Roh reopens Japan's war wounds" in, and Copyright 2005,  [https://asiatimes.com/2005/05/we-are-a-banana-republic/ ''Asia Times Online''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223124608/https://asiatimes.com/2005/05/we-are-a-banana-republic/ |date=23 February 2023 }} Ltd. This is a slightly abbreviated version of the article, posted at Japan Focus 16 March 2005. Archived copy is of full article text from ''Asia Times''.</ref> was manifested in the nonviolent [[March First Movement]] of 1919, during which 7,000 demonstrators were killed by Japanese police and military.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url= https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9050797?query=march%20first%20movement&ct= |title= March 1st Movement |encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Britannica. |date= 1 March 1919 |access-date= 3 November 2009 |archive-date= 11 December 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071211125737/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9050797?query=march |url-status= live }}</ref> The [[Korean independence movement|Korean liberation movement]] also spread to neighbouring [[Manchuria]] and [[Siberia]].

Over five million Koreans were conscripted for labour beginning in 1939,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.CHAP3.HTM |title=Statistics of Japanese Genocide And Mass Murder |publisher=Hawaii |access-date=3 November 2009 |archive-date=23 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323044733/http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.CHAP3.HTM |url-status=live }}</ref> and tens of thousands of men were forced into Japan's military.<ref>{{Citation | last = 山脇 Yamawaki | first = 啓造 Keizo | title = 近代日本と外国人労働者―1890年代後半と1920年代前半における中国人・朝鮮人労働者問題 |trans-title=Modern Japan and Foreign Laborers: Chinese and Korean Labourers in the late 1890s and early 1920s | publisher = 明石書店 Akashi-shoten | year = 1994 | others = et al. | isbn = 978-4-7503-0568-4}}</ref> Nearly 400,000 Korean labourers died.<ref>{{cite book| last = Gruhl| first = Werner| title = Imperial Japan's World War Two: 1931–1945| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zNN6M97vYMEC&pg=PA111| year = 2007| publisher = Transaction Publishers| isbn = 978-1-4128-0926-9| oclc = 1099050288| page = 111| access-date = 21 September 2020| archive-date = 26 January 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210126050942/https://books.google.com/books?id=zNN6M97vYMEC&pg=PA111| url-status = live}}</ref> Approximately 200,000 girls and women,<ref>{{Citation | first = Yoshimi | last = Yoshiaki | title = Comfort Women: Sexual Slavery in the Japanese Military During World War II | others = O'Brien, Suzanne transl | publisher = Columbia University Press | year = 2001 | isbn = 978-0-231-12032-6 | orig-year = 岩波書店, 1995 | url = https://archive.org/details/comfortwomen00yosh }}</ref> mostly from China and Korea, were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese military.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/03/29/japan.comfort.women.02/ |title=Japanese comfort women ruling overturned |date=29 March 2001 |work=CNN|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216122655/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/03/29/japan.comfort.women.02/ |archive-date=16 December 2008 }}</ref> In 1993, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary [[Yohei Kono]] acknowledged the terrible injustices faced by these euphemistically named "[[comfort women]]".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.comfort-women.org/ | title = Comfort Women | access-date = 3 November 2009 | archive-date = 3 November 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091103220622/http://www.comfort-women.org/ | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Yohei |last=Kono |url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/women/fund/state9308.html |title=Statement by the Chief Cabinet Secretary on the result of the study on the issue of 'comfort women' |publisher=MOFA |date=4 August 1993 |access-date=3 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709022903/http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/women/fund/state9308.html |archive-date= 9 July 2014 }}</ref>

During the Japanese annexation, the Korean language was suppressed in an effort to eradicate Korean national identity. Koreans were forced to take Japanese surnames, known as [[Sōshi-kaimei]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.han.org/a/fukuoka96a.html |title = Koreans in Japan: Past and Present |publisher = HAN |access-date = 3 November 2009 |archive-date = 6 June 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190606063047/http://www.han.org/a/fukuoka96a.html |url-status = dead }}</ref> Traditional [[Korean culture]] suffered heavy losses, as numerous Korean cultural artefacts were destroyed<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/66 |title=Gyeongbok Palace |work=Seoul City |location=South Korea |publisher=Life in Korea |access-date=3 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926031534/http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/66 |archive-date=26 September 2009 }}</ref> or taken to Japan.<ref name="Newsweek">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/48765/output/print |title=Korea: A tussle over treasures&nbsp;— Who rightfully owns Korean artifacts looted by Japan? |magazine= [[Newsweek]] |access-date= 6 June 2008 | first1 = Kay | last1 = Itoi | first2 =BJ | last2 = Lee |date=17 October 2007}}</ref> To this day, valuable Korean artefacts can often be found in Japanese museums or among private collections.<ref>{{Citation|newspaper=Newsweek |publisher=MSNBC |url=http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6919593/site/newsweek/ |title=Who rightfully owns Korean artifacts looted by Japan? |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925094845/http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6919593/site/newsweek/ |archive-date=25 September 2010 }}</ref> One investigation by the South Korean government identified 75,311 cultural assets that were taken from Korea, 34,369 in Japan and 17,803 in the United States. However, experts estimate that over 100,000 artefacts actually remain in Japan.<ref name="Newsweek" /><ref name="naver">{{Citation | url = http://news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=LSD&office_id=001&article_id=0001429084 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130723101422/http://news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=LSD&office_id=001&article_id=0001429084 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 23 July 2013 | title = News | publisher=[[Naver]] }}</ref> Japanese officials considered returning Korean cultural properties, but to date<ref name="Newsweek" /> this has not occurred.<ref name="naver" /> Both Koreas and Japan still dispute the ownership of the [[Liancourt Rocks|Dokdo]] islets, located east of the Korean Peninsula.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.vop.co.kr/A00000206601.html | title= 日독도 영유권 교육강화 방침, 2005년에 이미 발표 :: 한국의 대표 진보언론 민중의소리 | date= 19 May 2008 | publisher= Vop | location= KR | access-date= 3 November 2009 | archive-date= 15 May 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110515013115/http://www.vop.co.kr/A00000206601.html | url-status= live }}</ref>

There was significant emigration to the overseas territories of the [[Empire of Japan]] during the Japanese occupation period, including [[Korea under Japanese rule|Korea]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/BIB95/00korea_cohen.htm |title=Japanese Periodicals in Colonial Korea |publisher=Columbia |access-date=3 November 2009 |archive-date=21 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111221234952/http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/BIB95/00korea_cohen.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> By the end of World War II, there were over 850,000 Japanese settlers in Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/CMTS/MonoPaper3-13.html |title=The Life Instability of Intermarried Japanese Women in Korea |publisher=USC |access-date=3 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991013000846/http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/CMTS/MonoPaper3-13.html |archive-date=13 October 1999 }}</ref> After World War II, most of these [[overseas Japanese]] repatriated to Japan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Park |first=Yi-Jin |date=2020 |title=Re-nationalizing Repatriated Japanese into Post-War Japan: From Imperial Subjects to Post-War Citizens |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/756096 |journal=Sungkyun Journal of East Asian Studies |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=113–138 |via=Project MUSE |access-date=16 June 2022 |archive-date=3 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703185515/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/756096 |url-status=live }}</ref> Migrants who remained [[Squatting in South Korea|squatted]] in [[informal settlements]].<ref name="Squatting">{{cite journal |last1=Ha |first1=Seong-Kyu |title=Housing poverty and the role of urban governance in Korea |journal=Environment and Urbanization |date=April 2004 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=139–154 |doi=10.1177/095624780401600112 |bibcode=2004EnUrb..16..139H |language=en |issn=0956-2478|doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Division and conflict===
{{Main|Division of Korea||}}
[[File:Korean Peninsula at night 20240124 132602 GMT Iss-070e080670.jpg|thumb|left|Satellite image of the Korean Peninsula demonstrating the differences in light pollution between the two Koreas, 2024]]
In 1945, with the [[surrender of Japan]], the [[United Nations]] developed plans for a trusteeship administration, the [[Soviet Union]] administering the peninsula north of the [[38th parallel north|38th parallel]] and the [[United States]] [[USAMGIK|administering the south]]. The politics of the [[Cold War]] resulted in the 1948 establishment of two separate governments, North Korea and South Korea.

The aftermath of World War II left Korea partitioned along the 38th parallel on 2 September 1945, with the north under Soviet occupation and the south under US occupation supported by other allied states. Consequently, North Korea, a Soviet-style socialist republic was established in the north, and South Korea, a Western-style regime, [[Division of Korea|was established in the south]].

North Korea is a [[one-party state]], now centred on [[Kim Il Sung]]'s ''[[Juche]]'' ideology, with a [[Planned economy|centrally planned]] industrial economy. South Korea is a [[multi-party state]] with a [[capitalism|capitalist]] [[market economy]], alongside membership in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the [[G-20 major economies|Group of Twenty]]. The two states have greatly diverged both culturally and economically since their partition, though they still share a common traditional culture and pre-Cold War history.

Since the 1960s, the South Korean economy has grown enormously and the economic structure was radically transformed. In 1957, South Korea had a lower [[per capita GDP]] than [[Ghana]],<ref>{{Citation | newspaper = The Independent | place = UK | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/leading-article-africa-has-to-spend-carefully-407666.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110513090857/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/leading-article-africa-has-to-spend-carefully-407666.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 13 May 2011 | type = leading article | title = Africa has to spend carefully | date=13 July 2006}}</ref> and by 2008 it was 17 times as high as Ghana's.{{Refn | group = "lower-alpha" | $26,341 GDP for Korea, $1513 for Ghana.<ref>{{Citation|url=http://imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2008&ey=2008&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=29&pr1.y=12&c=512%2C446%2C914%2C666%2C612%2C668%2C614%2C672%2C311%2C946%2C213%2C137%2C911%2C962%2C193%2C674%2C122%2C676%2C912%2C548%2C313%2C556%2C419%2C678%2C513%2C181%2C316%2C682%2C913%2C684%2C124%2C273%2C339%2C921%2C638%2C948%2C514%2C943%2C218%2C686%2C963%2C688%2C616%2C518%2C223%2C728%2C516%2C558%2C918%2C138%2C748%2C196%2C618%2C278%2C522%2C692%2C622%2C694%2C156%2C142%2C624%2C449%2C626%2C564%2C628%2C283%2C228%2C853%2C924%2C288%2C233%2C293%2C632%2C566%2C636%2C964%2C634%2C182%2C238%2C453%2C662%2C968%2C960%2C922%2C423%2C714%2C935%2C862%2C128%2C716%2C611%2C456%2C321%2C722%2C243%2C942%2C248%2C718%2C469%2C724%2C253%2C576%2C642%2C936%2C643%2C961%2C939%2C813%2C644%2C199%2C819%2C184%2C172%2C524%2C132%2C361%2C646%2C362%2C648%2C364%2C915%2C732%2C134%2C366%2C652%2C734%2C174%2C144%2C328%2C146%2C258%2C463%2C656%2C528%2C654%2C923%2C336%2C738%2C263%2C578%2C268%2C537%2C532%2C742%2C944%2C866%2C176%2C369%2C534%2C744%2C536%2C186%2C429%2C925%2C178%2C746%2C436%2C926%2C136%2C466%2C343%2C112%2C158%2C111%2C439%2C298%2C916%2C927%2C664%2C846%2C826%2C299%2C542%2C582%2C443%2C474%2C917%2C754%2C544%2C698%2C941&s=PPPPC&grp=0&a= |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091223115619/http://imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2008&ey=2008&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=29&pr1.y=12&c=512%2C446%2C914%2C666%2C612%2C668%2C614%2C672%2C311%2C946%2C213%2C137%2C911%2C962%2C193%2C674%2C122%2C676%2C912%2C548%2C313%2C556%2C419%2C678%2C513%2C181%2C316%2C682%2C913%2C684%2C124%2C273%2C339%2C921%2C638%2C948%2C514%2C943%2C218%2C686%2C963%2C688%2C616%2C518%2C223%2C728%2C516%2C558%2C918%2C138%2C748%2C196%2C618%2C278%2C522%2C692%2C622%2C694%2C156%2C142%2C624%2C449%2C626%2C564%2C628%2C283%2C228%2C853%2C924%2C288%2C233%2C293%2C632%2C566%2C636%2C964%2C634%2C182%2C238%2C453%2C662%2C968%2C960%2C922%2C423%2C714%2C935%2C862%2C128%2C716%2C611%2C456%2C321%2C722%2C243%2C942%2C248%2C718%2C469%2C724%2C253%2C576%2C642%2C936%2C643%2C961%2C939%2C813%2C644%2C199%2C819%2C184%2C172%2C524%2C132%2C361%2C646%2C362%2C648%2C364%2C915%2C732%2C134%2C366%2C652%2C734%2C174%2C144%2C328%2C146%2C258%2C463%2C656%2C528%2C654%2C923%2C336%2C738%2C263%2C578%2C268%2C537%2C532%2C742%2C944%2C866%2C176%2C369%2C534%2C744%2C536%2C186%2C429%2C925%2C178%2C746%2C436%2C926%2C136%2C466%2C343%2C112%2C158%2C111%2C439%2C298%2C916%2C927%2C664%2C846%2C826%2C299%2C542%2C582%2C443%2C474%2C917%2C754%2C544%2C698%2C941&s=PPPPC&grp=0&a= |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 December 2009 |title=World Economic Outlook Database |date=October 2008 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |access-date=14 February 2009 }}</ref>}}

According to [[R. J. Rummel]], [[slavery|forced labour]], executions, and concentration camps were responsible for over one million deaths in North Korea from 1948 to 1987;<ref>{{Citation | last = Rummel | first = RJ | chapter-url = http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.CHAP10.HTM | chapter = 10. Statistics of North Korean Democide: Estimates, Calculations, and Sources | title = Statistics of Democide | year = 1997 | publisher = Hawaii | access-date = 5 February 2013 | archive-date = 3 December 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171203123703/http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.CHAP10.HTM | url-status = live }}</ref> others have estimated 400,000 deaths in concentration camps alone.<ref>Omestad, Thomas, [https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/030623/23gulag.htm "Gulag Nation"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050509131122/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/030623/23gulag.htm |date=9 May 2005 }}, [[U.S. News & World Report]], 23 June 2003.</ref> Estimates based on the most recent North Korean census suggest that 240,000 to 420,000 people died as a result of the [[North Korean famine|1990s famine]] and that there were 600,000 to 850,000 unnatural deaths in North Korea from 1993 to 2008.<ref name="Spoorenberg, Thomas pp. 133-158">{{Citation | last1 = Spoorenberg | first1 = Thomas | last2 = Schwekendiek | first2 = Daniel | edition = online | title = Demographic Changes in North Korea: 1993–2008 | journal = Population and Development Review | volume = 38 | issue = 1 | pages = 133–58 | doi=10.1111/j.1728-4457.2012.00475.x| year = 2012 | hdl = 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2012.00475.x | hdl-access = free }}</ref> In South Korea, as guerrilla activities expanded, the South Korean government used strong measures against peasants, such as forcefully moving their families from guerrilla areas. According to one estimate, these measures resulted in 36,000 people killed, 11,000 people wounded, and 432,000 people displaced.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A History of Korea|last=Hatada|first=Takashi|publisher=American Bibliographic Center-Clio Press|year=1969|location=Santa Barbara, California|pages=140}}</ref>

===Korean War===
{{main|Korean War}}
The Korean War broke out when Soviet-backed North Korea invaded South Korea, though neither side gained much territory as a result. The Korean Peninsula remained divided, the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone]] being the ''de facto'' border between the two states.

In June 1950 North Korea invaded the South, using Soviet tanks and weaponry. During the [[Korean War]] (1950–53) more than 1.2 million people died and the three years of fighting throughout the nation effectively destroyed most cities.<ref>{{Citation | first1 = Bethany | last1 = Lacina | first2 = Nils Petter | last2 = Gleditsch | url = http://www.bethanylacina.com/LacinaGleditsch_newdata.pdf | title = Monitoring Trends in Global Combat: A New Dataset of Battle Deaths | journal = European Journal of Population | year = 2005 | volume = 21 | issue = 2–3 | pages = 145–166 | doi = 10.1007/s10680-005-6851-6 | s2cid = 14344770 | access-date = 19 June 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141006175909/http://www.bethanylacina.com/LacinaGleditsch_newdata.pdf | archive-date = 6 October 2014 | url-status = usurped}}</ref> The war ended with an [[Korean Armistice Agreement|armistice agreement]] at approximately the [[Military Demarcation Line]], but the two governments are officially still at war.

===North and South Korea===
{{See also|History of North Korea|History of South Korea|Korean conflict|Korean reunification}}
[[File:2018 inter-Korean summit square.jpg|thumb|upright|Kim and Moon shaking hands over the [[demarcation line]] on 27 April 2018]]
In 2018, the leaders of North Korea and South Korea officially signed the [[Panmunjom Declaration]], announcing that they will work to end the conflict.<ref>{{Cite news |script-title=ko:판문점 선언: 작년에 비해 담담해진 2주년… 문 대통령 '작은 일이라도 끊임없이 실천해야' |url=https://www.bbc.com/korean/52451580 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622145307/https://www.bbc.com/korean/52451580|archive-date=Jun 22, 2023 |newspaper=BBC News 코리아 }}</ref>

In November 2020, South Korea and China agreed to work together to mend South Korea's relationship with North Korea. During a meeting between [[Moon Jae-in|President Moon]] and China's foreign minister, [[Wang Yi (politician)|Wang Yi]], Moon expressed his gratitude to China for its role in helping to foster peace in the Korean Peninsula. Moon was quoted telling Wang during their meeting that "[the South Korean] government will not stop efforts to put an end (formally) to war on the Korean Peninsula and achieve complete denuclearization and permanent peace together with the international community, including China."<ref>{{Cite web|date=27 November 2020|title=South Korea, China agree on North Korea talks, early Xi visit|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/27/china-south-korea-agree-on-early-xi-visit-north-korea-talks|access-date=16 March 2021|archive-date=17 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217105959/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/27/china-south-korea-agree-on-early-xi-visit-north-korea-talks|url-status=live}}</ref>