Editing Korea (section)

===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) -->