KOREA

Korean Choson, or Taehan, byname Hanguk peninsular historical country of East Asia that was bounded on the west by the Yellow Sea, on the south by the Korea Strait, on the east by the Sea of Japan (in Korea called Tonghae, or East Sea), and on the north by the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen (Tuman) rivers. Manchuria (northeastern China) and Russia border Korea on the north. (See also Korea, North; Korea, South.) Stone artifacts indicate that the first settlements on the Korean peninsula took place during the Paleolithic Period. Korea's origins date to a mystical past, to Tan'gun, the legendary founder of Old Choson, who, according to tradition, became the first king in 2333 BC. Korea dates historically from 57 BC, the beginning of the period of the Three Kingdoms of Silla (in the southeast), Koguryo (north), and Paekche (southwest). These kingdoms survived sporadic war with each other until the late 7th century AD, when Silla, the largest of these kingdoms, conquered the other two with Chinese aid and unified the peninsula under central rule. Silla rule began to disintegrate at the end of the 8th century, as rival states emerged. Wang Kon established the kingdom of Koryo in 918 and unified the peninsula in 936. Mongols conquered Korea in 1259, their rule lasting for nearly 100 years. In 1392 General Yi Song-gye, a former Koryo general, seized power and established the Choson (Yi) dynasty, which governed until 1910. A centralized administrative system was set up, and Confucianism was adopted as the official ethical system. The Japanese invaded Korea in 1592 and 1597 and finally were driven off, with Chinese aid, in 1598. Beginning in the 1600s, Korea became increasingly isolationist, as its rulers sought to close the country to all foreign contact. In the 17th century the Manchus defeated the Ming dynasty, and Korea was forced to pay tribute to the new rulers of China. By the mid-19th century, the peninsula had become an area of dispute and conflict between China and Japan. Japan increased its influence in Korea following its successful war with China in 189495, and in 1910 it annexed the peninsula as a colony. The Japanese administered Korea almost entirely to their own benefit, seizing land and businesses and establishing industries. As part of the Japanese surrender after World War II, troops of the Soviet Union occupied Korea north of latitude 38 N, while U.S. forces occupied the area south of it. The Soviet Union withdrew in 1948, and the United States withdrew the following year. Despite efforts by the United Nations (UN), no agreement resulted on unifying Korea, and the North continued under a communist regime that the Soviets had helped establish, with the South operating as a republic with an elected government. North Korea, which sought to unify the peninsula by military force, launched a surprise invasion of South Korea on June 25, 1950, initiating the Korean War. UN troops, composed primarily of U.S. soldiers, intervened on the side of South Korea; Chinese soldiers eventually reinforced the North Korean army. On July 27, 1953, after several years of military stalemate, an armistice was signed. The cease-fire line, which roughly followed 38 N, became a demilitarized zone between the two states.