Korea
Korea is a nation in the eastern part of Asia. People have lived in Korea for about 15,000 years. In history, Manchuria and some of Siberia used to be part of Korea.
The best silk used to come from Korea. In the 7th century, the people of China also liked the gold workers from Korea. Europeans knew very little about Korea until modern times.
The printing machine was made in Korea in 1232 and used metal letters. But the original printing machine, which used wooden letters, was made in China almost 1500 years ago. This was a long time before Gutenberg made the printing machine in Europe.
The nation of Korea was made into two countries after World War II. North Korea is in the north. South Korea is in the south. North Korea is ruled by a military dictatorship. South Korea is a democracy. North and South Korea fought each other in the Korean War.
South Korea has over 48-million people, and North Korea has more than 23-million. South Korea's biggest city is Seoul. It has more than 10-million people. North Korea's biggest city is Pyongyang. It has less than 4-million people.
Korea is famous for its traditional food kimchi. Kimchi is spicy pickled cabbage. Koreans eat kimchi a lot.
Koreans eat lots of fish, beef, and chicken along with sticky white rice and kimchi. Pizza and hamburgers are also sometimes eaten but is not common. Birthday food includes seaweed soup eaten the morning of someone's birthday, but it is not common now. Many people say Koreans eat dog meat. Some people do, but it is not common. Only a few people eat dog meat these days.
Many people in South Korea speak English and other languages. Children in South Korea learn English and other languages in school.
South Korea is an advanced country with large cities, high-speed trains, high-speed internet, and many TV & radio networks. Korean soap-operas are popular around the world. Korean TV commercials are among the most expensive in the world. However, there are still poor areas in Korea. Farmers are not rich and struggle against food from other countries.
Gojoseon.
Gojoseon is the first state of Korean established at 2333 BCE. The founder of Gojoseon is said to be Dangun (Pronounced "Dan-Kune"). People of Korea believe that Dangun established the country on October 3rd, and still celebrate that day as the establishment day of Korea. Gojoseon was destroyed by Buyeo, which was succeeded by Goguryeo, at about 230BCE.
Three Kingdoms.
Between 57 BC and the year 668 there were three kingdoms in Korea. The names of the kingdoms were: "Silla", "Goguryeo" and "Baekje". In the year 372 the religion Buddhism came from China to Korea. Buddhism was very important in Korea.
In the year 660 the kingdom of Silla invaded the kingdom of Baekje. In the year 668 the kingdom of Silla invaded the kingdom of Gyguryeo. The people of Goguryeo ran away and made a new kingdom with the name "Barhae". After a little time, the kingdom of Silla invaded the kingdom of Barhae.
From the year 681 to the year 935 the kingdom of Silla was the only kingdom in Korea. This time has the name "Unified Silla". In the Silla kingdom Buddhism was very important.
Goryeo.
In the year 918 the kingdom of "Goryeo" was made. The name "Korea" comes from "Goryeo". The kingdom of Goryeo had power until the year 1392.
The kingdom of Goryeo wrote the law in books. The kingdom made a big government. Buddhism was very important in the kingdom of Goryeo.
Joseon.
In the year 1392 a man from the military of Korea went to China. His name was "Yi Seonggye". The job of Yi was to speak against China. But Yi made friends with the people in China. When Yi came to Korea, he changed the kingdom. Yi was king.
The name of the kingdom was "Joseon". In the year 1394, the people of Joseon moved the capital to Seoul. The religion of Buddhism was not important. A new religion Confucianism was important. Confucianism came from China.
In the year 1443 the king "Sejong" ruled. He invented the Korean alphabet.
In the year 1592 and the year 1598 the people from Japan fought Korea. A man from the military made very strong ships. The name of the man was "Yi Sun-sin". With the strong ships, the people of Korea won.
The people of Joseon were always friends with the people of China.
Today, North Koreans use the name Joseon (officially Chosŏn) to mean Korea.
19th century.
In the 19th century the people of Korea did not want to trade with other people. People called Korea "Hermit Kingdom". see hermit
The people of the United States wanted to trade with Korea. The people of Japan also wanted to trade with Korea. In the year 1876 the military of Japan fought Korea. Korea and Japan made a contract to trade.
In 1895 Japan won a war against China. The name of the war was "Sino-Japanese War". The military of Japan killed the Queen of Korea in 1895. The name of the Queen was "Min". Korea changed the name to "Daehan Jeguk" (kingdom of Korea).
The people from Korea made friends with the people from Russia. In 1905 Japan won a war against Russia. The name of the war was Russo-Japanese War. In the year 1910, the emperor of Japan made Korea a colony of Japan.
Colony of Japan.
Korea was a colony of Japan from the year 1910 to the year 1945.
The Japanese occupation was harsh. The people of Korea were forced to study the history of Japan and Japanese. They also stopped the people of Korea from speaking the language of Korea. Many people of Korea had to change their name to Japanese name. The people of Korea were not happy with the Japanese occupation.
In 1919 the people of Korea were very unhappy. The people marched in the streets. The people made a big demonstration. The people asked the emperor of Japan to go. The police of Japan were not happy with the people. The police arrested 47,000 people, killed 7,500 people, and injured 16,000 people.
When World War II started, the policy of the Japanese government changed. They wanted Korea to be a part of Japan. The government made the religion of Japan the religion of Korea. The people of Korea were stopped from celebrating the festivals of Korea.
Many men from Korea went to the military of Japan and went to work in Japan. They worked in mines and factories. The men did not want to go, but the Japanese people wanted to. Some women were forced to work as prostitues for Japanese Soldiers. These women were called "comfort women".
In the year 1945 Japan lost World War II. The USA and the Soviet Union made a contract. The USA occupied the south of Korea. The Soviet Union occupied the north of Korea.
The people from Korea wanted to be free. The USA and the Soviet Union wanted the people of Korea to be free. But in 1945 the USA and the Soviet Union were not friends. The Cold War started. The USA and the Soviet Union did not make a contract. The UN thought that invading Korea would keep South Korea a free country. If this had not happened, South Korea would not be free country today and would be controlled by Communists and starving, much like the North.
In 1948 the people in the south made a country called South Korea. The USA helped the people of South Korea. In 1948 the people of North Korea also made a country. The Soviet Union helped the people of North Korea.
In 1950 a war started in Korea. The name of the war was the Korean War. The war ended in 1953, but no peace treaty was signed. The line between North and South was the same in the end as it was before the war. No land was lost or gained.
Now there are two countries: North Korea (also called the DPRK or Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and South Korea (also called the Republic of Korea).
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