North Korea, Cool Facts #190

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1. Kingdom of Goryeo 918-1392

Name
The name Korea comes from the ancient kingdom of Goryeo, which ruled the most of the Korean Peninsula between 918 and 1392.

Foundation of the kingdom 
Goryeo kingdom was established in 918 by King Taejo. In 936 Goryeo unified the Korean Peninsula, when it had annexed Silla and Later Baekje. From there on the Goryeo maintained an unbroken dynasty that ruled Korea for 474 years, however the government was ruled by military regime leaders in 1170-1270.

Golden Age of Goryeo 
Goryeo had wars in 993, 1010 and 1018-1019 against the Khitan Empire, which was the most empire of its time. After defeating the Khitan Empire, Goryeo experienced its century long golden age. In 1100 there were 12 universities in Goryeo that produced famous scholars and scientists. Other achievements of the kingdom include celadon pottery and the Tripitaka Koreana, which was carved onto more than 80,000 woodblocks.

Decline of Goryeo
Goryeo was greatly weakened by the Mongol invasions in the 1200s. After three decades of fighting Goryeo became a tributary ally to the Mongols for the next 86 years. Goryeo lost much of its powers, but retained nominal control. In the 1300s Goryeo drove out the Mongols to regain its northern territories.

End of the kingdom
In 1392 General Yi Seong-gye was ordered to attack China, but he turned his army around and staged a coup to overthrow King Gongyang. Then he established him as Taejo of Joseon, starting a dynasty that ruled Korea until the Japanese occupation in 1910.

Korean Peninsula in 476

Goryeo in 1368

2. Division of the Korean Peninsula 

End of Japanese occupation 1945
The Korean Peninsula was ruled by the Joseon Kingdom between 1392-1910. The Japanese occupied Korea after the first Sino-Japanese war and the Russo-Japanese war. Korea was under Japanese control until the end of World War II. In 1945 Japan surrendered unconditionally after USA dropped the atomic bombs. Japan lost all of its colonies and it was on the losers side of the war. After the war the Soviet Union occupied the northern part of Korea and USA the southern part. 

Division of Korea 
Two US officers were assigned to draw the division of the US and Soviet controlled parts of Korea. The division was then immediately accepted by Soviet Union. In October 1945 the Soviet Civil Authority was established after the recommendation of Soviet general Terentii Shtykov. The Provisional People's Committee for North Korea was established in February, 1946 with Kim Il-sung as the chairman.

Shtykov's biggest achievement during the provisional government was the land reform, that broke Korea's stratified class system. Shtykov also nationalized key industries and all these actions caused the landlords and Japanese collaborators to flee to the South, where there was no land reform and sporadic unrest. South Korean citizens rose up against the Allied Military Government in September 1946. South Korea and North Korea declared their statehood in 1948. Soviet forces withdrew from Korea in 1948 and US forces from the South in 1949.

Korean War 1950-1953
Shtykov suspected that South Korea would invade the North so he supported a short blitzkrieg in the South, which then culminated in the Korean War. A UN force, led by USA intervened to defend South Korea and quickly advanced to North Korea. China intervened to defend the North, when the UN forces come close to the Chinese border, so the balance of the war shifted again.

In 1953 fighting ended with an armistice that restored approximately the original boundaries of the countries. The last Chinese troops withdrew from North Korea in 1958, which is actually the latest consensus as the latest date when North Korea became effectively independent. USA has maintained a strong military presence in South Korea since the war.

Montage of the Korean War 1950-1953

3. Army of North Korea

- North Korea has one of the most powerful armies in the world
- Biggest total military forces per 1000 capita
- 2nd biggest total military forces after South Korea with a force of 7,7 million people
- 4th biggest active military forces after China, India and USA with 1,2 million people
- 20% of the men aged 17-54 serve in the regular armed forces
- Men have a military service of 10 years and women over 5 years

Top 10 biggest active military forces in the world (2017)

Top 5 biggest total military forces (active + reserve+paramilitary) (2017)

Top 5 highest total military forces per 1000 capita

4. End of Cold War influence on North Korea

Before the end of Cold War, North Korea started facing problems already after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976. China started normalizing its relations with the West and especially USA in the 1970s, so China had to re-evaluate its relations with North Korea. 

In response of the changed relationship with China, Kim Il-sung created his Juche Idea. The Juche Idea emphasized national and economic self-reliance, which promoted producing everything within the country. The economy started to stagnate in the 1980s and in 1987 it started its long decline. 

The economy almost collapsed in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when all Russian aid was suddenly halted. North Korea started to reestablish trade relations with China shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but the Chinese couldn't provide enough food to meet demand. 

Growth of economy in North Korea, South Korea and China 1950-2010 

5. Famine in North Korea 1994-1998

The North Korean famine together with the accompanying general economic crisis are known as the Arduous March or The March of Suffering. 

The famine in North Korea killed an estimated 500,000-600,000 people according to US Census Bureau. The estimates of the death toll vary greatly and different sources mention the amount to be from 240,000 to 3,5 million people who died from starvation or hunger-related illnesses. The deaths peaked in 1997. 

There were many reasons for the famine, like the drought and floods in 1995-1996, the economic mismanagement and the loss of Soviet support, which caused food production and imports to decline rapidly. 

After the famine North Korea started receiving food aid from South Korea, China, USA, Japan, EU and others. North Korea still relies on external food aid as it hasn't managed to resume self-sufficiency in food production.

Starving North Korean children

Timeline

300BC Jin state was established, which evolved into Samhan confederacies in around 100BC
108BC Chinese Han Dynasty conquered the Korean state Joseon
313 Goguryeo conquered the Chinese Lelang commandery
698-926 North-South States Period
918 Goryeo dynasty established
936 Goryeo united the Later Three Kingdoms and ruled most of the Korean Peninsula
1392-1897 Kingdom of Joseon ruled Korea
1897-1910 Korean Empire
1910-1945 Japanese rule 

1945 After World War II Korea was divided into the northern-half occupied by Soviet Union and the souther-half occupied by USA
1948 Soviet forces left and in 1949 US forces left the Korean Peninsula
1950-1953 Korean War, North Korea invades South which then advanced into the North with the help of US forces, in the end the Chinese helped the North before the fighting ended 

1956 Kim Il-sung successfully resisted the efforts by China and the Soviet Union to depose in favor of Soviet Koreans or the pro-Chinese Yan'an faction
1958 Last Chinese troops left North Korea
1980s The economy started to stagnate and it almost collapsed in 1991 when Soviet Union was dissoluted and Russian aid was suddenly halted

1994 Kim Il-sung died and his son Kim Jong-il became the next leader of North Korea
2006 North Korea announced that it had conducted its first nuclear weapon test
2011 Kim Jong-il died from a heart attack and was succeeded by his youngest son Kim Jong-un

Sources: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea
"Maailman maat - liput ja historia" by Kimmo Kiljunen