<= 190. North Korea 192. Laos =>
- Also known as the Taegukgi (supreme ultimate flag)
- The Taeguk in the center is derived from the yin-yang philosophy and it symbolizes balance in the universe
- The red half represents the positive cosmic forces and the blue represents the opposing negative forces
- The trigrams represent movement and harmony as fundamental principles
- Each of the trigrams represent one of the four classical elements
- The Korea adopted its first flag in 1883, which was a bit altered in 1949 and 1997
- It was prohibited under death penalty to use the Korean flag during the Japanese rule in 1910-1945
- Also known as the Taegukgi (supreme ultimate flag)
- The Taeguk in the center is derived from the yin-yang philosophy and it symbolizes balance in the universe
- The red half represents the positive cosmic forces and the blue represents the opposing negative forces
- The trigrams represent movement and harmony as fundamental principles
- Each of the trigrams represent one of the four classical elements
- The Korea adopted its first flag in 1883, which was a bit altered in 1949 and 1997
- It was prohibited under death penalty to use the Korean flag during the Japanese rule in 1910-1945
 |
| Symbolism of the trigrams |
2. Mongols and the coup of 1392
The Kingdom of Goryeo had ruled the Korean Peninsula since 936, when the Later Three Kingdoms were unified by Gyeon Hwon. Goryeo experienced its century long golden age after defeating the Khitan Empire in the war of 1018-1019. The Khitan Empire was until that point the most powerful empire in the region.
The decline of the kingdom started in the 1200s, when the Mongols launched their invasions greatly weakening Goryeo. After three decades of fighting Goryeo, wasn't conquered by the Mongols, but they finally agreed to became a tributary ally to the Mongols for the next 86 years. During this period the Mongols and Korea became intertwined as all subsequent Korean kings married Mongol princesses.
Goryeo drove out the Mongols in the 1300s to regain its northern territories. In 1392 General Yi Seong-gye was ordered to attack China, but he turned his army around, staged a coup and founded his own Joseon dynasty.
 |
| Goryeo in 1368 |
3. Hermit Kingdom of Joseon 1392-1910
General Yi Seong-gye established the Kingdom of Joseon in 1392. He moved the capital to Hanseong (one of the old names of Seoul). The first 200 years of the Joseon dynasty was peaceful and the period saw great advancements in science and education. Sejong the Great also created the Korean alphabet Hangul during this period to promote literacy among the common people.
Between 1592-1598 Japanese Toyotomi Hideoyoshi launched invasions to Korea, which were halted by the Korean forces. The Righteous Army militias formed by the Korean civilians and Ming dynasty Chinese troops also helped the Korean forces to halt the Japanese invasions.
The Korean state was weakened by the Japanese invasions so the Manchus tried to take advantage of the situation and invaded Joseon in 1627 and 1637. The Manchus then went on to conquer the destabilized Ming Dynasty and created the Qing Dynasty in 1644.
After Joseon and Qing Dynasty normalized their relations, Joseon experienced a period of peace for almost 200 years. Particularly the kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo in the 1700s were important in leading a new renaissance of the Joseon dynasty.
The decline of the kingdom started in the 1800s when the royal in-law families gained control of the government leading to mass corruption, weakening of the state, severe poverty and to peasant rebellions throughout the country.
Furthermore the Joseon government adopted a strict isolationist policy, earning the nickname "hermit kingdom". In the end Joseon failed to protect itself against imperialism and it was forced to open its borders. Japan occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945. The term hermit kingdom was first used William Elliot Griffis in his 1882 book "Corea: the Hermit Nation". The term is still used by Koreans of pre-modern Korea and it's also often applied to North Korea.
The term hermit kingdom can be used to any country, organization or society, which willfully isolates itself metaphorically or physically from the rest of the world.
 |
| King Taejo 1335-1408 (General Yi Seong-gye before he became the king) |
 |
| Location of Joseon Kingdom |
The Miracle of the Han River refers to the economic growth of South Korea after the Korean War in 1950-1953 when it transformed from a developing country to a developed country. South Korea's economy was one of the fastest growing economies in the world from the early 1960s to the 1990s.
South Korea is still in the 2000s one of the fastest-growing developed countries along with Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, which together with South Korea are known as the Four Asian Tigers. The GDP per capita was almost the same in North Korea and South Korea until the 1970s, when South Korea's economy started to grow enormously as North Korea's economy started a long decline.
South Korea invested massively in education, which took the country from mass illiteracy to a major international technological powerhouse. The South Korean workforce is highly skilled as South Korea has one of the highest percentages of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree. Currently South Korea is also one of the most digitalized countries in the world.
Currently Seoul has 10 million people, but in the 1940s it was only a village with 300,000 people. The incredible change in South Korea's living conditions after WWII and the Korean War has made South Korea an economic model for other developing countries in the world. In 2010 South Korea acceded to the G20 thus capping a successful sixty-something years of rebuilding and modernization.
South Korea's Economy:
11th largest GDP in the world
13th largest PPP GDP in the world
5th largest exporter (2014)
7th largest importer (2014)
 |
| South Korea's economy growth 1910-2010 |
 |
| Economy growth of South Korea, North Korea and China 1950-2010 |
5. Kim Dae-jung and his Sunshine Policy
Kim Dae-jung, sometimes called as the Nelson Mandela of Asia, was the president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. One of his biggest achievements is the Sunshine Policy, which was a theoretical policy for South Korea's foreign policy towards North Korea from 1998 to 2008.
The policy was meant to soften North Korea's attitude towards South Korea. Kim Dae-jung named it after one of Aesop's fables "The North Wind and the Sun". The idea of the policy based on the traditional Korean ways of dealing with enemies by giving them gifts in order to prevent them causing harm.
As a result of the successful implementation of the policy Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Peace Prize in the year 2000. North Korea and South Korea came into greater political contact because of it and it resulted also in several high-profile business ventures as well as some historic moments in the relationship between the two countries
The Inter-Korean summit in 2000 was the first time when the representatives of the two countries met after the division of the peninsula in 1948. Another Inter-Korean summit was held in 2007 and there were also some brief meetings of family members, who were separated after the Korean War.
Kim Dae-jung, sometimes called as the Nelson Mandela of Asia, was the president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. One of his biggest achievements is the Sunshine Policy, which was a theoretical policy for South Korea's foreign policy towards North Korea from 1998 to 2008.
The policy was meant to soften North Korea's attitude towards South Korea. Kim Dae-jung named it after one of Aesop's fables "The North Wind and the Sun". The idea of the policy based on the traditional Korean ways of dealing with enemies by giving them gifts in order to prevent them causing harm.
As a result of the successful implementation of the policy Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Peace Prize in the year 2000. North Korea and South Korea came into greater political contact because of it and it resulted also in several high-profile business ventures as well as some historic moments in the relationship between the two countries
The Inter-Korean summit in 2000 was the first time when the representatives of the two countries met after the division of the peninsula in 1948. Another Inter-Korean summit was held in 2007 and there were also some brief meetings of family members, who were separated after the Korean War.
The Sunshine policy was ended in 2008 by the new president Lee Myung-bak. North Korea conducted nuclear and missile tests in 2006 and 2009, which made the relationship between Seoul and Pyongyang strained again.
 |
| Kim Dae-jung receives the Nobel Prize |
 |
| Kim Jong-il and Kim Dae-jung |
Timeline
2333BC According to Korean mythology, Old Joseon was founded by Dangun
c.700BC First Kingdom
37BC-668 Gokuryeo ruled parts of Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula
18BC Three Kingdoms period as the states of Gokuryeo, Baekje and Silla ruled the Korean Peninsula and northern Manchuria
676 Unification of the three kingdoms by Silla
698 North-South Kingdoms era, when Later Silla and Balhae coexisted in the north and south respectively
800s Later Three Kingdoms period started when Later Silla weakened by internal strife and Baekje and Goguryeo revived
936 The Later Three Kingdoms were unified Wang Geon, who established the Goryeo as the successor state of Goguryeo
993, 1010 and 1018-1019 Goryeo finally defeated the Khitan Empire, the most powerful empire of its time, and after that Goryeo experienced its century long golden age
1100 There were 12 universities in Goryeo that produced famous scholars and scientists
1200s Mongol invasions greatly weakened Goryeo and after three decades of fighting it finally became a tributary ally to the Mongols for the next 86 years
1300s Goryeo drove out the Mongols to regain its northern territories
1392 General Yi Seong-gye had been ordered to attack China, but he turned his army around, staged a coup and founded the Joseon dynasty
1592-1598 Toyotomi Hideoyoshi launched invasions to Korea, which were halted by the Korean forces
1627 and 1637 The Manchus invaded Joseon
1700s Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo led a new renaissance of the Joseon dynasty
1800s The royal in-law families gained control of the government, which lead to mass corruption, weakening of the state, severe poverty and to peasent rebellions throughout the country
1910 Korea was occupied by Japan after the first Sino-Japanese war and the Russo-Japanese war
1945 After the surrender of Japan in the end of World War II, USA and Soviet Union occupied the northern and southern part of Korea
1948 Antagonism between USA and Soviet Union led to the division of Korea into North Korea and South Korea
1950 North Korea invaded South Korea attempting to unite the country by force
1953 The Korean War ended in armistice, which never was signed by South Korea
1960 The "April 19 Revolution" led to the resignation of the autocratic, corrupt president Syngman Rhee
1961 General Park Chung-hee's May 16 coup against the weak and ineffectual government, when Park took over as president until he was assassinated in 1979
1972 Park extended his rule by creating a new constitution allowing him to run for an unlimited number of six-year terms
1979 Park was assassinated and after two coups, Chun Doo-hwan became the president
1987 Chun's despotic rule ended, when the Catholic Priests Association for Justice revealed the incident of a Seoul National University student was tortured to death
1988 Constant student protests, that didn't calm down even during the Summer Olympics of Seoul
1993 South Korea got its first civil president after 30 years, when Kim Young Sam became the president
1997 The Asian financial crisis affected South Korea, but the country recovered and continued its economic growth
2000 President Kim Dae Jung received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work for democracy and human rights
2002 South Korea and Japan together hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2016 President Park Geun-hye's administration was accused of bribery, corruption and influence-peddling for the involvement of Choi Soon-sil in state affairs, the scandal was followed by massive demonstrations
2016 Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn became the president after the National Assembly voted to impeach Park, suspending her from office
2002 South Korea and Japan together hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2016 President Park Geun-hye's administration was accused of bribery, corruption and influence-peddling for the involvement of Choi Soon-sil in state affairs, the scandal was followed by massive demonstrations
2016 Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn became the president after the National Assembly voted to impeach Park, suspending her from office
No comments:
Post a Comment