2. KOREA, CALLED HANGUK (KOREAN: 한국; HANJA: 韓國) IN SOUTH KOREA AND CHOSŎN (KOREAN:
조선; HANJA: 朝鮮) IN NORTH KOREA, IS AN EAST ASIAN TERRITORY THAT IS DIVIDED INTO TWO
DISTINCT SOVEREIGN STATES, NORTH KOREA
3. NAMES OF KOREA
• "Korea" is the modern spelling of Corea, a name attested in English as early as 1614.[4] It is an exonym derived from Cauli, Marco Polo's
transcription[5] of the Chinese 高麗(simp. 高丽, MCKawlej,[6] mod. Gāolì). This was the Hanja for the Korean kingdom of Goryeo or Koryŏ
(고려; 918–1392), which ruled most of the peninsula during the time of his travels. (Scholars who discount the historicity of Polo's account
instead derive it via Persian variations of the same Chinese name.[7]) Goryeo's name was an homage to the earlier Goguryeo or Koguryo
(고구려; 37 BC – AD 668), the northernmost of the Samkuk (the Three Kingdoms of Korea), which was officially known by the shortened form
Goryeo after the 5th-century reign of King Jangsu. The original name was a combination of the adjective go ("high, lofty") with the name of
a local Yemaek tribe, whose original name is thought to have been either Guru (구루, "walled city") or Gauri (가우리, "center"). With
expanding British and American trade following the opening of Korea in the late 19th century, the spelling "Korea" appeared and gradually
grew in popularity;[4] its use in transcribing East Asian languages avoids the issues caused by the separate hard and soft Cs existing in English
vocabulary derived from the Romance languages. The name Korea is now commonly used in English contexts by both North and South
Korea.
• In South Korea, Korea as a whole is referred to as Hanguk (한국, [haːnɡuk], lit. "country of the Han"). The name references the Samhan—Ma,
Jin, and Byeon—who preceded the Three Kingdoms in the southern and central end of the peninsula during the 1st centuries BC and AD.
Although written in Hanja as 韓, 幹, or 刊, this Han has no relation to the Chinese place names or peoples who used those characters but was
a phonetic transcription (OC: *Gar, MCHan[6] or Gan) of a native Korean word that seems to have had the meaning "big" or "great",
particularly in reference to leaders. It has been tentatively linked with the title khan used by the nomads of Manchuria and Central Asia.
• In North Korea, Korea as a whole is referred to as Chosŏn (조선, Joseon, [tɕosʰʌn], lit. "[land of the] Morning Calm"). "Great Joseon" was the
name of the kingdom ruled by the Joseon dynasty from 1393 until their declaration of the short-lived Great Korean Empire in 1897. King Taejo
had named them for the earlier Gojoseon (고조선), who ruled northern Korea from its legendary prehistory until their conquest in 108 BC by
China's Han Empire. This go is the Hanja 古and simply means "ancient" or "old"; it's a modern usage to distinguish the ancient Joseon from the
later dynasty. Joseon itself is the modern Korean pronunciation of the Hanja 朝鮮but it remains unclear whether this was a transcription of a
native Korean name (OC*T[r]awser, MCTrjewsjen[6]) or a partial translation into Chinese of the Korean capital Asadal (아사달),[8] whose
meaning has been reconstructed as "Morning Land" or "Mountain".
4. KOREAN
HISYORY
• the Korean Academy of North America discovered ancient hominid fossils originating from about 100,000 BC in
the lava at a stone city site in Korea. Fluorescent and high-magnetic analyses indicate the volcanic fossils may
be from as early as 300,000 BC.[9] The best preserved Korean pottery goes back to the paleolithic times around
10,000 BC and the Neolithic period begins around 6000 BC.
• Gojoseon's[10] founding legend describes Dangun, a descendent of Heaven, as establishing the kingdom in
2333 BC[11] The original capital may have been on the present-day Manchurian border,[12] but was later
moved to what is today Pyongyang in North Korea. In 108BC, the Chinese Han Dynasty defeated Wiman Joseon
and installed the Four Commanderies of Han in the area of the northwestern Korean Peninsula and part of the
Liaodong Peninsula,[13] leaving many smaller kingdoms and confederacies in the southern and eastern parts of
the peninsula. By 75 BC, three of those commanderies had fallen, but the Lelang Commandery remained as a
center of cultural and economic exchange with successive Chinese dynasties until 313, when it fell to Goguryeo
5. THREE KINGDOMS OF
KOREA
• The Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje) dominated the
peninsula and parts of Manchuria at beginning of the 1st century AD. They
competed with each other both economically and militarily.
• Goguryeo united Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye and other states in the former
Gojoseon territory.[14] Goguryeo was the most dominant power; it reached
its zenith in the 5th century, when reign of the Gwanggaeto the Great and
his son, Jangsu expanded territory into almost all of Manchuria and part of
inner Mongolia, and took the Seoul region from Baekje. Gwanggaeto and
Jangsu subdued Baekje and Silla during their times. After the 7th century,
Goguryeo was constantly at war with the Sui and Tang dynasties of China.
6. JOSEON DYNASTY
• Joseon dynasty
• Main article: Joseon
• The Gyeongbokgung Palace
• In 1392, the general Yi Seong-gye established the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) with a largely bloodless coup. He named it
the Joseon Dynasty in honor of the previous Joseon before (Gojoseon is the first Joseon. "Go", meaning "old", was added
to distinguish between the two).
• King Taejo moved the capital to Hanseong (formerly Hanyang; modern-day Seoul) and built the Gyeongbokgung
palace. In 1394 he adopted Confucianism as the country's official religion, resulting in much loss of power and wealth by
the Buddhists. The prevailing philosophy was Neo-Confucianism.
• Joseon experienced advances in science and culture. King Sejong the Great (1418–50) promulgated hangul, the Korean
alphabet. The period saw various other cultural and technological advances as well as the dominance of neo-
Confucianism over the entire peninsula. Slaves, nobi, are estimated to have accounted for about one third of the
population of Joseon Korea.[25]
7. KOREAN WAR
• In June 1950 North Korea invaded the South, using Soviet tanks and
weaponry. During the Korean War (1950–53) more than one million people
died and the three years of fighting throughout the nation effectively
destroyed most cities.[48] The war ended in an Armistice Agreement at
approximately the Military Demarcation Line.
8. KOREAN LANGUAGE
• Modern Korean is written almost exclusively in the script of the Korean
alphabet (known as Hangul in South Korea and Chosungul in China and
North Korea), which was invented in the 15th century. While Hangul may
appear logographic, it is actually a phonemic alphabet organised into
syllabic blocks. Each block consists of at least two of the 24 hangul letters
(jamo): at least one each of the 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Historically,
the alphabet had several additional letters (see obsolete jamo). For a
phonological description of the letters, see Korean phonology. Hanja
(Chinese characters) and Latin alphabets are sometimes included within
Hangul texts, particularly in South Korea.
10. LITERATURE
• Korean literature written before the end of the Joseon Dynasty is called "Classical" or
"Traditional." Literature, written in Chinese characters (hanja), was established at the
same time as the Chinese script arrived on the peninsula. Korean scholars were
writing poetry in the classical Korean style as early as the 2nd century BC, reflecting
Korean thoughts and experiences of that time. Classical Korean literature has its
roots in traditional folk beliefs and folk tales of the peninsula, strongly influenced by
Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.
• Modern literature is often linked with the development of hangul, which helped
spread literacy from the aristocracy to the common men and women. Hangul,
however, only reached a dominant position in Korean literature in the second half of
the 19th century, resulting in a major growth in Korean literature. Sinsoseol, for
instance, are novels written in hangul.
11. MUSIC
• Korean music includes both folk and classical music. The country has
produced internationally prominent composers. Young-ja Lee is one
example. She was born in 1931 in Wonju and studied at the Conservatoire de
Paris, and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. She continued her education
at the Manhattan School of Music. Lee endured hardships during the
Japanese occupation and Korean War, but emerged to become one of the
dominant forces in Korean music in the 20th century.[65]
12. RELIGION
• Confucian tradition has dominated Korean thought, along with contributions
by Buddhism, Taoism, and Korean Shamanism. Since the middle of the 20th
century, however, Christianity has competed with Buddhism in South Korea,
while religious practice has been suppressed in North Korea. Throughout
Korean history and culture, regardless of separation; the influence of
traditional beliefs of Korean Shamanism, Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism
and Taoism have remained an underlying religion of the Korean people as
well as a vital aspect of their culture; all these traditions have coexisted
peacefully for hundreds of years up to today despite strong Westernisation
from Christian missionary conversions in the South[66][67][68] or the pressure
from the Juche government in the North
13. CUISINE
• Korean cuisine is probably best known for kimchi, a side dish which uses a distinctive fermentation process of preserving vegetables, most
commonly cabbage. Kimchi is said to relieve the pores on the skin, thereby reducing wrinkles and providing nutrients to the skin naturally. It is
also healthy, as it provides necessary vitamins and nutrients. Gochujang (Korean traditional sauce made of red pepper) is also commonly
used, often as pepper (chilli) paste, earning the cuisine a reputation for being spicy.
• Bulgogi (roasted marinated meat, usually beef), galbi (marinated grilled short ribs), and samgyeopsal (pork belly) are popular meat entrees.
Fish is also a popular commodity, as it is the traditional meat that Koreans eat. Meals are usually accompanied by a soup or stew, such as
galbitang (stewed ribs) and doenjang jjigae (fermented bean paste soup). The center of the table is filled with a shared collection of
sidedishes called banchan.
• Other popular dishes include bibimbap which literally means "mixed rice" (rice mixed with meat, vegetables, and red pepper paste) and
naengmyeon (cold noodles).
• Instant noodles are also a very popular snack food. Koreans also enjoy food from pojangmachas (street vendors), where one can buy
tteokbokki (rice cake and fish cake with a spicy gochujang sauce), fried squid and glazed sweet potato. Soondae, a sausage made of
cellophane noodles and pork blood, is widely eaten. There is also an instant noodle called "Ramyun" which is spicy for non-Koreans.
• Additionally, some other common snacks include "Choco Pie", shrimp crackers, "bbungtigi" (fried rice cracker), and "nureongji" (slightly burnt
rice). Nureongji can be eaten as it is or boiled with water to make a soup. Nureongji can be eaten as a snack or a dessert.
14. KOREAN FLAG
The earliest surviving
depiction of the Korean
flag was printed in a US
Navy book Flags of
Maritime Nations in July
1889.
15. TRADITIONAL CLOTHING
The traditional Korean clothing has its origins since the Three
Kingdoms Period (57 B.C. – 668 A.D.). The top part is called a
jeogori, which is blouse-like long sleeves top stretching
down to the waist (the male version with longer sleeves).
Women wear skirts called the chima, men wear baggy
pants called the paji. The upper class would wear brighter
colors to symbolize their social status while commoners wear
white except on special occasions. The Korean hanbok
represents one of the most visible aspects of the Korean
culture.
