Presented at the 2017 Korean History and Culture Seminar for American Educators at Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles, hosted by National Korean Studies

1. Brief overview of early
Korean history and
culture
Albert L. Park
Claremont McKenna College

2. Abstract
 Although people have inhabited East Asia since Paleolithic
times, it took many millennia for them to develop into distinct
countries with unified identities.
 Their development was a process marked by both autonomy
and shared cultures. Each country has unique origins,
culture, and social customs that distinguish it from its
neighbors, but there also was extensive exchange of ideas,
material goods, and technology.
 Additionally, Korea has not just been a transmitter of culture
between China and Japan, but has had an active role in the
production and exchange of cultures within East Asia and
beyond.

3. Rise of civilization on the
Korean peninsula

4. Paleolithic period
 Paleolithic period from ca. 50,000 BP – 8000 BCE
 BP: Before present (as of 1950*)

5. Paleolithic
chipped stone tools

6. Paleolithic stone scraper

7. Neolithic culture (ca. 8000
BCE to 1500 BCE)

8. Shamanism
 Spirits dwell in mountains, trees, rocks, all natural
objects
 Dead spirits are all around us
 Spirits can help or harm humans
 Shamans are intermediaries between the spiritual
realm and the human realm
 Shamans use song and dance to invoke spirits

9. Early Shamanism
 Early settlers from the Siberian region brought
Shamanism with them, so there are similarities with
other forms of Siberian-based Shamanism
 Early shamans were priests/priestesses, healers, and
diviners

10. Contemporary shaman ceremony (NY Times)

11. Neolithic sites in South Korea

12. Neolithic life
 Semi-subterranean pit dwellings
 Comb-pattern pottery
 Lived in groups of fewer than 20 homes
 Hunting, fishing, gathering

13. Neolithic semi-subterranean pit dwellings

15. Comb-pattern pottery

18. Mythical origins
 Dangun Wanggeom (2333 BCE)
 Father, Hwanung, was the son of the Lord of Heaven
 A bear and tiger asked to be transformed into humans,
cave for 100 days, garlic and wormwood
 The tiger gave up after 21 days, but the bear became a
woman
 Hwanung became mortal and had a son, Dangun, with
the bear

23. Scytho-Siberian bronze
culture
 ca. 1500 BCE-
300 BCE
 Agriculture 
land inheritance
 Social
stratification

24. Cist grave with bronze artifacts
(Chopori, S Jeolla)

25. Northern-style tabletop dolmen (Ganghwa Island)

26. Sinitic iron culture
 ca. 300 BCE-300 CE
 Continued use of bronze goods in burials
 Greater stratification of society

27. Wood-chamber tomb containing iron and ceramic grave goods
(Tokcheon-ni, N Gyeongsang)

28. Agriculture
 From hunting/fishing/gathering to farming
 Lineages arose as people settled into farming and land
became inheritable
 Millet preceded rice agriculture
 Agriculture as example of cultural and commercial
contacts in East Asia

30. Three Kingdoms period
 ca. 50 BCE to 668 CE
 Goguryeo (37 BCE-668 CE)
 Baekje (18 BCE-663 CE)
 Gaya (47-562, confederated kingdom)
 Silla (57 BCE–936 CE)

31. Goguryeo (37 BCE-668 CE)
 Largest land area of 3 kingdoms
 Northernmost of 3 kingdoms
 Bordered “barbarians” to north
 In shifting alliances with Silla and Baekje

32. Baekje (18 BCE-663 CE)
 Southwestern region of peninsula
 Closest ties with Japanese archipelago
 Some migrated (willingly or otherwise) to Japan

33. Gaya (47-562)
 Confederated kingdom of 6 different states
 Defeated in unification wars

34. Silla (57 BCE–936 CE)
 Longest lasting of 3 kingdoms
 Defeated neighbors with help of Tang China and then ousted
Tang China
 History seen from Silla viewpoint because they were the
victors
 Bone Rank System
 Hwabaek Council of Nobles
 Hwarang (“flower youths”)
 Queen Seondeok (r. 632-647)

35. Bone Rank System
 Hallowed Bones (also called Holy Bones) were eligible
for the throne but died out because of rigidity of system
 True Bones became the highest rank after the
Hallowed Bones died out
 Head Ranks 6-1
 Child took lower-ranking parent’s status regardless of
gender
 Strict sumptuary laws

36. Hwabaek Council of Nobles
 Balanced the power of the throne by representing the
aristocrats’ interests
 They alone could declare war, approve adoption of
Buddhism as the official state religion

37. Hwarang (“flower youths”)
 Aristocratic youths who studied, trained, and socialized
together

38. Queen Seondeok (r. 632-647)
 Succeeded her father (last of male Hallowed Bones) to
the throne
 Said to have been instrumental in laying foundation for
the unification of Silla
 Silla flourished culturally and technologically under her
reign
 Followed by cousin Queen Jindeok (r. 647-654)

39. Silla crown of 24K gold

40. Cheomseongdae observatory in former Silla capital

41. Three Kingdoms,
China, and Japan
 6th and 7th grade standards (CA)
 Silk Road
 Buddhism
 Confucianism

42. Syrian glass from Silla
period

43. Spread of culture and trade
 Aristocratic culture: classical Chinese was the common
written language in East Asia
 Buddhism was not just transmitted through Korea;
Korean monks were very active in producing and
disseminating scholarship throughout Asia
 Material culture and technology: metallurgy, silk
production, textile manufacture, paper-making,
Buddhism
 Commercial trade: Chinese and Korean luxury goods,
Japanese silver, copper, timber, steel swords

44. Unified Silla (668-936)
 Maritime trade: rise of powerful traders (wealth,
private army)

45. Later Three Kingdoms
 Later Goguryeo, founded in 901 by Kim Gungye (“the
ugly”)
 Later Baekje, founded in 892 by Yi Gyeonhwon (“the
bad”)
 Wang Geon took over Later Goguryeo in 918 (“the
good”)

46. Goryeo (918-1392)
 Wang Geon (King Taejo, r. 918-943)
 Dynastic founder relied on support of local warlords
with private armies
 Sought to cement relations with supporters, former Silla
royal family through marriage alliances (29 wives total)

47. Buddhism and Confucianism
 7th grade standards
 Civil service examinations (est. 968) on Chinese model
 Role of Buddhism in lives of aristocrats and commoners
 Comparisons to Catholic Church in medieval Europe
 Aristocrats sent sons into the clergy
 Aristocrats donated land, goods, slaves to temples which had
tax-exempt status
 Goryeo Tripitaka (1087, 1251) as example of woodblock
printing (entirety of East Asian Buddhist canon at that time)

48. Goryeo Tripitaka, original woodblocks carved in 11th century
destroyed by Mongols and re-carved in 13th century
set composed of 81,258 blocks

49. Military rule (1170-1270) and
feudalism
 7th grade standards
 1170 Military Coup: military officials revolted against civil
officials’ abuses
 Military monopoly over government
 Military controlled the throne but did not usurp it for
themselves
 Military officials used power to gain more land and wealth
 Rise of private armies
 New power based not on lineage but on military power

50. Choe House rule (1196-1273)
 Choe Chungheon (1149-1219)
 Brother Choe Chungsu
 Son Choe U (aka Choe I)
 Civil officials not completely abolished
 Preserved royal house, did not marry with royal family
 Elevated some household retainers and slaves
 Feudal period ended after Mongol Invasions

51. Peasant rebellions
and slave revolts
 Peasant rebellions (1172-1217)
 Uprisings in countryside as well as capital
 Large-scale efforts to restructure social order, seize
political power
 Economic causes
 Political discontent
 Breakdown in local government
 Slave revolts (1196-1232)
 Perceived unfair elevation of some slaves’ status
 About mistreatment rather than immorality of slavery

52. Mongol rule (1270-1368)
 Complex hierarchies within tribute system
 Goryeo king performed certain rites as Son of Heaven
(or Son of Heaven of East of the Sea)

53. Mongol invasions
 Genghis Khan (ca. 1162-1227) and grandson
Khubilai Khan (1215-1294)
 First invasion in 1231 (6 in 30-year period)
 Choe family moved capital to Ganghwa Island in
1232 till 1258
 Peasants, lowborn, slaves fought back without
military leaders
 Mongols burned fields, decimated food supplies,
slaughtered many
 200,000 captives from 1254 invasion
 Cultural treasures such as Tripitaka lost
 King sued for peace with Mongols in 1270 and
returned capital to Gaeseong

55. The Mongol empire
 Significant contributions to both European and Asian
cultures
 Described by Marco Polo (1254-1324), who was in
China 1275-1291
 Advances in medicine, astronomy, science, engineering
 Summer palace at Shangdu (Xanadu)
 Roads, postal stations
 Promotion of trade

56. Trade ship

57. Goryeo and the Mongol
empire
 Goryeo became “son-in-law” kingdom
 Goryeo elites sought ties with Mongols
 Many foreigners in Goryeo from queen dowager/crown
princess down
 Goryeo kings made visits to Mongol court
 Goryeo participated in 1274 and 1281 expeditions
against Japan
 Heavy tribute demands by Mongols

58. Cosmopolitanism
 Mongol capital of Daidu (today’s Beijing) was center of
culture
 Many Goryeo elites went to Daidu
 Goryeo women who were consorts of elite Mongols
also spread Koryo culture in Daidu
 Queen Noguk was King Gongmin’s Mongol wife
 Empress Gi was a Goryeo woman who became
Mongol empress

59. Joseon (1392-1910)
 Yi Seonggye (King Taejo, r. 1392-1398) established
Choson
 Gave Dynastic Foundation Merit Subject titles to loyal
supporters

60. King Sejong the Great
(r. 1418-1450)
 Appointed top scholars to the Hall of Worthies
 Phonetic Korean script (invented1443, promulgated
1446)
 Print culture including moveable metal print (invented
1234, predating the Gutenberg Bible of 1454)
 Histories, gazettes, geographies compiled
 Development of astronomy, geography, technology

61. Yi Sunsin (1545-1598)
 Imjin Wars (Hideyoshi Invasions) led by Hideyoshi,
between 1592-1598 in their attempt to conquer Ming
China
 Admiral Yi Sunsin is credited with leading turtle boats to
defend Joseon
 Yi died in battle

63. Social status in Joseon
 Scholar-officials (yangban): civil officials higher than
military officials
 Secondary status groups
 Technical officials, local functionaries, descendants of
illegitimate sons by concubines
 Peasants/commoners
 Farmers valued for their hard work
 Artisans
 Merchants
 Lowborn (outcasts, entertainers, despised
occupations)
 Slaves

64. Neo-Confucianism
and women’s lives
 Women originally lived with their natal families after
marriage and had equal inheritance rights
 With Confucianization of Joseon, women moved out of
their natal homes
 Wedding ceremonies, contrary to Confucian ritual,
continued to take place at the bride’s home
 As women moved out of their natal homes, their
inheritance was reduced to one-third of their brother’s,
and their responsibilities also reduced (from 3 years of
mourning to 1)

65. Sin Saimdang (1504-1551)
 2nd of 5 daughters of prominent family
 Madame Sin was a noted artist
 Madame Sin’s mother left a will dividing up property
almost equally among 5 daughters, listing all her
property including slaves
 Madame Sin’s third son (Yulgok Yi I) was named the
ritual heir

66. Sin
Saimdang,
mother of
Yulgok Yi I

67. Confucianization
 Lineage (and the patriline) became more important
from Joseon
 Women’s roles were more dependent on their status as
mothers of sons
 With the establishment of the Manchu Qing dynasty in
China (1644-1911), Joseon elites saw themselves as
the “last bastion of civilization” and further promote
Neo-Confucianism

68. Peace to the 19th century
 Relative peace and stability
 Factionalism at court followed by policy of impartiality in
18th century
 Rule by in-law families during reigns of young kings

69. Premodern Korea
 Korea has distinct origins
 Korea developed autonomously but with significant
exchanges with its neighbors
 Korea was not just the passive recipient/transmitter of
culture
 Korea produced, contributed, and exchanged culture
with its neighbors and beyond
 Korea has an important role in the historical
development of East Asia