Korean Civilization

Early Settlers

People have been living on the Korean peninsula for about half a million years. Archeologists have found ancient evidence of stone chopping tools, axes and old pottery in digs in Central Korea . Farming most probably started in the Bronze Age, around 3,500 years ago. Carbonized rice grains and farming tools dating from this period of history have been found at many archeological digs.

Geography

Geographically, the Korean Peninsula points southward from the northeastern corner of the Asian continent and is surrounded on three sides by large expanses of water. Although Japan is not far from Korea , the peninsula has been affected far more by the civilizations on the Asian continent than by those in Japan .

Korea 's geography was a major factor in shaping its history; including the manner in which the inhabitants of the peninsula emerged as a common people wanting to belong to a unified nation called Korea .

Folklore & History

Aside from history, the Korean people trace their origins to the founding of the state of Choson, meaning "Land of the Morning Calm." The founding of Choson dates to 2333 B.C. when according to popular folklore, Tan-gun, a legendary figure born of the son of Heaven and a woman from a bear-totem tribe, established the state.

Historically, ancient Korea was dominated by clan communities which combined to form small town-states. However, by the first century B.C. the 3 kingdoms, Koguryo, Paekche and Shilla had emerged on the Korean Peninsula (today part of Manchuria ).

Ever since the Shilla kingdom unified the peninsula in 676 A.D, Korea had been ruled by a single government and has maintained its political independence and cultural and ethnic identity in spite of frequent foreign invasions. In the late 19th century, Korea became the focus of intense competition among imperialist nations, China , Russia and Japan . In 1910, Japan annexed Korea and instituted colonial rule. National liberation occurred in 1945 but was soon followed by territorial division. In June 1950, North Korea launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of the South and started a war that lasted three years. The three-year war caused terrible damage before it ended in a cease-fire in 1953. Since then, the Korean peninsula has been governed by the Republic of Korea in the south and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north (Korea Information Gateway, 2004) .

Reunification remains the long-cherished but elusive goal of all Koreans on both sides of the Military Demarcation Line. The fall of Communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and the unification of Germany raised expectations in Korea that unification could be achieved. Some progress in promoting trust and cooperation between the two halves of the Peninsula was made in recent years (Caraway, 2001) .

KOREAN CULTURE:

Korea has a long and distinguished cultural history. It culture has blossomed during her long history. Owing to its geo-historical dependencies, Japan has adopted many Korean ideas and customs. Korea has also spawned some great inventions: its ancient printing systems, the first ever iron-clad battleship, and the Korean alphabet, devised by a group of 15th century scholars, remains largely unchanged today.

The reasons behind Korea 's rapid economic development can be found in this innate creativity.

Components of Korean Culture

The ancient religion of Korea , Buddhism has played a powerful role in Korean art. A large number of excellent examples of Korean artwork and architecture can be found in Buddhist temples and paintings. The current trend in Korean art is the harmonious combination of traditional and modern styles (Grayson, 1989) .

Tomb murals from the Three Kingdoms Period are the earliest examples of Korean painting. Mythological beasts such as dragons and flying horses show an imaginative and creative spirit. Throughout the Unified Shilla and Koryo Periods, Buddhism prevailed in every field of life, thus leaving a rich collection

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