Download Korea: From 3000 BC to 1945 AD

Korea:
From 3000 BC to 1945 AD
Korea: From 3000 BC to 700 AD
• First people arrived in Korea in
around 3000 BC from what is
now Manchuria and Mongolia
• Tan’gun the father of Korea
united tribes into Kingdom of
Chosun in 2333 BC
• A series of kingdoms rose and
fell
• Eventually three major kingdoms
arose Paekche, Silla, and
Koguryo (a culture which is
claimed to be both Korean and
Chinese)
• Confucianism and Buddhism
were introduced to Korea, from
China, during this time
• In the 6th Century, Korean
scholars travelled to Japan and
helped to introduce
Confucianism, Buddhism, and
the Chinese written language
there
Korea: 700 AD to 1388 AD
• With the help of the Chinese the
Silla dynasty conquered all of
Korea
• By 918 AD Silla had fallen to a
new kingdom called Koryo.
• The Koryo Period lasted until
1392.
• During this time Koryo resisted
several attempts by the Chinese
at military subjugation.
• In 1231, the Mongols invaded and
conquered Korea.
• It was also during this time that
Koreans invented movable
wooden type used for printing.
• Threatened by raiders from the
north and pirates from Japan,
Koryo fell to a coup by General Yi
Song-gye in 1388
Korea: 1392 AD to 1627 AD
• The Kingdom of Chosun was
established in 1392
• Seoul was built to be the new capital
• Korea became a tribute state of Ming
China
• In 1466 King Sejong oversaw the
creation of a written language for the
expression of Korean called Hangeul.
• From 1592-1597 Japanese armies
attacked and conquered large
portions of the Korean peninsula
before retreating back to Japan.
• From 1627-1636, the Manchus
attacked and conquered large parts
of Korea. Korea became a part of the
Manchu Empire but was allowed to
keep its King and royal court.
• The first Europeans came to Korea
in 1627
Korea: 1628 AD – 1884 AD
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In the late 1860’s and 1870’s the French and
Americans attempted to establish relations
with Korea by sending soldiers to force Korea
to open to Western influence.
Korea was able to hold of the foreign
interventions and declared itself closed to all
outsiders in 1871.
However, in 1876 Japan sent warships to
Korea and forced Korea to establish
diplomatic relations with Japan.
In 1882, Korea signed a treaty with the United
States.
During this time, Korea sent missions to Japan
and the US to learn about the Western world.
Koreans, who wanted to open up and learn
form the Western world were known a
Progressives and hired Japanese instructors
to train their army, created the Korean postal
system, and designed the Korean national
flag.
Progressives were generally pro-Japan and
anti-China. The primary reasons for this were
that Japan was seen as becoming modern
and China was seen as backward. Japan still
had a degree of independence from the West
and had been able to maintain its pride where
China was being humiliated.
Korea: 1884-1896
• In 1884, Korean reactionaries
called in China to aid them in
abolishing the Progressive
government.
• In 1894, Tonghak rebels, defeated
government forces.
• The Korean government asked for
China to send soldiers to help quell
the rebellion.
• Japan, worried that China would
take over Korea and lead to its
occupation by Western powers,
especially Russia, sent soldiers.
• The Tonghak rebels were quickly
defeated by Korean, Chinese, and
Japanese forces.
• Japan forced Korea to sign treaties
allowing the Japanese trading and
security rights in Korea.
Korea: 1896 AD to 1905 AD
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The defeat of the Tonghak allowed the
Japanese to force Korea to put Progressives
back in charge.
The Progressives:
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Abolished the Confucian Civil Service System
Created a modern judicial system
Modernized the Police system
Freed public slaves
Made selling slaves illegal
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Russia and Japan maneuvered against
each other for influence in Korea.
At this time many advocates for reform
began to push for Korean nationalism and
independence.
Among them was Syngman Rhee.
Schools and hospitals were founded and
smallpox vaccines were given.
Telegraphs, telephones, electric lights,
and railways were built.
After the defeat of Russia in 1904 by the
Japanese, Japan forced Korea to sign a
Treaty of Protection with Japan in 1905.
This was effectively the end of Korean
Independence.
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Korea:1905 AD -1921 AD
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After battling Korean rebels Japan
annexed Korea in 1910.
Koreans lost many of their rights,
schools and newspapers were closed,
the teaching of Korean history was
banned, and anti-Japanese activities
were punished.
Japanese farmers moved to Korea and
took people’s land.
Much rice was exported to Japan
leaving Koreans short on the food
necessary to feed their own people.
In 1919, Korean leaders signed a
Declaration of Independence.
The Japanese cracked down hard on
Korean nationalists and many moved
to Shanghai to continue their work.
Dr. Syngman Rhee was elected their
leader.
Beginning in 1921, bands of Koreans
joined together to form the Korean
Army for National Restoration,
attacking into northern Korea from
Manchuria.
Dr. Syngman Rhee
• Born March 26, 1875
• Member of aristocratic family
• Graduated from George Washington
University and Princeton University
• Elected President of Provisional
Government in 1919 and served until
his impeachment for misuse of
authority in 1925.
• Rhee continued to work for Korean
Independence. In 1933 he went to
Switzerland to try and arrange
international support from the League
of Nations.
• That failing, he moved to the United
States where he continued to write
books and articles and worked to
convince Americans of the Korean
right to independence.
Korea: To Independence
• While some Koreans fought the Japanese from
Manchuria or agitated against them from Shanghai,
most Koreans stayed in Korea and lived their daily
lives.
• As World War II progressed, thousands of Koreans
were pressed into military service and were forced to
become guards at prisoner of war camps and as
police in areas rear of the front lines. Untold numbers
of Korean women were taken by the Japanese army
and used as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers serving
in many different parts of Asia. Still other Koreans
worked willingly with the Japanese to run Korea.
Some did so out of greed, some out of the need to
provide for their families, some out of the desire to
help as many people as possible, and still others out
of simple practicality.
Post World War II
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At the Cairo Conference in 1943, China, Great
Britain, and the United States all agreed that
Korea should become an independent nation at
the end of the war.
At the end of the war, when the Japanese
Emperor agreed to the surrender, Korea became
an independent nation.
By this time, the Soviet Union had sent troops
into northern Korea. The US sent troops into
southern Korea and they agreed to meet at the
38th parallel.
In the mean time, the Soviets recognized the
Five Provinces People’s Committee as the
government of Korea.
The US refused to recognize the government
Five Provinces Government or the Provisional
Government in Exile as the government of South
Korea. Instead, it created a military government
under the US Army.
During this time, political parties were founded,
Japanese troops were disarmed and sent back
to Japan, and the Americans and Soviets began
to discuss how to resolve the question of
governing Korea.
Korea: one nation, two governments
• In 1945, the Soviets and Americans agreed to a five year trusteeship plan, in
which the two halves of Korea would be rebuilt, and by 1950 the final
governmental questions would have been resolved.
• Koreans reacted violently to this arrangement and began demonstrating for
immediate independence. In the South these demonstrations continued for
sometime, but in the North they were quashed by Communists under Soviet
pressure.
• Throughout the country, Nationalists and Communists had violent clashes.
• By 1947, the US had established relative democratic government agencies
and began to turn over the running of the affairs of the southern half of the
country to Koreans.
• It is important to note that many of the men who ran South Korea in the early
years were men who had worked for the Japanese prior to 1945. There
were practical reasons for this. Most educated Koreans had worked for the
Japanese in one way or another and they were the people who had the
practical knowledge to run the day to day operations of the country. During
Japan’s rule there had not been free and equal access to education and thus
Japanese collaborators were needed until a new generation of Korean
nationalists could be given the training necessary to rule the nation.
North Korea and South Korea
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By 1946, Kim Il-Sung and the
Communists had created a
government in North Korea called
People’s Assembly of North Korea.
With the help of the Soviets, Kim
had eliminated most of the
nationalist and religious groups in
the North.
In 1947, the US appealed to the
UN to help solve the question of
government in Korea.
The UN sent a mission to help
supervise elections.
The Soviets and North Koreans
refused to accept the UN mission.
The elections went ahead anyway.
Dr. Syngman Rhee was elected
President of the Republic of Korea
on May 10, 1948.
In August of 1949, the North
Koreans carried out their own
election and elected Kim Il-Sung
as Premier.