The Beginnings of Korea’s History (Prehistoric Period – Gojoseon)

The history of the Korean nation began in Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula when people started settling there 700,000 years ago. Representative hist...

Three Kingdoms and Other States

Towards the end of the Gojoseon Period, tribal states came into being one after another in Manchuria and on the Korean Peninsula. Buyeo was establishe...

Unification of the Three Kingdoms under Silla

By the 5th century, each of the three Kingdoms (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla) on the Korean Peninsula was committed to a policy for territorial expansi...

Northern and Southern States Period: Unified Silla and Balhae

Unified Silla and Balhae (8th Century) With the unification of the three Kingdoms on the Korean Peninsula in 668, Silla enjoyed a marked expans...

Goryeo Dynasty

By the late 8th century, Silla had been weakened by an internal struggle for power among the nobility; by the 10th century, leaders of powerful local ...

Joseon Dynasty

Joseon (15th Century) Towards the end of the 14th century, Goryeo found itself in a difficult situation due to internal and external problems, ...

The Fall of Joseon: Imperial Japan’s Annexation of Korea

With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, capitalism developed in Europe and large businesses came into being. European countri...

Independence Movement

During the colonial period, the Japanese pillaged Joseon’s resources, banned the use of the Korean language—even going so far in 1939 as to require Ko...

Transition to a Democracy and Transformation into an Economic Powerhouse

On May 10, 1948, the first general election was held in a democratic manner in South Korea under the UN’s supervision to elect the 198 members of the ...