: Discuss the History of Korea and Its Impact on Korea's Culture, Politics and Business.

King Sejong the Great (1397~1450) was the 4th king of Korea, who left many achievements for his people. The greatest and the most remembered achievement he made is the invention of Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet. Early days in Korea, people used Chinese

In 1915, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded the Korean Peninsula, and until 1945, Korean remained under Japanese rule. But after the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, Korea

In conclusion, Korean had suffered to overcome the challenges in the period between the late 19th to the early 20th century because of the foreign countries’ forces to take the benefit out from Korea. Starting with the forced treaties and wars of China, Japan, and Russia on Korean peninsula, Korea even lost its independence in 1910 by Japan. Korean government’s reaction to these events was disappointing: emperor Gojong even ran away to Russia after the first Sino-Japanese war, which is also called as Agwan Pacheon. As a result of continuous invasion of foreign forces and irresponsible government’s reactions, Korean showed three major responds to the depressing situation: depending on Japan to take control of Korea to modernize, studying abroad

The Japanese occupied Korea in 1910 after many years of struggle between different countries. Throughout the centuries there were multiple events that lead to this colonization. The events became disordered in 1864, when King Kojong ascended to the throne. He was too young, so his father Taewon-gun became the de facto ruler. His goals were to re-establish the power of the government, develop a policy of national exclusionism and continue to persecute the Catholics. During his rule, western men came in search of trade, but the Taewon-gun refused them. Japan repeatedly made attempts to establish political relations with Korea but they continually refused. In return the Japanese declared war on Korea. Meanwhile, the Taewon-gun felt as if he

The Japanese set up the government with generals and admirals that were appointed by the Japanese emperor(Lee Lew). They used their own school system as a tool for assimilating Korea to Japan. The Japanese focused on teaching Korea the Japanese language and excluding the Korean language and Korean history(Lee Lew). The Japanese also promoted their commerce in Korea keeping Korea from freedom of assembly, association, the press, and speech. In 1926, there was a major anti-Japanese mass rally held in Seoul because they were not free and wanted their liberty(Lee Lew). While Japan was distracted with their own people, there were two nations that declared war on them which were the Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Korea demand an end of Japanese discrimination(Lee Lew). Japan forced Koreans worship at Japanese shrines and adopt Japanese-style names, and academic societies were banned (Lee Lew). After Japan lost control of Korea, it triggered the split of

The Korean War was the historical event that most shaped Korea’s identity. It affected many areas of Korea, such as the economy, government, and the involvement of the United States. There was an economic crisis causing many people to suffer, a government was established, and because of the involvement of the US, Korea got lots of western influence. The essay below will explain how the Korean War affected Korea’s economy, the government, and the involvement of the US.

The country of Korea was founded around the year of 2333 B.C with its first kingdom being gojoseon which stretched across the peninsula, by the third century B.C.E korea had fallen into many successor

Korea was formally colonized by Japan in 1910; however, the process of its takeover by Japan began during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5). During the war, negotiations between

Under Yi Sŏng-Gye’s son King Sejong, considered Korea’s greatest ruler, inventions like the rain gauge, the use of a movable type, and the birth of Korean alphabet called Hangeul, still in use today, surfaced. (Piddock, 27-28) They ruled the entire peninsula for 500 years. Then Korea was annexed by neighbors Japan in 1910. Korea continued to be under Japan until 1945 when it was liberated at the end of World War II. (“North Korea”, Culturegrams) “With the defeat of Japan in 1945, the Allies agreed to divide the Korean Peninsula between the Soviet Union and the United States at the thirty-eighth parallel as a temporary measure.” (Piddock, 30) The Soviet Union received the Northern part of Korea, and the United States the South. “.. Soviet forces closed off northern Korea at the thirty-eighth parallel and placed Korean communists in power there.” Evidently, North Korea was bound to turn communist.

Understanding how North Korea as a country defines itself in a changing world. Where do they derive their customs and practices, political standings and military power? Define North Korea’s history leading into the modern age and define its culture and characteristics and how they interact with the world today. Understanding a subject as broad as the term culture begins where the culture began with the birth of civilization and the people that influenced it. There are many factors that play a role in the shaping of a nation none so much as turmoil and conflict and the Korean peninsula saw its fair share for the better part of a millennia. A complete statistical breakdown of North Korea shows a struggling nation that strongly depends on

The next nation that will be discussed is South Korea, whose legal tradition finds its origins from Japan, but is now becoming more American in nature due to increased globalization. Korea’s legal tradition was first established 4,300 ago when the Gojoseon dynasty created its own statutory law, heavily influenced by Confucianism and China’s legal system (SpringerLink and Yŏn 'guwŏn 2). (note that during the retelling of South Korea’s history, the nation will be referred to as Korea until the point at which it became separated into Northern and Southern territories). Korea maintained this particular legal tradition, and aspects of a uniquely Korean brand of Confucianism, until the 19th century. In 1894, the internally induced Kabo Reforms aimed to modernize the whole of Korea in terms of legal and administrative systems, culture, economy, and more (“Emergence of a Modern Society”). The Kabo Reforms resulted in a legal system that closely resembled Japan’s system, which followed a civil legal tradition that was heavily influenced by Germany. Korea’s transformation towards a Japanese civil law system was further intensified and completed when it became a colony of Japan in 1910. Following the defeat of Japan during World War Two, Korea gained its independence in 1945, only for the southern half of the nation to fall under American occupation until 1948, while the northern half was occupied by Soviet Russia (SpringerLink and Yŏn 'guwŏn 5). Now dubbed as South Korea, the

Thesis Statement: Though South Korea may be a small country, the style of cuisine, community culture, and generosity are just a few uniquenesses that outshine its stature.

and its cities were on par with those of Eastern Europe. It was not until the

Even though many South Koreans express no religious preference, there are two main religions in the country; the citizens of South Korea practice Christianity and Buddhism. Since South Korea is a homogeneous country, it has its own spoken language. The country also does not have many ethnicities residing in the nation, except for some migrant Chinese laborers.

My return to Korea in the summer of 2001 was nothing short of a culture shock. I was in a country I thought I had learned by heart. It was the country I always rooted my identity and pride from. I wasn’t ready for the shock. I