King Sejong : The Everlasting Light Of Korea

Although China’s influence over Korea has waned severely since the dynastic years we find the Confucian system of virtues and behaviors, China’s chief export from that time, still very much alive. Korea highly values the extended family, education, personal discipline and public order. In South Korea Confucian temples continue to be maintained throughout the country. The tenets of Confucianism are seen as antidotes to social ills and therefore education is thought of as a means of building character, not simply of intellectual formation. The values of Confucianism are promulgated throughout Korea in places as diverse as school, the office and the home. Television programs often portray Confucian merits such as filial piety and harmony. However

The chapters of the book under consideration are chapters one thru five. The book in its’ entirety deals with Luke as well as Paul, but for our study, but we will only deal with the writings of Paul. Kim’s desire is to critically examine scholars and theologians who ascribe to an anti-imperial interpretation of some of Paul’s letters.

Seondeok of Silla was a Korean ruler, but no one liked that she was a woman and she ruled at the same time. A nobleman named Lord Bidam had led a rebellion against her saying that “Girls can’t be kings”, Later he had saw a falling star saying that it was a sign that her reign would end. She rebelled again the people and flew a burning kite to show that her reign wasn’t over, and she was going to keep ruling over Korea. This had impressed the people of Korea and stopped rebelling against her and accepted her as their king.

Colonization is the action or process of a foreign culture “settling among and establishing control” over a native culture of a particular geographical location. This is a simplistic and perhaps innocuous description of the colonization process. In fact, all colonization has some aspect of physical coercion as part of its methodology, practice, and progression. The exertion of physical force by one culture upon another may be sufficient to establish initial or sporadic control by the colonizing entity. However, the constant use of physical force as a measure of control is arduous and maybe impossible to sustain long term. Therefore, a successful colonization must be achieved not just by the implementation of physical coercion, but by fundamentally changing aspects of the native culture. In other words, although brute force may be used at the inception or during the process of colonization, for it to be successful, colonizers must effect changes within the native culture that will lead its members to acquiesce, support and aid in their own colonization. A strong historical example of this was Japan’s colonization of Korea. Although aspects of Japan’s colonization of Korea was militaristic in nature, its eventual success was possible through psychological, educational and cultural means of control.

The Yuan and Choson dynasties were both great powers in China and Korea. First off, the Yuan and Choson dynasty both had buddhist beliefs. Much of the dynasties population celebrated the buddhist religion. Although, general Yi Song-gye of the Choson dynasty reduced buddhist influence it was still existent. Another similarity between the two dynasties, was that both had overthrown rulers. In order for the Yuan dynasty to rise to power Kublai Khan had to go to civil war. He was able to take control but still faced opposition. To settle the opposition he created a government with both mongol culture and chinese. Just as Kublai Khan went to civil war general Yi Song-gye overthrew the Koryo ruler and set up the Choson dynasty. Finally, both dynasties stressed the importance of writing. The Choson dynasty created the first Korean alphabet. Instead of using the complex system of chinese writing King Sejong had experts develop a phonetic alphabet. This led to increased rates of literacy and people who could read and write. During the Yuan reign the dynasty increased the use of writing through development of dramas and novels. Writing and Literacy benefited both dynasties. Seeing that, it is extremely obvious the variety of similarities both of these dynasties contained even though both were from different

The Joseon Dynasty was declared by Yi Seonggye, best known as King Taejo, in the late fourteenth century. King Taejo 's foundation for the new empire was based on the rejection of the Goryeo Dynasty, the state religion of Buddhism, and his desire for a Neo-Confucianist society. The new standards of Neo-Confucianism significantly affected the art and visual culture produced during this period of Korean history. During the Joseon period, paintings were considered a form of visual enlightenment for the Korean people. Painting, calligraphy, playing music, and playing the game paduk were regarded as the “Four Accomplishments that were expected of a learned man.” The understanding and skill of painting is also said “to be necessary for cultural and intellectual refinement.” As a result, the Korean government created academies for men of jungin status to become poets and painters. Many Korean artists were greatly inspired by the ink paintings of Chinese literati artists and masters. The three most interesting topics in Korean painting are landscape, genre, and portraiture due to their progressions in style over time, as well as the variation in techniques that artists used. Significant examples of Korean landscape painting include An Gyeon 's Dream Journey to Peach Blossom Land and Jeong Seon 's The Diamond Mountains. Genre painting as seen in Kim Hongdo 's Carpenters (from the album Genre Paintings by Danwon) and Shin Yun-bok 's Double Sword Dance (from his album of genre

Gender roles in Korea were based on a hierarchy in which men and the elderly were at the top. Women were there to serve the men as they provided for the family, “girls had to be closer to the kitchen to serve the men.” According to Jid Lee’s grandmother “this hierarchy was a perfect system for a Korean family, who success was dependent on the men’s strength and intelligence.” However, as the Americans had more of a presence in Korea, they brought over contemporary ideas that went into direct conflict with those ideologies. Jid Lee went against those traditional values. She talked back to her father and brothers. She questioned why women were treated the way they were. Her actions were influenced by reading Western novels. In the chapter “Love in a Dust Storm” she did not do the dishes and was reading Jane Eyre, her mother came back and was furious. Her mother yelled “Once you die you’ll be able to sit on your ass in heaven and red! But until then, you’ve got to do your job! You’ve got to know your place in this house, which is the kitchen.” Thus, caused a tension in the family. Additionally, with the change in gender roles, education began to change. “Koreans built an educational system designed around absorbing information, a system of methods that tested one’s ability to memorize, regurgitate, and apply

The kingdom of Korea was destroyed and the Korean royalty were killed or deported by Japan. At times, every Korean was in a difficult situation. There was no exception to a Korean princess who born in 1912. Deokhye was an only daughter of the King. She had to live in Japan, which conquered her country, was forced into a political marriage with a Japanese, and lived most of her life in exile, 38 years after she left. The king was really old when she was born. He had just one daughter. So she was so precious to him. Deokhye was a very bright child. She used to study in the Korean palace. However, she had to study at the school for Japanese nobility, learning lessons, and wearing Japanese or Western clothes. In 1925, she was sent to Japan to join the Crown Prince Youngchin, who was to be married to her. It was just a part of the policy to absorb the royalty of Joseon into the Japanese Imperial family. It was to prevent the Joseon Royal Family from becoming the symbol of the anti-colonial movement. She missed her country and family. Princess Deokhye’s life in Japan was not happy. Even though she was royalty, she was just an imposed one. She was a deported person, always anxious and in fear for her safety. She tried to overcome her loneliness by being with her half-brother’s family, but her loneliness was deep. King Gojong passed away in 1919. Her mother also died in 1929. She could not wear proper mourning clothes for the

Ancient korea differs from the modern koreas, in that it was separated into four kingdoms, and half of it was located not on the korean peninsula, but in modern day china and russia. As stated before, ancient Korea was separated into four kingdoms: Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla, and Kaya. Goguryeo, the largest, was mostly located in modern china, russia, and north Korea, while the others were squished in the southern half of south Korea.

The early life of Kim Jong-un is not well known, since usually North Korean dictators has kept the family out of the public eye, although in the “Unauthorized biography of Kim Jong-un” is released some information about the regimen and his actual leader. The young president was many considered

Sookan changes from someone who acts like someone her age and ends up acting like a mature young adult. This shows in three examples, when she was scared of , when she was learning from grandfather, when the teacher taught false things, and when she was living alone with inhchun.

Korea is between China and Japan. They constantly tried to butt in Korea late 19th and Early 20th Century. Countries in Western side also want to occupy Korea like China and Japan. In Korea, some people tried to civilize the country slowly but others preferred to civilize the nation quickly such as Japan. When the governors bothered citizens severely farmers rose in revolt. After the soldier were defeated by farmers, Japan and China came to Korea saying that they wanted to help Korea to handle the farmers. Because of it, governors and farmers of Korea stopped fighting to prevent Japan and China from coming

North Korea does not have a modern judicial system and do not have religious freedom. North Korea had a civil war and had to split it state into different parts along the 38th parallel. The reason why they had a civil war was because the North Korean forced the South Korean’s people to fight in North Korea wars; the Kim dynasty rules over North Korea with absolute power, and despotic. The modern genocidal conflict in North Korea is similar to the Holocaust because it employs dehumanization, extermination, and denial.

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.

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