Read A History of Korea Online
Authors: Jinwung Kim
Pushing such sentiments to their logical extreme leads to calls for reunification at any price, creating a situation where words, such as “the people” and “unification,” have become sacred and inviolable, and no opposition is allowed. North Korea and the pro–North Korean elements in South Korea have gone to this extreme. When a pro–North Korean professor in South Korea claimed, in 2005, that North Korea had initiated the Korean War in order to unify the peninsula, and he omitted the fact that North Korea wanted unification solely on its own ideological terms, the conservative camp fiercely opposed his statement.
On the origin of Korea’s division, both Koreas have had different views. A commonly heard sentiment among South Koreans is that it made sense for Germany to have been divided, because it had fought a war and lost. But what was the justification for dividing Korea? It would have made more sense for Japan to have been divided, as it was also an Axis Power in World War II. Many South Koreans believe that the United States and the Soviet Union are responsible for the division of the Korean peninsula.
In contrast to this prevailing South Korean view, North Korea has placed the blame squarely on the United States, based on its own unique view of history. According to the North Korean view, the division of the Korean people has been the result of the U.S. military occupation of South Korea and its policy
of invasion. The Korean people, who have lived as a homogeneous people for thousands of years, have been divided to this day by U.S. interference in Korean affairs. The issue of reunification is therefore an internal problem for the Korean people and a matter of domestic politics. Korea was not a defeated nation in World War II, and therefore no justification exists for the Korean people’s right of self-determination to be violated by the United States. Such North Korean claims have been particularly effective in provoking anti-American sentiment in South Korea.
The question of reunification, of course, comes down to a choice between two different ideologies. Whereas South Korea advocates liberal democracy, North Korea wants its own juche ideology to be the leading philosophy of a unified Korea. North Korea has attempted to form a unified front in South Korea by emphasizing “the people” and “unification.”
Several questions arise pertaining to Korean reunification. When will reunification be achieved? What will it look like? Will the transition be relatively smooth, and, if not, what are the potential problems for Korea and its neighboring powers?
On an emotional level, reunification of the two Koreas would be the realization of the Koreans’ long-cherished dream and the healing of wounds inflicted by the long division, as Koreans believe that people in both halves of the Korean peninsula share a common ethnicity. On a practical level, however, reunification of the two Koreas is beyond emotional desire and requires overcoming many barriers. Were unification to occur abruptly, South Korea would be unable to sustain the heavy economic burdens caused by a shattered North Korean economy, and this could lead to the collapse of both Koreas. For this reason, primarily, few South Koreans express wholehearted support for immediate reunification.
Peaceful reunification would be difficult even in the near or distant future. To implement significant changes, particularly the reunification of a divided nation, a sufficient period of time is required. The principle “T + 40” (trauma + 40 years) purports that meaningful changes can only be achieved when the generation stricken by the trauma moves on, leaving a new generation, one not directly traumatized by the dramatic changes, to emerge.
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Whether reunification comes quickly or is postponed indefinitely, how will it ultimately be achieved? Most likely it will occur through a highly risky process,
perhaps by the sudden collapse of the North Korean regime or a war in which South Korean–U.S. forces are ultimately victorious or peaceful integration of the two Koreas. However it occurs, Korean reunification will decisively shape the future of the new nation. It may bring about a resurgence of Korean nationalism and self-confidence commensurate with the nation’s growing national strength and increased international prestige. A reunified Korea will likely seek greater independence in its overall relationship with neighboring powers and will also undoubtedly reshape the strategic balance in Northeast Asia. Historically, Korea has been surrounded by great powers and still remains “a shrimp among whales.” Almost certainly, the North Korean nuclear issue will finally be resolved only upon reunification.
Since the collapse of the Cold War in the early 1990s, competition between the two Korean states over which political system was superior virtually ended. South Korea deserves its claim to victory, for, in Korea’s long history, no state has had stronger national power than the post-1990s Republic of Korea. While South Korea has prospered as a democracy, its northern neighbor remains at a crossroads, seriously threatened by regime collapse. Under these circumstances, no one can predict how and when Korean reunification will be achieved. Indeed, the time and manner of reunification may be determined by reunification itself. Perhaps reunification of both Koreas will resolve, in a single swoop, many inherent problems in Korea, including North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction issue.
Until 1 January 1896, Korea used the lunar calendar. On 9 September 1895, the Chos
ŏ
n kingdom changed the date of 17 November 1895 (by the lunar calendar) to 1 January 1896 (by the solar calendar). All dates since 1391 have been converted to the modern calendar.
700000 | Early Paleolithic culture emerges |
100000 | Middle Paleolithic culture emerges |
40000 | Late Paleolithic culture emerges |
6000 | Neolithic culture emerges |
2333 | Mythological founding of Old Chos |
1122 | Mythological founding of Kija Chos |
1000 | Bronze Age emerges |
451 | Puy |
431 | State of Chin established |
300 | Iron Age emerges |
194 | Wiman Chos |
108 | Wiman Chos |
108-107 | Chinese Han empire creates four commanderies (Nangnang, Imdun, Chinb |
75 | Kogury |
57 | State of Saro (S |
37 | “New Kogury |
18 | Paekche emerges |
AD | Kogury |
42 | Six Kaya confederated kingdoms emerge |
205 | Chinese Gongsun clan takes control of Liadong region, establishes the Taebang Commandery south of Nangnang |
244 | Kogury |
260 | King Koi of Paekche shapes national institution by appointing six ministries; creates 16 official ranks and prescribes official colors for attire |
313 | Kogury |
314 | Kogury |
369 | KingKŏnch’ogo of Paekche destroys Mahan federation, acquiring its territory |
371 | Paekche strikes Kogury |
372 | Kogury |
373 | Kogury |
375 | Koh |
384 | Buddhism adopted in Paekche |
400 | Kogury |
427 | King Changsu of Kogury |
433 | Paekche and Silla forge marital alliance against Kogury |
475 | Kogury |
475 | King Munju of Paekche moves capital to Ungjin |
494 | Puy |
503 | Saro renamed Silla |
512 | Silla general Isabu conquers “state” of Usan on Ull |
520 | Silla king P |
527 | Buddhism officially adopted in Silla |
532 | Silla king P |
538 | King S |
545 | K |
551 | King S |
553 | King Chinhŏng of Silla drives Paekche out of the lower Han region, securing the Han River basin |
554 | King Chinhŏng kills Paekche king S |
562 | King Chinhŏng destroys Tae Kaya, completing Silla’s acquisition of the Naktong River basin |
600 | Yi Mun-jin of Kogury |
612 | Massive Chinese Sui forces invade Kogury |
642 | King |
643 | Paekche occupies Tanghang-s |
645 | Massive Chinese Tang forces invade Kogury |
660 | Paekche destroyed by forces of Silla and Tang China |
668 | Kogury |
671-676 | Silla and Tang forces clash on Korean peninsula |
676 | Silla unifies Korean peninsula south of the Taedong River and W |
698 | Tae Cho-y |
713 | Chin renamed Parhae |
751 | Pulguk-sa temple, S |
768 | Kim Tae-gong plots against King Hyegong of unified Silla, heralding the beginning of a fierce power struggle among the true-bone aristocracy |
828 | Chang Po-go of unified Silla establishes the Ch’ |
846 | Chang Po-go assassinated |
851 | Unified Silla abolishes Ch’ |
889 | First peasant rebellion in unified Silla |
892 | Ky |
900 | Ky |
901 | Kungye establishes Later Kogury |
904 | Later Kogury |
911 | Majin renamed T’aebong |
918 | Kungye’s T’aebong overthrown, and Wang K |
926 | Parhae falls to Qidan Liao |
935 | Silla’s last king, Ky |
936 | Kory |
958 | King Kwangjong establishes civil service examination system |
976 | King Ky |
983 | King S |
993 | First Liao invasion; Kory |
1010 | Second Liao invasion; Kory |
1018 | Third Liao invasion |
1019 | Kory |
1076 | Ch |
1087 | First set of wooden block print editions of Tripitaka completed |
1107-1108 | Kory |
1109 | Kory |
February 1126 | Yi Cha-gy |
March 1126 | Kory |
1135 | Myoch’ |
1136 | Myoch’ |
1145 | Kim Pu-sik compiles |
1170 | Military revolt, led by military officer Ch |
1172 | First popular uprising under military rule |
1196 | Ch’oe Ch’ung-h |
1200 | Chogye School founded by Buddhist monk Chinul |
1219 | Ch’oe U succeeds his father, Ch’oe Ch’ung-h |
1231 | First Mongol invasion |
1232 | Kory |
1251 | Second set of 81,137 wooden blocks of Tripitaka completed |
March 1258 | Kim Chun and Yu Ky |
December 1258 | Mongols establish the Ssangs |
1259 | Peace concluded with Mongols; Kory |
1268 | Im Y |
February 1270 | Im Yu-mu succeeds his father, Im Y |
May 1270 | Im Yu-mu executed, ending military rule |
June 1270 | Rebellion of the Sam-by |
February 1273 | Sam-by |
June 1273 | Mongols establish T’amna ch’onggwan-bu to direct livestock raising on Cheju-do |
1274 | First Mongol expedition to Japan |
1280 | Mongols establish Ch |
1281 | Second Mongol expedition to Japan |
1285 | Buddhist monk Iry |