A History of Korea (3 page)

The Korean peninsula served as a land bridge over which Chinese culture was diffused from China to Japan. At first Ural-Altaic tribes migrated eastward from Siberia toward the Korean peninsula and carried with them Neolithic culture and, later, Bronze Age skills. Through their intimate cultural contact with China, Koreans brought Buddhism and Confucianism into the peninsula and transmitted these to Japan. On the other hand, the peninsula has proved vulnerable to foreign invasion both from the sea and the continental mainland, having been invaded by the Chinese in the seventh century, Mongols in the thirteenth century, the Japanese in the sixteenth century, and Manchus in the seventeenth century. Korea’s geographical position also made it the focus of regional conflict in the Far East. At the turn of the twentieth century Korea was the object of two wars, as China and Japan in turn fought to maintain footholds on the peninsula, and then Japan fought to exclude a Russia keenly interested in Korea’s ice-free ports. Taking note of its contours and strategic locations, some Western observers have likened the Korean peninsula to a dagger or pistol pointed at the heart of the Japanese archipelago.

Like its landscape, Korea’s climate has also influenced the course of its history considerably. In Korea seasonal differences are striking, with the annual rainfall varying around 40 inches (1,000 millimeters) overall and concentrated in the summertime; indeed, two-thirds of Korea’s precipitation falls between June and September. This climatic condition is highly favorable for rice farming. Droughts appear one every eight years on average. Summers are hotter and winters colder in the Korean peninsula than along the western coast of the Eurasian continent at the same latitude. Although it has four distinct seasons, the Korean peninsula, reaching across a latitude of nearly 10°, experiences considerable variations in climate, particularly in winter. The climate at Korea’s extreme south is essentially a marine climate, and that at the extreme north is essentially continental. In spring, a powerful sandstorm, known as “yellow dust,” often hits the Korean peninsula from China.

In the East Sea, about 47 nautical miles east of Ull
ŭ
ng-do (Dagelet), stands the Korean island of Tok-to, formerly called Liancourt Rocks by the Occidentals.
In the nineteenth century European sailors who explored the seas around Korea gave Western names to many Korean islands, including Tok-to, as their Korean names were unknown to the Europeans.

Tok-to, formed from volcanic rocks and composed of two main islets, is Korea’s easternmost island, situated in the middle of the East Sea, at latitude 37° north and longitude 131° east. In 512 the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla conquered Usan-guk (state), of which the main part was Ull
ŭ
ng-do. Thereafter the Korean people have considered Tok-to to be part of Ull
ŭ
ng-do and therefore their territory. Historically the subsequent Korean kingdoms of Kory
ŏ
(918– 1392) and Chos
ŏ
n (1392–1910), as well as the Republic of Korea (since 1948), have exercised sovereignty over Tok-to.
³

As of July 2008 the Korean peninsula sustains a population of about 72 million, compared to approximately 20 million at the end of the nineteenth century and 28 million in 1945, at the end of World War II. Some 49 million of the peninsula’s population live in the Republic of Korea, and indeed South Korea is one of the most densely populated areas of the world.

In terms of race, Koreans are predominantly of Mongoloid stock. They trace their ancient origin to the Central Asian area. Although they bear some physical resemblance to the Chinese, their language is totally unlike Chinese; it has similarities, however, with Turkish, Mongolian, Japanese, and other Central Asian languages. Koreans are taller, on average, than most other East Asians and are distinctive in appearance.

Whereas the United States is a nation of immigrants, represented by multiculturalism and diversity, foreign observers tend to characterize Korea as a more uniform nation whose people are overtly nationalistic and patriotic. In fact, nationalism has historically been a dominant ideology in Korean society and has inspired the Korean people to strongly resist foreign intervention and the influx of foreign cultures.

Culturally and genetically Koreans are one of the most homogeneous peoples in the world. Many branches of the Tungusic people in Manchuria and Mongolia are racially mixed with one other and culturally assimilated with the Chinese, but Koreans have succeeded in maintaining their own ethnic and cultural identity. Despite frequent cultural exchanges, Koreans have rarely intermarried with the Chinese. Koreans all share a sense of destiny and a perception of themselves as a unique people, bound together by a common language, culture,
and religion. The peninsula’s geographical conditions, including its remoteness from the Chinese mainland, enhanced a feeling of uniqueness among Koreans and encouraged strong nationalism and a desire to resist foreign domination. Indeed, Korean nationalism was strengthened because of successive foreign invasions. Korea, as a small country in a strategic location, has a deep sense of injustice about being manipulated by the great powers around it.

For most Koreans, the notion of “motherland,” and patriotism, overrides virtually everything. Since they have to defend their motherland as well as their own culture from the continent, Koreans have traditionally emphasized the importance of unity rather than diversity, to the point of sometimes antagonizing others. That explains, in part, why Koreans are rather poor at mingling with outsiders and are angry when insolvent Korean enterprises are taken over by foreign capital.

Besides being ultra-nationalistic and excessively patriotic, the Korean people are said to be quick-tempered, even impulsive. Instead of calculating possible outcomes calmly and rationally, Koreans are prone to emotional actions, reactions, and interactions. Occasionally they go to extremes, but consider such actions as demonstrations of “manliness.” The average Korean is often aroused to a state of sustained passion if the issue is an emotional one. The Korean idea of
uri nara,
or our country, exemplifies Koreans’ strong patriotism and nationalism, which may be demonstrated in such varied circumstances as a soccer game against Japan or during an anti-American flare-up.

A HISTORY OF KOREA

As a nation, Korea has a long history. The archeological finds suggest that, at some point in the misty past, tiny bands of tribesmen inhabiting the lands along the Altai Mountains of Central Asia began making their way eastward in the eternal quest for the “land of life” (the East), moving into Manchuria and the Korean peninsula. The habitation of early men in the Korean peninsula started as early as 700,000 years ago. Some North Koreans claim that the peninsula may have been inhabited for a million years. Until now Paleolithic remains, dating about 700,000 to 8,000 years ago, have been excavated in various parts of the Korean peninsula, from the Tumen River basin to the north to Cheju-do Island to the south. The most important Paleolithic sites, amounting to more than a hundred, are mostly found at the sides of big rivers.

The best-known sites of the Early Paleolithic Age, which ended approximately 100,000 years ago, include those at Sangw
ŏ
n county (K
ŏ
m
ŭ
nmoru cave and Yonggok-ni) in the Taedong River basin, at Y
ŏ
nch’
ŏ
n county (Ch
ŏ
n’gok-ni) in the Hant’an River basin, at Chech’
ŏ
n city (Ch
ŏ
mmal cave of P’oj
ŏ
n-ni) and Tanyang city (K
ŭ
mgul cave) in the South Han River basin, and at P’aju county (Chuw
ŏ
l-ri and Kaw
ŏ
l-ri) in the Imjin River basin. The sites of the Middle
Paleolithic Age, dating about 100,000 to 40,000 years ago, include those at Unggi county (Kulp’o-ri) in the Tumen River basin, at Sangw
ŏ
n county (Yonggok-ni) and the Y
ŏ
kp’o area of Pyongyang in the Taedong River basin, at T
ŏ
kch’
ŏ
n county (S
ŭ
ngni-san) in the Ch’
ŏ
ngch’
ŏ
n River basin, at Yanggu county (Sangmury
ŏ
ng-ni) in the North Han River basin, at Y
ŏ
nch’
ŏ
n county (Namgye-ri), Yangp’y
ŏ
ng county (Py
ŏ
ngsan-ni), Chech’
ŏ
n city (My
ŏ
ngo-ri), and Tanyang city (Suyanggae cave) in the South Han River basin, and on Chejudo (Pile-mot pond). The sites of the Late Paleolithic Age, dating about 40,000 to 8,000 years ago, include those at Unggi county (Kulp’o-ri [the upper layer] and Pup’o-ri), Pyongyang (Mandal-ri) in the Taedong River basin, Kongju city (S
ŏ
kchang-ni) and Ch’
ŏ
ngw
ŏ
n county (Turubong cave) in the K
ŭ
m River basin, Hwasun county (Taej
ŏ
n-ni), Koks
ŏ
ng county (Chew
ŏ
l-ri), and Sunch’
ŏ
n city (Chungnae-ri) in the S
ŏ
mjin River basin. Given the wide distribution of these sites, it is presumed that Paleolithic men lived in virtually every part of the Korean peninsula.

At the remains mentioned above, Paleolithic stone tools such as choppers, scrappers, hand axes, and cleavers have been unearthed. Choppers and scrappers were mainly used to take animal meat off the bones. Hand axes and cleavers were later produced for many purposes. At Sangw
ŏ
n county and Yonggokni, fossilized human bones were uncovered. Although North Koreans argue that these bones may date back to 500,000 to 1,000,000 years ago, interpretations have varied on the estimated dating.

In the Paleolithic Age the implements needed for hunting were fashioned by chipping stone. At first a lump of rock, flint stone in particular, was struck until a usable tool with sharp edges or points was produced. Later a number of pieces that had been broken off were also given additional edge or sharpness by chipping or flaking and then were utilized as implements. This improvement in tool-making methods allowed access to a wide range and amount of food sources, and was essential to the invention of bows and spear throwers. Bone implements made of animal bones and horns were also used for fishing.

Paleolithic men at first lived in caves, and later they began to build dugouts on level ground. Instances of the former are found at the K
ŏ
m
ŭ
nmoru cave (Sangw
ŏ
n county) and at the Ch
ŏ
mmal cave (P’oj
ŏ
n-ni, Chech’
ŏ
n city), and the latter is illustrated by a dwelling site at S
ŏ
kchang-ni. A hearth, together with animal figures of a bear, a dog, and a tortoise, radiocarbon-dated to 20,000 years old, has been unearthed at S
ŏ
kchang-ni. The existence of a hearth demonstrates that fire was used both for heating and for cooking food.

These Paleolithic men were grouped together in small-scale societies such as bands and gained their subsistence from hunting wild animals as well as gathering fruit, berries, and edible plant roots. They also gathered firewood and materials for their tools, clothes, and shelters. The invention of harpoons allowed fish to become part of human diets. At Sangw
ŏ
n county, many fossilized fauna remains from the diet of early humans have been discovered. By the late Paleolithic period, beginning about 40,000 years ago, Paleolithic people had begun to carve animal images on the walls of caves, demonstrating their simple artistic activity.

Whether these Paleolithic people were the ancestors of present-day Koreans is difficult to know. The Paleolithic Age lasted for an extensive period, and presumably, upon experiencing a succession of glacial eras, Paleolithic men periodically perished and were replaced by newcomers or survivors migrated to other warmer areas.

About 6,000
BC
the tribes on the Korean peninsula began to pass from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic Age. It is presumed that the late Paleolithic people on the Korean peninsula evolved into the early Neolithic people, because when the Paleolithic evolved into the Neolithic Age the Korean peninsula experienced no rapid increase in population and pottery found in some areas of Korea predated pottery discovered in Siberia and Mongolia. These original natives were supplemented by Neolithic newcomers who migrated from Siberia. Numerous sites of the Neolithic period have been found on the Korean peninsula, particularly along the Taedong River near Pyongyang and the Han River near Seoul, and in the Naktong River estuary near Pusan. The best-known sites include those at Tongsam-dong on Y
ŏ
ng-do Island off Pusan, Amsa-dong in Seoul, and Misa-ri in Kwangju city, in the Han River basin; Kulp’o-ri at Unggi county, in the Tumen River basin; and K
ŭ
mt’an-ni and Ch’
ŏ
ngho-ri near Pyongyang, in the Taedong River basin.

Neolithic men were characterized by their ability to make polished stone tools and to manufacture and use pottery. By polishing stone, they produced sharp knives, spears, and arrowheads. They also manufactured a range of stone tools for farming. The polished stone axe, above all other tools, made forest clearance feasible on a large scale. As a result, Neolithic people were able to enjoy more conveniences in their lives than their Paleolithic predecessors. Their greatest technical invention was the use of pottery. At first they manufactured
plain, round-bottomed pottery, and then, from sometime around 4000
BC
, a new type of pottery called
ch
ŭ
lmun t’ogi
(comb-pattern pottery) appeared on the Korean peninsula and became characteristic of Korea’s Neolithic Age. Comb-pattern pottery was gray in color with a V-shaped pointed bottom, and was distinguished by designs on the entire outer surface of parallel lines (comb-patterning, cord-wrapping decorations) that resembled markings made by a comb. The comb-pattern design was added to prevent cracks on the surface. Mainly used to store grains, this pottery has been found at numerous Neolithic sites throughout the Korean peninsula. The wide distribution of the pottery in Manchuria, Siberia, and Mongolia indicates that Neolithic men on the Korean peninsula bore cultural ties with the Ural-Altaic regions.