<noinclude> South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. It has a population of about 52 million, of which half live in the Seoul metropolitan area, the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the world, with other major cities being Busan, Daegu, and Incheon.
The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early seventh century BC. From the mid first century BC, various polities consolidated into the rival kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. The lattermost eventually unified most of the peninsula for the first time in the late seventh century AD, while Balhae succeeded Goguryeo in the north. The Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) achieved lasting unification and established the basis for the modern Korean identity. The subsequent Joseon dynasty (1392–1897) generated cultural, economic, and scientific achievements but maintained an isolationist policy from the mid-17th century. The succeeding Korean Empire (1897–1910) sought modernization and reform but was annexed in 1910 into the Empire of Japan. Japanese rule ended following Japan's surrender in World War II, after which Korea was divided into two zones: the Soviet-occupied northern zone and the United States-occupied southern zone.
After negotiations on reunification failed, the southern zone became the Republic of Korea in August 1948, while the northern zone became the Soviet-aligned Democratic People's Republic of Korea the following month. In 1950, a Soviet-backed North Korean invasion triggered the Korean War, one of the first major proxy conflicts of the Cold War, which saw extensive fighting involving the American-led United Nations Command and the People's Volunteer Army from China. The war ended in 1953 with an armistice and left three million Koreans dead and the economy in ruins; due to the lack of a peace treaty, the Korean conflict is still ongoing. South Korea endured a series of dictatorships punctuated by coups, revolutions, and violent uprisings, but also experienced a soaring economy and one of the fastest rises in average GDP per capita, leading to its emergence as one of the Four Asian Tigers. The June Democratic Struggle of 1987 ended authoritarian rule and led to the establishment of the current Sixth Republic.
South Korea is now considered among the most advanced democracies in Asia. Under the 1987 constitution, it maintains a unitary presidential republic with a popularly elected unicameral legislature, the National Assembly. South Korea is a major non-NATO ally of the United States and regarded as a regional power in East Asia and an emerging power in global affairs; its conscription-based armed forces are ranked as one of the strongest in the world and have the second highest number of military and paramilitary personnel. A highly developed country, South Korea's economy ranks the 14th largest in the world by nominal GDP and PPP-adjusted GDP; it is the world's ninth-largest exporter and tenth-largest importer. The country performs well in metrics of education, human development, democratic governance, and innovation. It has one of the world's longest life expectances, though its population is aging rapidly and has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world. South Korea has some of the fastest Internet connection speeds and densest high-speed railway networks. Since the turn of the 21st century, the country has been renowned for its globally influential pop culture, particularly in music, TV dramas, and cinema, a phenomenon referred to as the Korean Wave. South Korea is a member of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee, the G20, the IPEF, and the Paris Club.
Etymology
The name Korea is an exonym derived from the historical Korean kingdom name Goryeo (). Goryeo was the shortened name officially adopted by Goguryeo in the 5th century and the name of its 10th-century successor state Goryeo. Visiting Arab and Persian merchants pronounced its name as "Korea". The modern name of Korea appears in the first Portuguese maps of 1568 by João vaz Dourado as Conrai and later in the late 16th century and early 17th century as Corea (Korea) in the maps of Teixeira Albernaz of 1630.
The Kingdom of Goryeo became first known to Europeans when Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Malacca in 1511 and described the people who traded in this part of the world as the Gores. Despite the coexistence of the spellings Corea and Korea in 19th-century publications, some Koreans believe that Imperial Japan intentionally standardized the spelling of Korea in order to make Japan appear first alphabetically during occupation.
After Goryeo was replaced by the Kingdom of Joseon () in 1392, Joseon became the official name for the entire territory, though it was not universally accepted. The new official name was derived from the ancient kingdom of Gojoseon. In 1897, King Gojong changed the country's official name from Joseon to the Korean Empire (). The latter half of the Korean Empire's name Daehan () derives from Samhan (Three Han), referring to the Three Kingdoms of Korea, not the ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula. However, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, even though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted.
Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the "Republic of Korea" was adopted as the legal English name for the new country. The Korean name Daehan Minguk () is sometimes used by South Koreans as a metonym to refer to the Korean nation as a whole, rather than just the South Korean state.
History
Ancient Korea
The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period., Office of the Prime Minister. According to Korea's founding mythology, the history of Korea begins with the founding of Joseon (also known as "Gojoseon", or "Old Joseon", to differentiate it from the 14th century dynasty) in 2333 BC by the legendary Dangun.* "An extreme manifestation of nationalism and the family cult was the revival of interest in Tangun, the mythical founder of the first Korean state... Most textbooks and professional historians, however, treat him as a myth."
"Although Kija may have truly existed as a historical figure, Tangun is more problematical."
"Most [Korean historians] treat the [Tangun] myth as a later creation."
"The Tangun myth became more popular with groups that wanted Korea to be independent; the Kija myth was more useful to those who wanted to show that Korea had a strong affinity to China."
"If a choice is to be made between them, one is faced with the fact that the Tangun, with his supernatural origin, is more clearly a mythological figure than Kija." Gojoseon was noted in Chinese records in the early 7th century. Gojoseon expanded until it controlled the northern Korean Peninsula and parts of Manchuria. Gija Joseon was purportedly founded in the 12th century BC, but its existence and role have been controversial in the modern era. In 108 BC, the Han dynasty defeated Wiman Joseon and installed four commanderies in the northern Korean peninsula. Three of the commanderies fell or retreated westward within a few decades, but the Lelang commandery remained a center of cultural and economic exchange with successive Chinese dynasties ruling for four centuries, until it was conquered by Goguryeo in 313.Early Korea . Shsu.edu. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
The linguistic homeland of Proto-Koreans is located somewhere in southern Siberia, or Manchuria, such as the Liao River area or the Amur River area. Proto-Koreans arrived in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula at around 300 BC, replacing and assimilating Japonic-speaking Yayoi and likely causing their migration to the Japanese archipelago.
Three Kingdoms of Korea During the Proto–Three Kingdoms period, the states of Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye, and Samhan occupied the whole Korean peninsula and southern Manchuria. From them, the Three Kingdoms of Korea emerged: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla.
Goguryeo, the largest and most powerful among them, was a highly militaristic state and competed with various Chinese dynasties during its 700 years of history. Goguryeo experienced a golden age under Gwanggaeto the Great and his son Jangsu, who both subdued Baekje and Silla during their respective reigns, achieving a brief unification of the Three Kingdoms and becoming the most dominant power on the Korean Peninsula. In addition to contesting control of the Korean Peninsula, Goguryeo had many military conflicts with various Chinese dynasties, most notably the Goguryeo–Sui War, in which Goguryeo defeated a huge force said to number over a million men.*
Baekje was a maritime power, sometimes called the "Phoenicia of East Asia". Its maritime ability was instrumental in the dissemination of Buddhism throughout East Asia and spreading continental culture to Japan. Baekje was once a great military power on the Korean Peninsula, especially during the time of Geunchogo, but was critically defeated by Gwanggaeto the Great and declined. Silla was the smallest and weakest of the three, but used opportunistic pacts and alliances with the more powerful Korean kingdoms, and eventually Tang China, to its advantage.
In 676, the unification of the Three Kingdoms by Silla led to the Northern and Southern States period, in which relationships between Korea and China remained relatively peaceful. Balhae, a Goguryeo successor state founded by a general, controlled most of Manchuria and parts of the Russian Far East and was called the "Prosperous Country in the East". In addition to Koreans, there were many other ethnicities such as the Mohe, Turkic, and Chinese.
Late Silla was a wealthy country, and its metropolitan capital of Gyeongju grew to become the fourth largest city in the world. It experienced a golden age of art and culture, exemplified by monuments such as Hwangnyongsa, Seokguram, and the Emille Bell. It also carried on the maritime legacy and prowess of Baekje, and during the 8th and 9th centuries dominated the seas of East Asia and the trade between China, Korea, and Japan, most notably during the time of Chang Pogo. In addition, the Silla people made overseas communities in China on the Shandong Peninsula and the mouth of the Yangtze River. However, Silla was later weakened due to internal strife and the revival of successor states Baekje and Goguryeo, which culminated into the Later Three Kingdoms period in the late 9th century.
Buddhism flourished during this time. Many Korean Buddhists gained great fame among Chinese Buddhist circles and greatly contributed to Chinese Buddhism. Examples of significant Korean Buddhists from this period include Woncheuk, Wonhyo, Uisang, Musang, and Kim Gyo-gak. Kim was a Silla prince whose influence made Mount Jiuhua one of the Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism.*
Unified dynasties