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South Korea TImeline
7
Timeline of South Korea
Ethan Jung, P3
A Buddhist mountain temple in Korea. Beopjusa Temple, Hall of Eight Pictures © CIBM. From https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1562/
918-1945 CE
In this time period, unified Korea was ruled by two dynasties until 1910, and was occupied by Japan until the end of WW2 (Korea).
Goryeo (918-1392)
During the Goryeo dynasty, Korean culture was able to develop and become unique (Cartwright). In the 1400s, the peninsula was constantly being attacked by the Mongols, exposing them to ideas and values that the invaders brought (Cartwright).
Goryeo
Korea had close relations with neighboring China and traded various goods including silk, literature, medicine, spices, and tea (Cartwright).
Map of the Goryeo dynasty in the 11th century. World History Encyclopedia, created by Korean Culture & Information Service https://www.worldhistory.org/image/5609/map-of-the-goryeo-empire-11th-century-ce/
Celadon pottery from the 12th century. https://smarthistory.org/korean-celadons-goryeo/. Originally from Metropolitan Museum of Art
Joseon (1392-1910)
Joseon
The Joseon dynasty created its own writing system called Hangeul, replacing the traditional Chinese forms of writing (Service). Several technologies were also invented near the end of the dynasty, including a raingauge to measure precipitation and a sundial (Service). They actively traded cultural and economic goods with neighboring countries like the Ming dynasty, Japan, Ryuku (Service).
Korean culture developed enough that they had the ability to innovate inventions and form an entirely new language.
1945 CE
1945 CE
After Japan's defeat in World War 2, the Korean peninsula was split between USSR controlled authoritarian North Korea, and USA controlled South Korea (South).
North Korea contains more mountainous regions, and thus has less farmable land than the southern portion of the peninsula. This would prove to impact their development later on.
Physical map of the Korean Peninsula. From https://www.freeworldmaps.net/island/korean-peninsula/
1948-1961
1948-1961
The First and Second Republics were democratic, and led by president Syngman Rhee (Im). The National Security Law was passed, prohibiting any acts that support North Korean ideologies (Im). In 1961, a military coup was staged and dissolved the republic (Im). They ruled for a brief period of time (Im).
The new passed law shows the start of Korea's interest to become democratic, although the military coup would prove to show the instability of the government at that time.
President Syngman Rhee. From Korea IT Times "Who was former president, Syngman Rhee"
1965-1972
1965-1972
During the reign of the democratic Third Republic, the country improved relations with Japan and fueled massive economic development at the help of friendly countries (South). Using the large iron resources available, a steel mill was constructed to mass produce materials (South). North Korea contains a
larger variety of metals, but South Korea's income was almost 17
times larger through the increased
development (Editors; Geological; South).
Metal resource distribution in the Korean Peninsula (Geological).
1979-1981
1979-1981
Beginning of Fifth Republic
Chun Doo-Hwan took over South Korea, and he ruled harshly through the military (Editors). His army ruthlessly killed hundreds of citizens who were protesting for democracy in 1980 (Editors). Because of these events, democratic ideas quickly spread across the country.
Starting from this point, citizens would grow to be more and more upset about dictatorship until 1987, when their dissatisfaction reaches the government.
The protest over democracy in Gwangju, South Korea in 1980. From Bettmann in Getty Images.
Chun Doo-Hwan in 1985. Image from Al Chang/Department of Defense (Digital Photo ID: DA-SC-86-08943)
1987-1988
1987-1988
End of Fifth Republic-Beginning of Sixth Republic
In 1987, Chun Doo-hwan vacated his position to support the demands of the citizens (Editors). South Korea held its first free presidential election, signalling further change into democracy (Im).
South Korea hosted the Summer Olympics in 1988, showing the country's increased interest in a more globalized economy (History). Around this time, technology and computer manufacturing companies started to appear in South Korea as well (Editors).
The Seoul Summer Olympics. From the official olympics committee https://olympics.com/ioc/news/the-legacy-of-seoul-1988-inspires-pyeongchang-2018
1997-1998
1997-1998
IMF Economic Crisis
Due to their massive growth, South Korea and several southeastern Asian countries suffered a major economic crisis (Ba). The value of Korean currency dropped by around 50%, and they countries ultimately lost $100 billion worth of income (Ba).
This financial crisis further shows the many difficulties making it harder for South Korea to develop and maintain trade internationally. However, through the International Monetary Fund and several policy changes, their economy was salvaged and growth continued.
2000
2000
The Sunshine Policy
The leader of South Korea signed the sunshine policy where he met on a summit with the leader of North Korea, and allowed certain families to meet each other across borders (Im). Aid and resources were also sent to North Korea (Editors). Although people were hopeful for reunification of Korea, relations fell when North Korea did not stop producing nuclear bombs (Editors).
This attempt at reunification ultimately failed because keeping a good relationship between two completely different countries was largely unsustainable.
North Korean and South Korean leaders saying goodbye to each other. From The Diplomat, "When 'Sunshine' Ruled on the Korean Peninsula"
https://thediplomat.com/2016/07/when-sunshine-ruled-on-the-korean-peninsula/
TODAY
TODAY
Today, K-pop groups like BTS have become internationally known and celebrated (History). TV series and drama are popular as well, showing the diversity of Korean culture and broadcasted across several countries (History).
South Korea has the 3rd largest economy in East Asia, just behind China and Japan (Editors). South Korea hosted the 2018 Winter Olympics and boasts a population of 25 million people in its capital city, Seoul (Editors).
A picture from "Squid Game" from Noh Juhan from Netflix. https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/squid-game-season-2-netflix-confirms-1235159078/
A Korean temple in Seoul with the downtown in the background. © Leung Cho Pan/Dreamstime.com. From https://www.britannica.com/place/Seoul
FUTURE
In the future, we could expect to see continued economic development in South Korea, epecially with their efforts in globalizing aspects of their culture. This can be seen over time with events such as the Olympics, aid from countries in the construction of a steel mill, popular Korean media on the internet today, or economic stability obtained after the IMF crisis. Because of these radical changes, South Korea will remain as a democratic, interdependent government for the forseeable future. Unification with North Korea through the Sunshine Policy will also become more and more unlikely through the increasing differences in power and government type. Even with efforts to improve relations with North Korea, conflict may arise, espcially with growing tensions from their nuclear developments.
ANALYSIS
Several political and geographical policies have turned South Korea from a unified country to two nations with completely different identities. During the course of the late 20th century, South Korea's government has been vulnerable and susceptible to change, and found the need to enact the National Security Law to protect itself from adjacent North Korea. However, over time, they slowly encouraged nearby countries to help them trade and send aid, fueling the globalized economy they adopt today.
In modern times, people in South Korea have been growing pessimistic over the idea of uniting with North Korea (Choi). 29% of people think it is not necessary, compared to 16% in 2018 (Choi). This further emphasizes South Korea's rapidly growing economy and power.
Bibliography
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S5GPY6UA3nTGaKi10502J5Tq0BXoNLXLOUGZqG7cQzQ/edit