Hannah Bauman Ben Clark Erika Fischer J.P. Wojciechowski KOREA

 Korea has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Age  109 B.C.E.  a Han dynasty emperor conquered the Korean kingdom of Choson and settled Chinese colonies in Korea  These Chinese colonies provided the conduit through which Chinese culture was transmitted.  Chinese control of Korea weakened and the indigenous Koguryo established an independent kingdom in the northern part of the peninsula HISTORY

 Koguryo contested control of the peninsula with two smaller kingdoms, Silla and Paekche.  688 – Korea was unified under the Silla kingdom  Rivaled the T’ang court in splendor  Silla had been around since 57 BCE  Silla fell to the Koryŏ in 935  Koryŏ set up rule based on Buddhism HISTORY (CONT.)

 Supposedly founded as early as the 1500’s BCE  Semi-sedentary people moved into the region  Pottery and metalwork have established this date  The Founding legend says that God chose Hwanung to establish the Choson kingdom, and says it was founded in the 2000’s BCE  Expanded lands through military conquest  Farmed rice, worked with bronze, and were skilling in pottery-making  Conquered by the Han dynasty of China in 109 BCE CHOSON

 Founded in 57 BCE  Conquered Baekje in 660 CE and Goguryeo (Choson) in 668  Led to the unification of Korea  The king was, in theory, an absolute monarch, but the aristocracy held significant power  Hwabaek – royal council that helped with decision making like succession to the throne and declaration of war  Hwabaek confirmed Buddhism as the official state religion of Silla SILLA

 After 668, with Korea unified, the government began to adopt Chinese models of bureaucracy  Buddhism - formally adopted by Silla in 527 under King Beopheung,  Koreans had been exposed to the religion for over a century  Buddhist temples were financed by the central government and aristocrats  Fell in 935 to the Koryŏ SILLA (CONT.)

 Founded in 918 CE by Emperor Taejo  United the Later Three Kingdoms in 936  Later Three Kingoms: Silla, Choson, and Koryo  892 to 936 CE, unified by the Koryo  Developed under Silla rule due to unrest in the kingdom  Functioned as an empire with multiple capitals and a strong centralized government  Adopted Confucianism and brought in civil service exams for the bureaucracy KORYO

 Traded with the Chinese kingdoms, the later Song dynasty, Japan and the Abbasid Empire  Exported:  Gold, silver, ginseng, marble, paper, ink, cotton, and more  Developed the world’s first metal moveable type  Also developed artillery for ships and introduced the use of gunpowder in the Korean military  Highly skilled potters  Perfected their art of porcelain KORYO (CONT.)

SOCIAL CLASSES King/Emperor Aristocracy Scholar-Elite Merchants/artisans Peasants

 While upward mobility was theoretically possible (via the civil service exams), it required wealth for education to pass said exams  Prohibited movement  Lineage was stressed as uber- important  Records of ancestry were kept diligently  There was a huge gap between the ruling class and the ruled  Peasants made up most of the population  Merchants/artisans had their wealth regulated by the state  Cemented their positions in society SOCIAL CLASSES (CONT.)

 Metal-working  Money lending  Pottery-making and porcelain  Learned the art from Chinese masters, but soon surpassed them in skill.  Exported raw materials:  Gold, silver, ginseng, marble, paper, ink, cotton, and more  Used slave labor to attain said materials  Also exported/imported luxury goods for the aristocracy ECONOMICS