Korea

Korea is a region in East Asia. Korea consists of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and several minor islands near the peninsula.

During the first half of the first millennium, Korea was divided between the three competing states of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla, together known as the Three Kingdoms of Korea. In the second half of the first millennium, Silla defeated and conquered Baekje and Goguryeo, leading to the Unified Silla period. Meanwhile, Balhae formed in the north, superseding former Goguryeo. Unified Silla eventually collapsed into three separate states due to civil war, ushering in the Later Three Kingdoms.

Toward the end of the first millennium, Goguryeo was resurrected as Goryeo, which defeated the two other states and unified the Korean Peninsula as a single sovereign state. Around the same time, Balhae collapsed and its last crown prince fled south to Goryeo. Goryeo (Koryŏ), whose name developed into the modern exonym “Korea.” However, multiple incursions by the Mongol Empire during the 13th century greatly weakened the nation, which eventually agreed to become a vassal state after decades of fighting. Following military resistance under King Gongmin that ended Mongol political influence in Goryeo, severe political strife followed, and Goryeo eventually fell to a coup led by General Yi Seong-gye, who established Joseon in 17 July 1392.

The first 200 years of the Joseon era were marked by relative peace. During the later part of the dynasty, Korea’s isolationist policy earned it the Western nickname of the “Hermit Kingdom. By the late 19th century, the country became the object of imperial design by the Empire of Japan. After the First Sino-Japanese War, despite the Korean Empire’s effort to modernize, the country was annexed by Japan in 1910 and ruled by it until the end of World War II in August 1945.

In 1945, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed on the surrender of Japanese forces in Korea in the aftermath of World War II, leaving Korea partitioned along the 38th parallel. The North was under Soviet occupation and the South under U.S. occupation. These circumstances soon became the basis for the division of Korea by the two superpowers, exacerbated by their inability to agree on the terms of Korean independence. The Communist-inspired government in the North received backing from the Soviet Union in opposition to the pro-Western government in the South, leading to Korea’s division into two political entities.

Tensions between the two resulted in the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. With involvement by foreign troops, the war ended in a stalemate in 1953, but without a formalized peace treaty. This status contributes to the high tensions that continue to divide the peninsula. Both governments of the two Koreas claim to be the sole legitimate government of the region.

Korea is divided into two distinct sovereign states: North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) and South Korea (Republic of Korea).