The Korea Question Essays - Geography Of Asia, East Asia, Asia

The Korea Question Essays - Geography Of Asia, East Asia, Asia The Korea Question What is national identity? This question may seem to be to simple to even bother answering. The easy answer is that national history is the events in a nations past that, when put together, unify all aspects of life in that nation. From this rough definition it would make sense that all of the nations in the world have a national identity. However, this question is not as black and white as it may seem. Some people believe that a nation whose history is nothing more than occupation by other countries should not be considered an independent nation. This can be seen very well in the case of Korea, which ahs had a history filled with Chinese, Japanese, and western influence. However, though Korea has strong ties to all of these imperialistic powers; it still shows aspects that are uniquely Korean. Korea has a history that includes dominance, subservience, and reemergence. The people of the Korean peninsula have had a very colorful history. Through the period of the Later Bronze Age the Korean peninsula experienced significant political development. Perhaps the most important of these developments was the creation of the walled-town states. The six walled-town states of the Korean peninsula are seen in Chinese records. The most advanced of these states was Chao-hsien. The early leaders of Chao-hsien called themselves tangun wanguom to signify both their descent from the divine creator and their monarchial status . The leaders of Choa-hsien soon realized that in order to maintain power over the peninsula they would need to join with other walled-town states to ward off invaders. By the fourth century BCE the confederated kingdom was created and served as an extended political unit of substantial military power . Shortly after the confederated kingdom was created it was challenged by the powerful Yen faction, a powerful contender from northern China. The Yen people asserted that Chao-hsien was arrogant and cruel. By the fourth century BCE the Yen faction invaded the Korean peninsula resulting in the inevitable decline of Chao-hsien. The Yen invasion stimulated new waves of Chinese traffic in official, administrators, traders and military personnel . Chao-hsien was able to use the Chinese influence to strengthen allowing it to subdue its neighbors. This new strength ushered in the Three Kingdoms Period. The Korean peninsula was divided into three sections, Kingdoms, known as Kroguryo, Paekche, and Silla. As is the case throughout history, one of these kingdoms eventually rose to become the dominant force on the peninsula. In the sixth century BCE Silla felt confident enough to expand its domain. It consumed the small neighboring tribes in southern Korea and then prepared to take on the other kingdoms of Kroguryo and Paekche. In the end Sillas goals of unification did not come to fruition. Much of Manchuria remained out of the reach of Sillas armies. However, it was Sillas unified rule over the bulk of the peninsula that laid the basis for the subsequent course of Korean history . Throughout its history the Korean peninsula has always been crucially affected by political developments on the Asian land mass. This phenomenon can be seen during the chaos that accompanied the end of Tang and the Five Dynasties. It was then that Wang Kon was able to overthrow Silla and establish the Koryo dynasty. The Koryo dynasty found itself having to ward off many enemies. In the beginning they felt pressures from the Mongol barbarians who eventually allied with Koryo becoming their sole protector. In the last century and a half they saw the emergence of the Japanese marauders intent on raiding the peninsula. After the collapse of the Mongol Empire Koryo fate was imminent. They had no way to fight off invaders and were bound for failure. The peninsula may have slipped into foreign control if General Yi Songye hadnt mounted an offensive against the Ming armies. In 1932 Koryo finally fell opening the door for Songye and the Yi Dynasty in Korea . The Yi Dynasty, the longest in Korean history saw many revolutionary ideas introduced to Korea. Songye had become not only a military leader but also the leader of a new literati class. Songye encouraged a wide range of cultural activities such as