 The statue of King Sejong the Great sits at the Gwanghwamun square in central Seoul. / Korea Times file |
By Kim Tae-gyu and Kevin N. Cawley
This is the sixth of a 10-part series on Korean history from its mythological, ancient beginning until the present day. This project is sponsored by several companies and public agencies including Merck Korea, eBay Korea, Daewoo Securities and Korea Post. — ED. Joseon was the last kingdom in the long history of the Korean Peninsula and founded the framework of modern Korea, such as the capital of South Korea, and the northern boundary of North Korea. Culturally, it helped shape Korea’s unique identity that distinguishes it from its East Asian neighbors.
Joseon lasted over 500 years, making it the longest-lasting Confucian kingdom in world history. From its establishment in 1392, it respected the hegemony of the powerful Chinese empire, but it shaped its own destiny. While it was a part of the great Classical Chinese literary tradition, it nevertheless created its own unique alphabet named Hangeul.
The kingdom’s fortunes waned in the late 16th and early 17th centuries when its closest neighbors staged devastating wars.
Thereafter, Joseon savored around two centuries of peace, but it failed to catch up with the economic development and technological advancement of Western societies partly because it held too fast to the ideals of Confucianism, which led to policies of isolation, as well as endless internal feuds between political factions.
The country, with the moniker of the “Hermit Kingdom,” was eventually annexed by the colonial forces of Japan in 1910 amid a wave of 20th century imperialism that ravaged the country for the next 35 years.
Final kingdom on Korean Peninsula READ MORE
