Joseon dynasty

Main article: Joseon

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Donggwoldo

In 1392, the general Yi Seong-gye overthrew the Goryeo dynasty after he staged a coup and

defeated General Choe Yeong. Yi Seong-gye named his new dynasty Joseon and moved the capital
from Kaesong to Hanseong (formerly Hanyang; modern-day Seoul) and built
the Gyeongbokgung palace.[117] In 1394, he adopted Confucianism as the country's official ideology,
resulting in much loss of power and wealth by the Buddhists. The prevailing philosophy of the
Joseon dynasty was Neo-Confucianism, which was epitomized by the seonbi class, scholars who
passed up positions of wealth and power to lead lives of study and integrity.
Joseon was a nominal tributary state of China but exercised full sovereignty,[118][119] and maintained the
highest position among China's tributary states,[120][121] which also included countries such as
the Ryukyu Kingdom, Vietnam, Burma, Brunei, Laos, Thailand,[122][123][124] and the Philippines, among
others.[125][126] In addition, Joseon received tribute from Jurchens and Japanese until the 17th century,
[127][128][129]
 and had a small enclave in the Ryukyu Kingdom that engaged in trade with Siam and Java.
[130]

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Joseon enjoyed many benevolent rulers who promoted
education and science.[131] Most notable among them was Sejong the Great (r. 1418–50), who
personally created and promulgated Hangul, the Korean alphabet.[132] This golden age[131] saw great
cultural and scientific advancements,[133] including in printing, meteorological observation, astronomy,
calendar science, ceramics, military technology, geography, cartography, medicine, and agricultural
technology, some of which were unrivaled elsewhere.[134] Joseon implemented a class system that
consisted of yangban the noble class, jungin the middle class, yangin the common class,
and cheonin the lowest class, which included occupations such as butchers, tanners, shamans,
entertainers, and nobi, the equivalent of slaves, bondservants, or serfs.[135][136]
In 1592 and again in 1597, the Japanese invaded Korea; the Korean military at the time was
unprepared and untrained, due to two centuries of peace on the Korean Peninsula.[137] Toyotomi
Hideyoshi intended to conquer China and India[138] through the Korean Peninsula, but was defeated
by strong resistance from the Righteous Army, the naval superiority of Admiral Yi Sun-sin and
his turtle ships, and assistance from Wanli Emperor of Ming China. However, Joseon experienced
great destruction, including a tremendous loss of cultural sites such as temples and palaces to
Japanese pillaging, and the Japanese brought back to Japan an estimated 100,000–
200,000 noses cut from Korean victims.[139] Less than 30 years after the Japanese invasions,
the Manchus took advantage of Joseon's war-weakened state and invaded in 1627 and 1637, and
then went on to conquer the destabilized Ming dynasty.
After normalizing relations with the new Qing dynasty, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period
of peace. Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo led a new renaissance of the Joseon dynasty during the 18th
century.[140][141]
In the 19th century, the royal in-law families gained control of the government, leading to mass
corruption and weakening of the state, with severe poverty and peasant rebellions spreading
throughout the country. Furthermore, the Joseon government adopted a strict isolationist policy,
earning the nickname "the hermit kingdom", but ultimately failed to protect itself
against imperialism and was forced to open its borders, beginning an era leading into Japanese
imperial rule.

Korean Empire
Main article: Korean Empire

The earliest surviving depiction of the Korean flag was printed in a US Navy book Flags of Maritime Nations in
July 1889.

Beginning in 1871, Japan began to exert more influence in Korea, forcing it out of China's traditional
sphere of influence. As a result of the Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), the Qing dynasty had to give
up such a position according to Article 1 of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which was concluded
between China and Japan in 1895. That same year, Empress Myeongseong of Korea was
assassinated by Japanese agents.[142]
In 1897, the Joseon dynasty proclaimed the Korean Empire (1897–1910). King Gojong became
emperor. During this brief period, Korea had some success in modernizing the military, economy,
real property laws, education system, and various industries. Russia, Japan, France, and the United
States all invested in the country and sought to influence it politically.
In 1904, the Russo-Japanese War pushed the Russians out of the fight for Korea. In Manchuria on
26 October 1909, An Jung-geun assassinated the former Resident-General of Korea, Itō Hirobumi,
for his role in trying to force Korea into occupation.

Japanese occupation and Japan-Korea Annexation

Main article: Korea under Japanese rule
See also: Japanese war crimes
The memorial tablet for the March 1st Movement in Pagoda Park, Seoul

In 1910, an already militarily occupied Korea was a forced party to the Japan–Korea Annexation
Treaty. The treaty was signed by Lee Wan-Yong, who was given the General Power of Attorney by
the Emperor. However, the Emperor is said to have not actually ratified the treaty according to Yi
Tae-jin.[143] There is a long dispute whether this treaty was legal or illegal due to its signing under
duress, threat of force and bribes.
Korean resistance to the brutal Japanese occupation[144][145][146] was manifested in the nonviolent March
1st Movement of 1919, during which 7,000 demonstrators were killed by Japanese police and
military.[147] The Korean liberation movement also spread to neighbouring Manchuria and Siberia.
Over five million Koreans were conscripted for labour beginning in 1939,[148] and tens of thousands of
men were forced into Japan's military.[149] Nearly 400,000 Korean labourers died.[150] Approximately
200,000 girls and women,[151] mostly from China and Korea, were forced into sexual slavery for the
Japanese military.[152] In 1993, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono acknowledged the
terrible injustices faced by these euphemistically named "comfort women".[153][154]
During the Japanese annexation, the Korean language was suppressed in an effort to eradicate
Korean national identity. Koreans were forced to take Japanese surnames, known as Sōshi-kaimei.
[155]
 Traditional Korean culture suffered heavy losses, as numerous Korean cultural artifacts were
destroyed[156] or taken to Japan.[157] To this day, valuable Korean artifacts can often be found in
Japanese museums or among private collections.[158] One investigation by the South Korean
government identified 75,311 cultural assets that were taken from Korea, 34,369 in Japan and
17,803 in the United States. However, experts estimate that over 100,000 artifacts actually remain in
Japan.[157][159] Japanese officials considered returning Korean cultural properties, but to date[157] this has
not occurred.[159] Korea and Japan still dispute the ownership of the Dokdo islets, located east of the
Korean Peninsula.[160]
There was significant emigration to the overseas territories of the Empire of Japan during the
Japanese occupation period, including Korea.[161] By the end of World War II, there were over
850,000 Japanese settlers in Korea.[162] After World War II, most of these overseas
Japanese repatriated to Japan.