It seems to me that Koreans are both very proud of and very knowledgeable of their history. And their history is both complex and interesting.
Koreans trace their history to prehistoric times, but identify a particular kingdom, the Gojoseon kingdom (고조선), as the first Korean kingdom. The 고조선 kingdom was conquered by the Han dynasty of China around one century B.C., and may have been established as early as approximately 2300 B.C.
A short time after the fall of 고조선 kingdom came the "three kingdoms" period. During this period, the territory of the Korean peninsula was ruled by three major kingdoms, the Goguryeo kingdom (고구려), the Baekje kingdom (백제), and the Silla kingdom (신라). These three kingdoms coexisted on the Korean peninsula until approximately 650 A.D., alongside a number of other smaller kingdoms, like the Gaya confederacy (가야) that controlled the Nakdong river valley (낙동강), near Busan. Around 650A.D., the Silla kingdom conquered large portions of the territory of both the Goguryeo and the Baekje kingdoms, and so, Silla is considered to be the first unified kingdom of the Korean peninsula. The capital of the Silla kingdom was the city of Kyeongju, located less than 100 kilometers north of Busan. Many monuments dating from the Silla period are preserved in Kyeongju.
 |
| The Sacred Bell of King Seongdeok, in Kyeongju. |
 |
| The grounds of a Silla palace, in Kyeongju. |
 |
| The burial park of the Silla royal family, in Kyeongju. |
 |
| The tomb of a member of the Silla royal family, in Kyeongju. |
After the Silla kingdom came two major dynasties. The first, the Goryeo dynasty (고려국), ruled a territory equivalent to almost all of modern day Korea (including both North and South Korea) until approximately the year 1400. The name of the dynasty, Go-ryeo, can sometimes sound like Ko-rya when it is pronounced. Thus, the name Goryeo is thought to be the root of the English word "Korea".
From the 1400's all the way to the late 1800's, Korea was ruled by the Joseon dynasty (대조선국) During the Joseon dynasty, the capital of the country was established in Seoul (서을). (However, one of the Joseon kings wanted to move the capital to Suwon (수원).) Also, King Sejong the Great (세종대왕), one of Korea's most revered kings, invented and popularized the Korean writing system, Hangul (한글). And Admiral Yi Sun Shin (이순신), one of Korea's most respected historical military figures, successfully prevented Japanese naval forces from invading the Korean peninsula. The Joseon dynasty fell when the Japanese colonized Korea, in the early 1900's.
 |
| Gwanghwamun, the main gate of the Joseon dynasty palace Gyeongbukgung, in Seoul. |
 |
| Buildings of the Joseon dynasty palace Changdeokgung, in Seoul. |
 |
| Hwaseong fortress, built by the Joseon dynasty at Suwon. |
 |
| A statue of Yi SunShin, in Seoul. |
When the Japanese colonized it, they exploited Korea for their own benefit, and Koreans suffered greatly under their rule. But Koreans resisted the Japanese occupation of their country, and Sam-Il day celebrates this.
In addition to celebrating their anti-colonial resistance as a whole, Koreans remember and celebrate many individual activists of this resistance. Some of these individuals are referred to as "freedom fighters" or as "martyrs". They participated in the resistance in different ways, some of them securing international support for it, and others committing acts of resistance within or nearby to Korea.
One such activist is An Jung-Geun (안중근). An Jung-Geun assassinated an important Japanese official in charge of administering colonized Korea. The assassination occurred in China, which was also, in the early 1900's, partly occupied by Japan. An Jung-Geun was sentenced to death, and his remains were buried in China. But, recently, it has been reported that the Korean government is trying to identify An Jung-Geun's remains and repatriate them to Korea. This, I believe, is evidence of the continuing importance of Korea's anti-colonial resistance fighters today.
No comments:
Post a Comment