South Korea

=== Unified dynasties ===
[[File:창덕궁 전경 (2014) (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Changdeokgung|Changdeok Palace]], pictured in 2014, one of the Five Grand Palaces of Seoul built during the Joseon Dynasty and a [[World Heritage Site|UNESCO World Heritage Site]]|216x216px]]
[[File:Janganmun 2017.jpg|thumb|[[Hwaseong Fortress]], [[World Heritage Site|UNESCO World Heritage Site]]|216x216px]]
In 936, the Later Three Kingdoms were united by [[Taejo of Goryeo|Wang Geon]], a descendant of Goguryeo nobility,<ref>{{cite book|last1=박|first1=종기|script-title=ko:고려사의 재발견: 한반도 역사상 가장 개방적이고 역동적인 500년 고려 역사를 만나다|publisher=휴머니스트|isbn=978-89-5862-902-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qn6TCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT59|access-date=27 October 2016|language=ko|date=24 August 2015|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234928/https://books.google.com/books?id=Qn6TCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT59|url-status=live}}</ref> who established [[Goryeo]] as the successor state of Goguryeo.<ref name="Koryo1" /><ref name="Koryo2" /><ref name="Koryo3">{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-03853-2|page=57|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ci_iGuAAqmsC&pg=PA57|access-date=8 November 2016|date=30 January 2005|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234927/https://books.google.com/books?id=ci_iGuAAqmsC&pg=PA57|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Koryo4">{{cite book|last1=Grayson|first1=James H.|title=Korea – A Religious History|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-86925-9|page=79|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LU78AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA79|access-date=8 November 2016|date=5 November 2013|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114234958/https://books.google.com/books?id=LU78AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA79|url-status=live}}</ref> Balhae had fallen to the [[Khitan Empire]] in 926, and a decade later the [[Dae Gwang-hyeon|last crown prince of Balhae]] fled south to Goryeo, where he was warmly welcomed and included in the ruling family by Wang Geon, thus unifying the two successor nations of Goguryeo.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Ki-Baik|title=A New History of Korea|date=1984|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-674-61576-2|page=103|quote=When Parhae perished at the hands of the Khitan around this same time, much of its ruling class, who were of Koguryŏ descent, fled to Koryŏ. Wang Kŏn warmly welcomed them and generously gave them land. Along with bestowing the name Wang Kye ("Successor of the Royal Wang") on the Parhae crown prince, Tae Kwang-hyŏn, Wang Kŏn entered his name in the royal household register, thus clearly conveying the idea that they belonged to the same lineage, and also had rituals performed in honor of his progenitor. Thus Koryŏ achieved a true national unification that embraced not only the Later Three Kingdoms but even survivors of Koguryŏ lineage from the Parhae kingdom.}}</ref> Like Silla, Goryeo was a highly cultural state, and invented the metal movable type [[printing press]].<ref name="print_c">{{cite web |title=Korea, 1000–1400 A.D. {{!}} Chronology {{!}} Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/07/eak.html |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |access-date=19 August 2016 |archive-date=18 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818174906/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/07/eak.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After defeating the Khitan Empire, which was the most powerful empire of its time,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bulliet|first1=Richard|last2=Crossley|first2=Pamela|last3=Headrick|first3=Daniel|last4=Hirsch|first4=Steven|last5=Johnson|first5=Lyman|title=The Earth and Its Peoples, Brief: A Global History|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-285-44551-9|page=264|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9sbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA264|access-date=12 September 2016|date=1 January 2014|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010152/https://books.google.com/books?id=E9sbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA264|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Cohen|first1=Warren I.|title=East Asia at the Center: Four Thousand Years of Engagement with the World|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-50251-1|page=107|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Okjd2rDwb8IC&pg=PA107|access-date=12 September 2016|date=20 December 2000|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010157/https://books.google.com/books?id=Okjd2rDwb8IC&pg=PA107|url-status=live}}</ref> in the [[Goryeo–Khitan War]], Goryeo experienced a golden age that lasted a century, during which the [[Tripitaka Koreana]] was completed and significant developments in printing and publishing occurred. This promoted education and the dispersion of knowledge on philosophy, literature, religion, and science. By 1100, there were 12 universities that produced notable scholars.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Kenneth B.|title=Korea and East Asia: The Story of a Phoenix|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-95823-7|page=61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA61|access-date=28 July 2016|year=1997|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010152/https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA61|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bowman|first1=John|title=Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-50004-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/columbiachronolo00john/page/202 202]|url=https://archive.org/details/columbiachronolo00john|url-access=registration|quote=The Mongolian-Khitan invasions of the late tenth century challenge the stability of the Koryo government, but a period of prosperity follows the defeat of the Khitan in 1018..|access-date=1 August 2016|date=5 September 2000}}</ref>

However, the [[Mongol invasions of Korea|Mongol invasions]] in the 13th century greatly weakened the kingdom. Goryeo was never conquered by the Mongols, but exhausted after three decades of fighting, the Korean court sent its [[Wonjong of Goryeo|crown prince]] to the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] capital to swear allegiance to [[Kublai Khan]], who accepted and married one of his daughters to the Korean crown prince.<ref name="Mongols">{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Kenneth B.|title=Korea and East Asia: The Story of a Phoenix|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-95823-7|page=72|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA72|access-date=12 November 2016|year=1997|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010152/https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA72|url-status=live}}</ref> Henceforth, Goryeo continued to rule Korea, though as a tributary ally to the Mongols for the next 86 years. During this period, the two nations became intertwined as all subsequent Korean kings married Mongol princesses,<ref name="Mongols" /> and the [[Empress Gi|last empress]] of the Yuan dynasty was a Korean princess. In the mid-14th century, Goryeo drove out the Mongols to regain its northern territories, briefly conquered [[Liaoyang]], and defeated invasions by the [[Red Turbans invasions of Goryeo|Red Turbans]]. However, in 1392, General [[Taejo of Joseon|Yi Seong-gye]], who had been ordered to attack China, turned his army around and staged a coup.

Yi Seong-gye declared the new name of Korea as "Joseon" in reference to Gojoseon, and moved the capital to Hanseong (one of the old names of [[Seoul]]).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Ki-baek|title=A New History of Korea|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-61576-2|page=165|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&q=%22Yi+Song-gye+named+his+dynasty+Choson%22|access-date=19 November 2016|year=1984|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010157/https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&q=%22Yi+Song-gye+named+his+dynasty+Choson%22|url-status=live}}</ref> The first 200 years of the [[Joseon]] dynasty were marked by peace and saw great advancements in science<ref>{{cite book|last1=Selin|first1=Helaine|title=Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-94-017-1416-7|pages=505–506|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzjpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA505|access-date=27 July 2016|date=11 November 2013|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010157/https://books.google.com/books?id=GzjpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA505|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Haralambous|first1=Yannis|last2=Horne|first2=P. Scott|title=Fonts & Encodings|publisher=O'Reilly Media, Inc.|isbn=978-0-596-10242-5|page=155|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qrElYgVLDwYC&pg=PA155|access-date=8 November 2016|date=28 November 2007|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010158/https://books.google.com/books?id=qrElYgVLDwYC&pg=PA155|url-status=live}}</ref> and education,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Kenneth B.|title=Korea and East Asia: The Story of a Phoenix|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-95823-7|page=86|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA86|access-date=27 July 2016|year=1997|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010158/https://books.google.com/books?id=XrZQs-6KswMC&pg=PA86|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as the creation of [[Hangul]] by [[Sejong the Great]] to promote literacy among the common people.<ref name="Hangul">{{cite book|last1=Koerner|first1=E.F.K.|last2=Asher|first2=R. E.|title=Concise History of the Language Sciences: From the Sumerians to the Cognitivists|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-1-4832-9754-5|page=54|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VCqLBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA54|access-date=8 November 2016|date=28 June 2014|archive-date=15 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115045316/https://books.google.com/books?id=VCqLBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA54|url-status=live}}</ref> The prevailing ideology of the time was [[Korean Confucianism|Neo-Confucianism]], which was epitomized by the [[seonbi]] class: nobles who passed up positions of wealth and power to lead lives of study and integrity. Between 1592 and 1598, Japan under [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] launched [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)|invasions of Korea]], but the advance was halted by Korean forces (most notably the [[Joseon Navy]] led by Admiral [[Yi Sun-sin]] and his renowned "[[turtle ship]]") with assistance from [[righteous army]] militias formed by Korean civilians, and [[Ming dynasty]] Chinese troops.<ref name="Perez 2013 140–141">{{cite book|title= Japan At War: An Encyclopedia|last= Perez|first= Louis|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RHXG0JV9zEkC|year= 2013|publisher= ABC-CLIO|location= Santa Barbara, CA|pages= 140–141|isbn= 978-1-59884-741-3|access-date= 19 June 2015|archive-date= 28 March 2024|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240328145412/https://books.google.com/books?id=RHXG0JV9zEkC|url-status= live}}"Yi's successes gave Korea complete control of the sea lanes around the peninsula, and the Korean navy was able to intercept most of the supplies and communications between Japan and Korea"</ref> Through a series of successful battles of attrition, the Japanese forces were eventually forced to withdraw, and relations between all parties became normalized. However, the [[Manchu people|Manchus]] took advantage of Joseon's war-weakened state and [[Manchu invasion of Korea|invaded in 1627 and 1637]] and then [[Transition from Ming to Qing|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 of Joseon|Yeongjo]] and [[Jeongjo of Joseon|Jeongjo]] particularly led a new renaissance of the Joseon dynasty during the 18th century.<ref>{{cite book|last1=신형식|title=A Brief History of Korea|publisher=Ewha Womans University Press|isbn=978-89-7300-619-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o-WlUd3cjh0C&pg=PT98|access-date=8 November 2016|date=January 2005|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010158/https://books.google.com/books?id=o-WlUd3cjh0C&pg=PT98|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Beirne|first1=Paul|title=Su-un and His World of Symbols: The Founder of Korea's First Indigenous Religion|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-04749-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OPeCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT38|access-date=8 November 2016|date=April 2016|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124010159/https://books.google.com/books?id=8OPeCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT38|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 19th century, Joseon began experiencing economic difficulties and widespread uprisings, including the [[Donghak Peasant Revolution]]. The royal in-law families had gained control of the government, leading to mass corruption and weakening of the state.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} In addition, the strict isolationism of the Joseon government that earned it "the [[hermit kingdom]]" became increasing ineffective due to increasing encroachment from powers such as Japan, Russia, and the United States. This is exemplified by the [[Joseon–United States Treaty of 1882]], in which it was compelled to open its borders.