Korea - Simple English Wikipedia

# Korea

### From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.

Korea is a nation in the eastern part of Asia. People have lived in Korea for about 15,000 years. It used to be bigger than it is now. Manchuria and some of Siberia used to be part of Korea.

The best silk used to come from Korea. In the 7th century, the people of China also liked the gold workers from Korea. The people in Europe did not know the good gold from Korea.

The printing machine was made in Korea in 1232. This was a long time before Gutenberg made the printing machine in Europe.

The nation of Korea was made two countries after World War II. North Korea is in the north. South Korea is in the south. North Korea is ruled by communism. South Korea is ruled by capitalism. They fought each other in the Korean War.

Korea is famous for its traditional food with the name kimchi. Kimchi keeps vegetables fresh in winter. The people of Korea eat kimchi every day.

## [edit] History

### [edit] Gojoseon

Gojoseon is the first state of Korean established at 2333BCE. The founder of Gojoseon is said to be Dangun. Gojoseon was destroyed by Buyeo, which is succeeded by Goguryeo, at about 230BCE. Violin-type Bronze dagger is the unique culture of Gojoseon.

### [edit] Three Kingdoms

  Main article: Three Kingdoms of Korea

Between 57 BC and the year 668 there were three kingdoms in Korea. The names of the kingdoms were: Silla, Goguryeo and Baekje. The people in Korea lived like the people in China. In the year 372 the religion Buddhism came from China to Korea. Buddhism was very important in Korea.

In the year 660 the kingdom of Silla invaded the kingdom of Baekje. In the year 668 the kingdom of Silla invaded the kingdom of Gyguryeo. The people of Goguryeo run away and made a new kingdom with the name Barhae. After little time, the kingdom of Silla invaded the kingdom of Barhae.

From the year 681 to the year 935 the kingdom of Silla was the only kingdom in Korea. This time has the name Unified Silla. In the Silla kingdom Buddhism was very important.

### [edit] Goryeo

In the year 918 the kingdom of Goryeo was made. The name Goryeo gave Korea the name Korea. The kingdom of Goryeo had power until the year 1392.

The kingdom of Goryeo wrote the law in books. The kingdom made a big government. Buddhism was very important in the kingdom of Goryeo.

In the year 1231 the people from Mongolia fought the kingdom of Goryeo. The people from Mongolia and the people from Korea fought for 25 years. In the year 1256 the people from Mongolia won. After the year 1256 the people from Mongolia ruled in Korea.

### [edit] Joseon

In the year 1392 a man from the military of Korea went to China. His name was Yi Seonggye. The job of Yi was to speak against China. But Yi made friends with the people in China. When Yi came to Korea, he changed the kingdom. Yi was king.

The name of the kingdom was Joseon. In the year 1394, the people of Joseon moved the capital to Seoul. The religion of Buddhism was not important. A new religion Confucianism was important. Confucianism came from China.

In the year 1443 the king Sejong ruled. He invented the Korean alphabet.

In the year 1592 and the year 1598 the people from Japan fought Korea. A man from the military made very strong ships. The name of the man was Yi Sun-sin. With the strong ships, the people of Korea won.

The people of Joseon were always friends with the people of China.

Today, North Koreans use the name Joseon (officially Chosŏn) to mean Korea.

### [edit] 19th century

In the 19th century the people of Korea did not want to trade with other people. People called Korea Hermit Kingdom. Hermit is the name of a person who lives alone in the mountains.

The people of the United States wanted to trade with Korea. The people of Japan also wanted to trade with Korea. In the year 1876 the military of Japan fought Korea. Korea and Japan made a contract to trade.

In 1895 Japan won a war against China. The name of the war was Sino-Japanese War. The military of Japan killed the Queen of Korea in 1895. The name of the Queen was Min. Korea changed the name to Daehan Jeguk (kingdom of Korea).

The people from Korea made friends with the people from Russia. In 1905 Japan won a war against Russia. The name of the war was Russo-Japanese War. In the year 1910, the king of Japan made Korea a colony of Japan.

### [edit] Colony of Japan

Korea was a colony of Japan from the year 1910 to the year 1945.

The emperor of Japan was very bad to the people of Korea. He stopped the people of Korea from saying what they think. He also stopped the people of Korea from making newspapers. The emperor also stopped the people of Korea from making groups.

The emperor of Japan changed the schools in Korea. The people of Korea studied the history of Japan and Japanese. The emperor stopped the people of Korea from speaking the language of Korea. Many people of Korea changed their name to a name from Japan. The people of Korea were not happy with the emperor of Japan.

The emperor of Japan also made railway lines and telephone and roads, but it was just for their benifit.

The people from Korea were stopped from trade. The emperor of Japan took the land from many farmers. The people of Korea were not happy.

In 1919 the people of Korea were very unhappy. The people marched in the streets. The people made a big demonstration. The people asked the emperor of Japan to go. Two million people marched in the streets. The police of Japan were not happy with the people. The police arrested 47,000 people. The police killed 7,500 people. The police injured 16,000 people.

When the police of Japan arrested the people of Korea, the police tortured the people. They burned them, they beheaded them, they hanged them, and they took their eyes out. They did a lot of other bad things to the people of Korea.

When World War II started, the emperor of Japan changed. He wanted Korea to be a part of Japan. He made the religion of Japan the religion of Korea. The people of Korea were stopped from celebrating the festivals of Korea.

Many men from Korea went to the military of Japan. Many men from Korea went to work in Japan. They worked in mines (take metal from mountains) and factories. The men did not want to go, but the emperor of Japan wanted to.

Many women from Korea went to Japan to work as comfort women. The women had sex with the men from the military of Japan. The women did not want to go, but the emperor of Japan forced them to do it.

In the year 1945 Japan lost World War II. The USA and the Soviet Union made a contract. The USA invaded the south of Korea. The Soviet Union invaded the north of Korea.

The people from Korea wanted to be free. The USA and the Soviet Union wanted the people of Korea to be free. But in 1945 the USA and the Soviet Union were not friends. The Cold War started. The USA and the Soviet Union did not make a contract. The UN thought that invading Korea would keep South Korea a free country. If this had not happened, South Korea would not be free country today and would be controlled by Communists and starving, much like the North.

In 1948 the people of South Korea made a country. The USA helped the people of South Korea. In 1948 the people of North Korea also made a country. The Soviet Union helped the people of North Korea.

In 1950 a war started in Korea. The name of the war was Korean War. The war ended in 1953, but nobody won.

Now there are two countries: North Korea and South Korea

## [edit] See also

- Korean cuisine
- Korea Strait

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Categories: Countries | Korea

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