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The first civilisation in Korea was centred on the state of Choson which developed in the northwest corner of the peninsula
in the second century BC. Choson steadily expanded until it came up against the more advanced Yen, a feudal empire which governed
much of northern China. At the beginning of the first century BC, China, now ruled by the Han dynasty, attacked and destroyed
Choson and governed the northern part of the peninsula for the next 400 years. To the south, a number of independent rival
kingdoms evolved, of which the most important was the Silla in the southeast. In alliance with the Chinese Tang dynasty, which
had taken over in northern China in AD 618, the Silla defeated their competitors and created a single political entity in
Korea in AD 668 for the first time.
Around AD 870, a wave of rebellions broke out across Silla-controlled territory: this triggered the gradual disintegration
of the Silla empire and a period of chaos in which rival forces struggled for control. The eventual victor in the early tenth
century was the Koryo dynasty, once vanquished by the Silla, who allied themselves with the Song dynasty in China. The Koryo
emulated the Song in establishing an advanced cultural and technological society (including the invention of printing in 1234,
two centuries before its discovery in the West).
More importantly for the fate of the Koryo, the 1230s also saw the Mongol invasion which quickly crushed the Koryo forces
and established total domination over the peninsula. It took until the early 14th century, and the assistance of the Chinese
Ming dynasty, to recover Korean independence. The Koryo dynasty was then followed in the late 14th century by the Choson who
governed Korea until the early years of the 20th century. The early years of the Choson saw Korea enter a period of outstanding
cultural and intellectual achievement, especially under the Buddhist King Sejong (1418-50). After Sejong, however, the country
entered a period of decline that ended with invasions by the Japanese and then the Chinese Manchu dynasty, which brought Korea
under Chinese control. Although the Choson were still formally in control, Korea was effectively a satellite state of China
for the next 200 years.
During the 19th century, Korea became a geopolitical pawn in the burgeoning regional competition between China, Japan and
the encroaching European powers (plus the USA). After the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, which ended the First Sino-Japanese
war, Japan established a firm hegemony over Korea. Over the next 15 years, Korea successively became a protectorate and finally,
in 1910, a colony of the Japanese Empire. Korea now entered one of the darkest periods of its history. The deep suspicion
which continues to affect Japanese-Korean relations to this day dates from this period.
At the end of World War II, as Japan was stripped of its colonial territories, the Soviets and Americans agreed to divide
Korea along latitude 38°N (the 38th parallel). As the Cold War evolved, the Korean border – one of the few direct meeting
points between the Soviet and American spheres of influence – became a key flashpoint. Cross-border incursions increased until
full-scale war broke out between the two sides in 1950. The three-year war which followed engaged all the major powers and
came closer than is often realised to provoking a nuclear conflagration. By 1953, a stalemate had been reached and an armistice
was signed (although the war was never officially brought to an end). For the next three decades, locked into opposing Cold
War blocs, the two Koreas went their separate ways.
South Korea developed a successful capitalist economy, but failed to develop a political system of comparable sophistication.
Until the early 1980s, South Korea was governed by a series of dictatorships, both civilian and military, under which political
dissent led to imprisonment. However, at this point, the country’s political leaders, with their powerbase in the monopolistic
Democratic Justice Party, realised that some relaxation of the existing tight political control was necessary. The question,
as ever, was how far to go and how fast. In 1981, martial law was lifted. Within five years, a powerful parliamentary opposition
had emerged in the form of the New Korea Democratic Party (NKDP), led by the veteran dissident Kim Dae-Jung.
The new party complemented the existing extra-parliamentary opposition, which was rooted in the student and trade union movements.
Unlike the West where student protest is generally dismissed or ignored by the wider population, South Korea’s student movement,
the Chondaehyop, has been widely supported by ordinary people who felt it could articulate their complaints and desires (they had also attracted
much public sympathy following the 1980 Kwangju massacre in which 200 protesting students were massacred by the army). The
burgeoning labour movement, which had emerged with the country’s rapid industrialisation was also making its presence felt.
The two have frequently co-ordinated their campaigns.
In 1988, the Government conceded multiparty elections. Against expectations, the Democratic Justice Party managed to hang
on to power. In fact, it remained in office for the next nine years. It was not until December 1997 that Kim Dae-Jung, the
perennial opposition leader, won the presidential poll (the Democratic Justice Party has changed its name twice – firstly
to the Democratic Liberal Party and then to its current title of the Grand National Party. The NKDP also changed its name
and is now known as the Millennium Democratic Party).
Kim Dae-Jung’s most serious immediate problem upon taking office was the fall-out from the Asian currency crisis. This caused
a sharp recession and eventually required a substantial and humiliating bail-out by the IMF. The Government was obliged to
promise to reform South Korea’s creaking financial system and end the incestuous relationship between Government and the chaebol industrial giants who control much of the economy. Whether Kim Dae-Jung can deliver on this remains to be seen, but the electorate
was evidently not too unhappy: parliamentary elections in April 2000 delivered a mild endorsement in the form of a small increase
in the Millennium Democratic Party’s National Assembly representation. The opposition Grand National Party remains the single
largest bloc but, in coalition with the small conservative United Democratic Party and an assortment of independents, the
MDP controls the government.
The centrepiece of Kim Dae-Jung’s political programme was a firm commitment to improving relations with the North after years
of painfully slow diplomatic movement. The historic Pyongyang summit between the leaders of the two countries in June 2000
vindicated his approach and opened a new chapter in relations (see Korea, People’s Democratic Republic section). However, expectations of imminent reunification are certainly premature. Having watched the German unification process
very closely, the South Korean Government is aware that reunification would be costly – estimates run as high as US$50 billion
annually in the first few years – and difficult given the vast political and psychological gulf between the two Koreas. There
are also numerous strategic and regional problems in which the main regional powers – as well as the US – will demand to be
involved. In the last few years, every improvement in relations, such as the reuniting of families separated by the 1950s
civil war, seems to have been matched by a negative development, such as the July 2002 naval gun battle between vessels from
North and South. Kim Dae-Jung is still determined, however, to ensure that this part of his programme achieves some tangible
success.
In 2002, South Korea’s international profile, as well as national morale, received a boost from co-hosting the World Cup football
competition. President Kim Dae-Jung was, however, unable to capitalise upon it as various members of his family became embroiled
in a corruption scandal around the same time. The President resigned from the Millennium Democratic Party in order to try
and distance it from the scandal, but the move seems to have made little difference to the declining popularity of both party
and President. Also in 2002, a new Premier, Kim Suk Soo, took office.
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