Chapter 12
Korea
Silla
In the mid-600's, three kingdoms emerged in Korea, and eventually the Silla defeated the other 2 kingdoms, drove out the chinese who were ruling Korea at that time, and gained Korea its indipendence. The Sillas created beautiful bronze and stone statues, They made Buddhist monastaries, and created a written language that used Chinese characters, but phonetically worked with the Korean language. (McDougal Littell: Ancient World History)
Koryu
Koryu rule took over in 935 AD when Wang Kon, an officer, rebeled against the Silla rule and took power. He created the Koryu Dynasty, which lasted from 935 to 1392 AD. It based its government on Chinese government, and they created a civil service. It did not work as well as it did for the Chinese, and the entire populations ended up divided between a rich upper class and a poor lower class. They used the examination system, but that also failed as many positions became hereditary. In 1231 the Mongols came into Korea and occupied them until about the 1360's when the Mongols collapsed. Koryu culture was renwned for its celadon pottery (left) and thousands of large wooden blocks used to make Buddhist scriptures. The scriptures ended up being destroyed, though, when Mongol invaded Korea. (McDougal Littell: Ancient World History)
Choson
In 1392, the Choson (Yi) Dynasty was created when a band of military leaders and scholar-officials came together and overthrew the previous Koryu Dynasty. They instituted land reforms, creating the Choson Dynasty. It would last for 518 years, until 1910 AD. (McDougal Littell: Ancient World History)
