This article is about the history of Korea from the beganing up to the division of Korea in 1945
The Lower Paleolithic era in the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria started approximately half a million years ago. The earliest known Korean pottery was from around 8000 BC and the Neolithic period began after 6000 BC, followed by the Bronze Age by 2000 BC and the Iron Age around 700 BC.
The Korean peninsula has been inhabited for tens of thousands of years, based on the discovery of stone tools and additional objects, however, the connection to the Korean people today is not clear. Since the sea level was about 130 meters lower than today from the Last Glacial Period about 100,000 years ago to about 8000 B.C., most of the East China Sea was land, but around 4000 B.C., the sea level rose around 4000 B.C., and the majority of the coastline was submerged beneath the sea. Some researches suggest that the Korean Peninsula was shortly related to the Japanese Archipelago during the Last Glacial Period by a land bridge formed by drifting sand in the Tsushima Strait. According to Ito Toshiyuki, only about 50 Paleolithic sites before 10,000 B.C. have been identified, and the 5,000 years between 10,000 B.C. and 5,000 B.C. are blank in the chronology of the National Museum of Korea, where few sites have been found.
Nagahama Hiroaki introduces the view of Ikutaro Ito, director emeritus of the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, that "Between 1969 and 1971, pottery with a pointed bottom and low round and low streamlined design was observed in the lower layer of comb patterned earthenware from the Dongsam-dong shell mound and was named as pottery with a comb patterned design at the tip. These pottery vessels were found in Dongsam-dong, Shinam-ri site in Gyeongsangnam-do and Sopohang shell mounds in Hamgyeongbuk-do, hinting that the oldest pottery culture was spread over a wide area. These pottery artifacts are akin to those found at the Sempuku-ji Cave site and Fukui Cave in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan." Nagahama also states that pottery from the Koshitaka site in Tsushima Island, located on the other side of the shore of Tosan-do, has been excavated 7,000 years ago, which suggests that the Jomon people migrated to the uninhabited Korean peninsula from 7,000 years ago and made their way to the northern part of the peninsula by there.
Besides, Nagahama stated that the Paleohuman bones found in a shell midden on Yantai Island in the southern part of Korea (4000 B.C.) match in many respects the aspects of the Jomon people and are not similar in morphology to those of Koreans, verifying the archaeological theory that the first people to inhabit the peninsula were Jomon people from Japan.
Besides, 73 tombs, estimated to date back to the mid-Yayoi Period (100 B.C.), have been found in Nekdo in the southern part of the Korean peninsula, and the discovery of jar burials, the excavation of Yayoi pottery from northern Kyushu, the features of the skeletal structure and the custom of tooth extraction, etc., suggest a close connection with northwestern Kyushu, so these are the remains of people who came from northern Kyushu or their descendants.
Similarly, according to The History of Korea, supervised by Kim Yang-ki and edited by Kang Deoksang, Jung Sanae, and Nakayama Kiyotaka, the Paleolithic people are not the direct ancestors of the present Korean (Chosun) people, but their direct ancestors are estimated to be the Neolithic People of about 2000 BC.
According to the mythic account described in the Samguk yusa (1280s), the Gojoseon (Old Joseon) kingdom was founded in northern Korea and southern Manchuria in 2333 BC.7] The Gija Joseon state was purportedly discovered in the 12th century BC. Its existence and role have been contentious in the recent era and viewed as likely mythology. The first penned historical record on Gojoseon can be found from the early 7th century BC. The Jin state was created in southern Korea by the 3rd century BC. In the 2nd century BC, Gija Joseon was superseded by Wiman Joseon, which fell to the Han dynasty of China near the end of the century. This resulted in the fall of Gojoseon and led to succeeding warring states, the Proto–Three Kingdoms era that spanned the later Iron Age.
From the 1st century, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla grew to dominate the peninsula and Manchuria as the Three Kingdoms of Korea (57 BC–668 AD), until unification by Silla in 676. In 698, Go of Balhae founded the Kingdom of Balhae (c.f. modern: Bohai Sea) in the old territories of Goguryeo, which led to the North-South States Period (698–926) of Balhae and Silla accompanying.
In the late 9th century, Silla was separated into the Later Three Kingdoms (892–936), which ended with the unification by Wang Geon's Goryeo dynasty. Meanwhile, Balhae fell after invasions by the Khitan Liao dynasty and the refugees including the last crown prince emigrated to Goryeo, where the crown prince was warmly welcomed and included in the ruling family by Wang Geon, thus unifying the two successor states of Goguryeo. Throughout the Goryeo period, laws were codified, a civil service system was introduced, and culture influenced by Buddhism flourished. But, Mongol invasions in the 13th century brought Goryeo under its influence until the mid-14th century.
In 1392, General Yi Seong-gye founded the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910) after a coup d'état that overthrew the Goryeo dynasty in 1388. King Sejong the Great (1418–1450) executed numerous administrative, social, scientific, and economic changes, stabilized royal authority in the early years of the dynasty, and personally created Hangul, the Korean alphabet.
After enjoying a period of peace for nearly two centuries, the Joseon dynasty faced foreign invasions and civil factional strife from 1592 to 1637. The most important of these invasions is the Japanese invasions of Korea, which marked the end of the Joseon dynasty's early period. The blended force of Ming dynasty of China and the Joseon dynasty repelled these Japanese invasions, but at a cost to the countries. Henceforth, Joseon gradually became more and more isolationist and stagnant. By the mid 19th century, with the country unwilling to modernize, and under encroachment of European powers, Joseon Korea was forced to sign unequal treaties with foreign authorities. After the assassination of Empress Myeongseong in 1895, the Donghak Peasant Revolution, and the Gabo Reforms of 1894 to 1896, the Korean Empire (1897–1910) came into existence, heralding a brief but expeditious period of social reform and modernization. Yet, in 1905, the Korean Empire signed a protectorate treaty and in 1910, Japan annexed the Korean Empire.
Korean resistance proved in the widespread nonviolent March 1st Movement of 1919. Thereafter the resistance movements, coordinated by the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in exile, became largely active in neighboring Manchuria, China, and Siberia, directed by Korea's peaceful demonstrations. Figures from these exile parties would become important in post-WWII Korea.
After the end of World War II in 1945, the Allies divided the country into a northern area (protected by the Soviets) and a southern area (protected primarily by the United States). In 1948, when the powers failed to agree on the formation of a single government, this partition became the modern states of North and South Korea. The peninsula was divided at the 38th Parallel: the "Republic of Korea" was created in the south, with the backing of the US and Western Europe, and the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" in the north, with the backing of the Soviets and the communist People's Republic of China. The new premier of North Korea, Kim il-Sung, started the Korean War in 1950 in an attempt to reunify the country under Communist rule. After immense material and human destruction, the conflict concluded with a cease-fire in 1953. In 2018, the two nations agreed to work toward a final settlement to formally end the Korean War. In 1991, both countries were accepted into the United Nations.
While both countries were essentially under military rule after the war, South Korea ultimately liberalized. Since 1987 it has had a competitive electoral system. The South Korean economy has prospered, plus the country is now viewed to be fully developed, with a similar capital economic standing to Western Europe, Japan, and the United States.
North Korea has continued totalitarian militarized rule, with a personality cult constructed around the Kim family. Economically, North Korea has continued heavily dependent on foreign aid. Following the end of the Soviet Union, that aid collapsed precipitously. The country's economic situation has been quite marginal since.