Great Korean Empire


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The Great Korean Empire (: 대한제국, : 大韓帝國, : Daehan Jeguk) and commonly referred to as Korea (한국 or Hanguk in Korean) is a country in, constituting the , , , and the. It shares its only land borders with Manchuria and to the north and shares overseas borders with  to the west and  to the east. The name "Korea" is derived from the name given to, which was also spelled as Koryŏ.

The current Korean state was established following the surrender of in. Through the, Japan agreed to relinquish control over the Korean peninsula and allow the re-installation of the government of the. The exiled Crown Prince was crowned Emperor of Korea and a provisional government was established in 1952. The following year, on July 17, the Great Korean Empire was formed with Emperor Yi Un as its and  as its premier. Korea underwent several regime changes during the 20th century as well as two wars: the First Manchu-Korean War and Second Manchu-Korean War which threatened the nation's existence and stability. Since the 1990s, the Korean government stabilized and liberalized many of its economic and social policies, leading way as a highly developed nation.

Today, Korea is a and ranked 15th in the, the highest in. Globally, it is also one of the highest ranked countries in education, quality of healthcare, ease of doing business and job security. South Korea is the world's seventh largest exporter and is a highly advanced information society with South Korea having the world's fastest Internet connection speed, ranking first in e-Government, 4G LTE penetration and second in the ICT Development Index and smartphone penetration. It is a member of the League of Nations,, the Trans-Pacific Allied Community, , and the.

Etymology
The name  derives from the name for the Korean kingdom of which in turn, was named for the ancient state of. merchants who traveled to the Korean peninsula called the country by the name Koryŏ (Goryeo; 고려). The first instance of the spelling "Korea" appeared in the writings of, a member of the in the late 17th century. The term "Corea" was also a common spelling but fell out of practice following standardization of the word "Korea" in the 19th century. The spelling "Corea" is still in use in other languages such as.

Following the fall of Goryeo in 1392, Korea was known as Joseon before the decided to change the name to Daehan Jeguk (대한제국) in 1897. Despite this, the word "Joseon" was still used by the majority of the Korean population to refer the country as a whole. After Korea to Japan, the terms Han and Joseon were used interchangeably.

Ancient Korea
The earliest known pottery dates around 8000 BC and a complex socio-political society known as the first came to light in the years 1500–300 BC. Rice cultivating agriculture began and chiefdoms were established. Extended internal conflict and the introduction of bronze and iron metalwork brought an end to this society around 300 BC. Several kingdoms including and  formed by the turn of the 2nd century BC. Gosejeon held control over the northern Korean peninsula and parts of  before collapsing in 108 BC giving rise to the  age.

Three Kingdoms period
During the Proto-Three Kingdoms period, various states formed following Gojoseon's fall including, , and. By its end, the kingdoms of, , and arose, thus starting the  era. was by far the most powerful of these three kingdoms. At its height in 476 AD, it included much of the Korean peninsula and Manchuria. Founded by, Gorguyeo witnessed its peak under who destroyed the Manchu and other Korean states. While Gorguyeo successfully repelled Chinese invasions during the and, Gorguyeo collapsed in 668 following conquest by allied Silla-Tang forces.

Baekje was instrumental in introducing s and to the Korean peninsula. Although it held control over much of the western Korean peninsula, by 660, it was conquered by the Silla and.

Silla, was formed through the unification of six different chiefdoms from the in 57 BC. Becoming a sea power, by the 2nd century, Silla had become a powerful military state and under the leadership of, conquered the states of Baekje and Gorguyeo with the aid of Tang forces.

Silla's victory led to the where Silla dominated the Korean peninsula while the  expanded into the Manchurian region.

United Silla and Goryeo
After the, Silla was and the kingdom entered into a golden age of culture and religion. The arts and religious expressions of flourished with various temples commissioned by the state. Silla finally came to an end following decades of political turmoil and 's surrender to.

From 932 AD to 1392, the kingdom of Goryeo prospered over the Korean peninsula. Laws were codified, a proper civil service system was introduced, and Buddhism continued to spread throughout the region. The invention of a and publication of the  were a testament to Goryeo's cultural achievements. In 1231, the began an invasion campaign into Korea that ended with Goryeo's entry to the Mongol Empire as a. After the Mongol-Chinese loss political power, King  took advantage of these changes and reformed Goryeo's government. He removed pro-Mongol officials and brokered peace between conflicting Buddhist and Confucian scholars. In 1392, led a coup against the Goryeo and established the.

Joseon
In 1392, general (Taejo) established the  and centered the government around a -based philosophy. Taejo moved the capital of Korea to (modern-day Seoul) and adopted  as the official religion. He and his descendants, and  implemented widespread administrative, social, and economic reforms alongside, consolidating power for the royal family. His grandson, Sejong the Great, is known for his invention of the modern Korean alphabet.

Joseon suffered from political strife, civil unrest, and a but survived under the leadership of Admiral  who introduced the. Together with the Ming Chinese, the Joseon drove the Japanese away from the peninsula. A few years later, Joseon was once again under the threat of foreigners, this time from the Manchu who. After repelling both invasions and experiencing a period of political instability, Joseon achieved peace for over 200 years. Under the rule of and, Joseon experienced a cultural renaissance.

As the dynasty's years waned, it found itself more and more dependent upon the Chinese before it resorted to an isolationist policy, earning it the name "". Fearful of Western, it nonetheless, succumbed to open trading. Several foreign intrusions from the  to the Albish occupation of the became more frequent as Western nations and Japan forced Korea to open its borders. The Japanese continued to apply pressure on Joseon as evident through the and interference with Korean-Chinese diplomacy. In 1876, Japan successfully challenged the Chinese  and murdered Korean empress  to demonstrate its determination to exert control over Korea.

Korea under Japanese rule
With China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War and signing of the in 1895, Korea's link with China was severed. In an attempt to modernize and establish itself a strong military state, Joseon was reformed itself as the and King Gojong became known as. After the, Japan declared Korea a protectorate on November 17, 1905 before formally annexing it into its empire five years later through the. In both cases, neither act received the expressive approval of Emperor Gojong.

The Japanese government attempted to repress Korean culture and language, forcing Koreans to adopt Japanese customs and names. At the same time, the Japanese established extensive transportation and communication networks throughout Korea in attempt to modernize it.

Following the death of Emperor Gojong, rumors spread that he was poisoned and these news led to independence demonstrations known as the. The movement was quashed and over 7,000 Koreans were killed by Japanese soldiers and law enforcement. In, China, the was established in response to the March 1st Movement and the Japanese reaction. Continued protests led to stringent, tighter military rule and during, Japan sought to eliminate the national identity of the Koreans. The teaching of Korean language and history was banned, compulsory attendance to religious ceremonies were enforced, and Korean names were changed to Japanese ones. During the war, thousands were conscripted into the or forced into labor camps while many Korean women (as much as 200,000) were forced to become "" for Japanese soldiers.

Continued repression forced some Koreans to flee to, the United States, or Sierra. In, Koreans organized into resistance groups known as the Dongnipgun (Liberation Army) and would lead skirmishes along the Sino-Korean border.

Independence
The revival of the religion in Korea paired with the growing popularity of  heightened the sense of  among the Korean nation. Japanese rule over Korea came to an end following the former's defeat in. With the signing of the, Korea regained its independence and the Great Korean Empire was proclaimed with the re-installation of the.

Under the premiership of the first leader,, the Korean Empire experienced massive land reforms where large landowners were forced to divide their lands to other Koreans. Rhee's government was autocratic and corrupt, and he led persecution against political dissidents, including those part of the.

Korea's existence was challenged in 1950 when the self-declared Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Manchuria invaded Korea in the First Manchu-Korean War. Seoul was quickly captured, and the Korean communist rebels established a government in. Eventually, a LN-led coalition forces comprised primarily of Americans and Britannians landed into the Manchu provinces of Jilin and Liaodong. This advance prompted China to enter, where it pushed Korean and allied forces back the 38th parallel. Fighting continued around Pyongyang until July 1953 when Korea and Manchuria signed an armistice and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was dissolved.

Following his successful order to assassinate, the party leader, Rhee was ousted by his military under the leadership of who promised to restore order and remove the cronyism inside the Korean structure. With the approval of Emperor, his economic policies led to Korea's rapid industrialization known as the.

Although Park's policies greatly radicalized the Korean market (he oversaw the construction of a national highway system, subway system, and promoted a export-driven economy), he concentrated more power to himself and declared himself Premier for Life in 1972. He also rewrote the constitution, dramatically granting him even more power as ruler and rendering the Emperor as nothing more than a figurehead. Park, a military strongman, grew to become increasingly autocratic and repressive in his rule. Tightening national security, he ordered compulsory 2 year military service for all able-bodied Korean male citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 and formed the to survey citizens and crush dissidence. In addition, he unified the military, establishing the, and awarded friends and family distinguished military posts.

Surviving an initial assassination attempt by a Korean communist sympathizer, Park was eventually assassinated by a Manchu-Korean spy, thus triggering the Second Manchu-Korean War as the Manchus and Korean communists attempted one last invasion in northern Korea before being crushed by swift military action by the Korean military government. Park was succeeded by as acting premier whose administration was displaced by Major General  in a  in December 1979.

Chun forced the Cabinet to extend martial law across the entire nation, including Jeju-do, forcing universities to close, prohibiting political activities, and limiting freedom of press and speech. University students and labor unions were Chun's primary opponents, and continued to hold massive protests in response to Chun's authoritarian rule. In the city of, the was particularly prevalent, much so that it prompted Chun to authorize lethal military force against the protesters, an incident that would later be come to known as 5-18 or the. Although there were communist elements to the rebellion, most of the protesters were in support for reform within the current Korean government structure, first through the removal of Chun and the military's rule over the government. Chun's forces beat, injured, and killed up to 3,000 Gwanju citizens.

Following the incident, Chun was indirectly elected Premier and implemented his National Premiership Plan upon taking office. Dedicated towards economic growth, Chun oversaw tight monetary regulations and kept interest rates low to keep prices stable. All across Korea, the economy began to flourish as the electronics and automobile industries emerged. Korea opened up to foreign investment and began exporting more in response to the opened markets. Chun's government also worked to improve relations with Korea's former adversary, Japan, as well as China and the Soviet Union. Most notably, Chun continued strengthening Korea's relationship with the United States and Britannia, which both provided great military assistance during both Manchu-Korean Wars.

As Chun gained power through a military coup and many of his promises for democratic change were never fulfilled, the Korean public grew wary of Chun's policies and desired change. In the 1958 National Diet elections, opposition parties gained more seats than the national party, a sign of public desire for change. In January 1987, student and protester Park Jong-chul was tortured to death during a police interrogation. The June that year, the revealed the incident, which was met with public outrage that surmounted into the.

Contemporary era
Elections were held and, the president of Chun's party, the narrowly won the office of the premiership. in 1988 Conceding to public demands, Roh restored civil rights and allowed direct elections. A national referendum open to the public approved of a new constitution. Although Roh was part of Chun's leadership, Roh won due to the lack of unity from his opponents. Keeping in line with his constituents' wishes, Roh sought to eliminate the Korean authoritarian past by revising laws, lifting trade restrictions, expanding free speech and press, and granting autonomy to universities. A little after Roh's inauguration, the took place, greatly boosting Korea's standing in the international community and its own foreign policy. Through , Roh established permanent relations with the Soviet Union, China, and other communist nations.

In the 1992 elections,, was elected, becoming the first civilian premier in nearly 30 years. Seen a reformist, Kim promised to usher in a "New Korea" which would remove the remnants of the authoritarian past and punish former officials on charges of and.

Government and politics
Korea features a  with the Emperor as its  and the Premier as the. The Emperor's power is very limited and as the ceremonial, his role is primarily to embody the "living Korean nation". The Premier as well as other members of the National Diet hold the majority of power while sovereignty rests within the Korean people.

The National Diet is Korea's legislature and is responsible for propagating and revising law. A house, the Diet consists of the Senate and the General Assembly. Currently, the National Diet is dominated by the conservative Saenuri Party (Grand National Party) and Workers' Party of Korea.