THE CHRONOLOGY OF KOREAN HISTORY TO 1392 CE
4000 BCE
3000 BCE
9th Century BCE
4th Century BCE
3rd Century BCE
194 BCE
108 BCE
37 BCE
49 CE
1st Century CE
2nd Century CE
313 CE
313 – 668 CE
346 CE
356 – 654 CE
372 – 373 CE
384 CE
433 CE
500 – 544 CE
6th Century CE
660 – 667 CE
668 – 918 CE
682 CE
7th Century CE
681 CE
687 CE
8th Century CE
788 CE
9th Century CE
918 CE
981 CE
10th Century CE
993 – 1231
1037 CE
11th Century CE
1145 CE
1172 CE
1213 – 1350 CE
1231 – 1258 CE
1270 CE
1274, 1281 CE
1286 CE
1351 CE
1377 CE
1388 CE
1370 - 1390 CE
Neolithic settlements with pottery, polished stone tools, limited agriculture, fishing, small villages
Society organized by clans, each with clan totem, headed by a chief; animistic faith, shamans
Bronze tools, weapons introduced, walled towns; rice cultivation spreads in southern peninsula
Clans confederate into six small states, mentioned in Chinese records; iron enters from China
Choson most prominent state: Chinese style monarchy; Chinese coins, artifacts found in graves
Manchuria, Northern Korea come under control of Yan state, later Qin and Han Dynasties
Choson revolts under Chinese nobleman; government highly Sinified; overruns most peninsula
Fearing Xiong-nu, Choson alliance, Chinese conquered Korea; soldiers, colonists pour into Korea
Foundation of Koguryo in Southern Manchuria; led by warrior aristocracy at odds with China
Puyo in Manchuria: confederation, ruled by king; trades horses, furs, gems for Chinese silk, cloth
Villages pay heavy taxes; elite lived in walled towns apart from peasants; many slaves
Kingship hereditary; aristocrats control political, military, economic affairs; centralized bureaucracy
Shamanism, geomancy, spirit worship, prophecy, season rituals; festivals open to all classes
Koguryo drives out China: emphasizes royal authority; uses diplomacy to balance Chinese power
Korguryo, Paekche, Silla vie for control; authority centralized; aristocracy dominates bureaucracy
Kings owned all land; states control farmers; large aristocratic estates; peasants forced to do labor
Rise of Paekche, Silla in South; Japanese influence increased as a balance to Chinese influence
Silla kings from Kim clan, queens from Pak clan; 2 queens ruled alone; elite women had influence
Korguryo created National Confucian Academy, accepts Buddhism; writes administrative law code
Buddhism adopted in Paekche; monks from elite classes; used as bureaucrats, advisors, diplomats
Paekche, Silla ally, alliance lasts 120 years; kings use Buddhism to increase ties to China
Silla aristocracy: bone ranks, hereditary bloodline, stratification, privileges; Silla uses Buddhism &
Confucian bureaucracy to weaken aristocrats; advances in farming, plowing by oxen, rice expands
Idu used: Korean words written as ideographs used with Chinese script reflect Korean language
China, Silla ally against Korguryo, Paekche, nomads; Silla unites Korea, loses Manchuria to China
Unified Silla; drive Tang out but become Chinese vassal; aristocracy settled in capital to control
Silla creates National Confucian College, establishes Chinese studies; open only to aristocrats
Constant warfare = rise of slavery, ruin of peasants; artisans usually royal slaves; slave villages
Silla active in maritime trade due to tribute to China; merchant ambassadors carried on trade
Government reorganized; new local capitals manned by aristocrats; army under state control
Aristocrats allowed to exact only grain from peasants; aristocrats owned large estates, many slaves
Silla imports Confucian administrators to limit aristocrats; youth organizations form elite troops
Rise of castle lords, regionally powerful families who challenge centralized state; sap state revenue
Bureaucratic exam system emphasizing learning over rank established to earn government jobs
Pure Land Buddhism stressing devotion, salvation popular with commoners; Zen favored by elites
Buddhist monasteries expand landholding; set up relief granaries; involved in commerce, banking
Silla breaks up; rise of Koryo using Silla bureaucrats dismantles rank system of aristocrats
New aristocracy expanded; social status hereditary although promotions for accomplishments
All free men had to serve in military; all peasants performed forced labor for state, estates annually
Koryo families trace lineage through male, female lines; conduct morning for both genders; society
Patrilineal and matrilineal; equal inheritance; if divorce, children go with mother; women own land
Koryo battles, trades with Manchurian nomadic states; accepts Jurchen suzerainty to avoid war
Children of commoners/slaves are slaves; artisans usually royal slaves; 1/3 of population was slave
Rise of Yangban: civil officials, military officers who are part of the king’s inner court; monopolies
dominate commerce; few commercial towns; few markets, itinerant peddlers in countryside
History of 3 Kingdoms (epic); argues all Koreans form a single nation, stressed Confucianism
Uprisings led to military dictatorship, which deposed kings, broke power of Buddhist military units
Japanese pirates raid Korea coast; peasants flee, maritime trade, grain, taxes to capital paralyzed
Mongols attack Koryo, strong resistance; Koryo makes peace with Mongols, kings allowed to rule
Korean kings intermarry with Mongol imperial family, adopt Mongol customs, dress, names
Mongols attempt to conquer Japan; Koreans help Mongol with navies including iron clad warships
Neo-Confucianism introduced; blends Buddhism, Confucianism, emphasis on learning, nation
Mongols retreat, royal family discredited; reforms create scholar-official class selected by exams
Government monopoly of guns, gunpowder; new army, navy created driving off Japanese pirates
New military dictatorship began land reform, support scholar gentry; all land registers abolished
Korean king receives investiture from Ming China; new Yi Dynasty replaces Koryo kings
CHANGE OVER TIME BY CHRONOLOGICAL PERIOD:
THEME
Patterns, impacts of interaction amongst major societies:
trade, exchanges, diplomacy, war, and international organizations
ANCIENT PERIOD
TO 37 BCE
CLASSICAL
TO 668 CE
POST-CLASSICAL
TO 1390
THEME
Changes in functions and structures of states, attitudes towards states, inc. identities,
political parties (the political culture) and emergence of the nation-state
ANCIENT PERIOD
TO 37 BCE
CLASSICAL
TO 668 CE
POST-CLASSICAL
TO 1390
CHANGE OVER TIME BY CHRONOLOGICAL PERIOD:
THEME
Impact of demography on people and the environment including migration, population growth and decline,
disease, urbanization, environmental degradation, and agriculture
ANCIENT PERIOD
TO 37 BCE
CLASSICAL
TO 668 CE
POST-CLASSICAL
TO 1390
THEME
Impact of technology including agricultural techniques, weaponry, manufacturing, transportation and
communications systems, and inventions
ANCIENT PERIOD
TO 37 BCE
CLASSICAL
TO 668 CE
POST-CLASSICAL
TO 1390
CHANGE OVER TIME BY CHRONOLOGICAL PERIOD
THEME
Religious, intellectual, cultural, and artistic aspects, developments,
interactions among and within societies
ANCIENT PERIOD
TO 37 BCE
CLASSICAL
TO 668 CE
POST-CLASSICAL
TO 1390
THEME
Systems of social, economic and gender structure
including inequalities and work or labor systems
ANCIENT PERIOD
TO 37 BCE
CLASSICAL
TO 668 CE
POST-CLASSICAL
TO 1390
CHANGE OVER TIME BY CHRONOLOGICAL PERIOD
THEME
The relationship of change and continuity between chronological periods
What led to the changes or continuities between each periods?
ANCIENT PERIOD
TO 37 BCE
CLASSICAL
TO 668 CE
POST-CLASSICAL
TO 1390
What would be a good thesis sentence to describe the change over time from the Neolithic Era
through the fall of the Koryo Dynasty? Write one using at least three of the themes.
At the center of Korean history is its relationship with its neighbors especially China. How has
Korea’s relationship with China changed over time?
NAME: _________________________ PERIOD: _______ DATE: ________________
CHART: CHANGE OVER TIME OF KOREA
Summarize the time period – use SCRIPTED. Do at least three themes
BEGINNING
TIME
PERIOD:
Dates:
Ancient
Period
Key continuities and changes from
previous periods
INTERIM
TIME
PERIOD
Dates:
Classical
Period
END
TIME
PERIOD
Date:
Post-Classical
Period
Explain why change or continuity
occurred