The Korean Experience

The Korean Experience

The Korean peninsula is located at the eastern side of Asia, between China, Siberia and the islands of Japan and has been inhabited for more than five thousand years. The mythical figure Dan-gun founded Go-Joseon which was the first kingdom of Korea. Since then, there have been many kingdoms and dynasties and a lot of changes in the country with the Koreans moving towards advancements and developments in the modern era. The five thousand year old history and culture is though still the pride of the Korean people and is something that gives them strength in times of adversity to move forward.

Some centuries after Dan-gun established Go-Joseon, three kingdoms ruled the region. The three rival kingdoms were Goguryeo, Baekje, and Shilla who each brought with it many contributions in terms of providing a cultural heritage. Goguryeo was situated in the upper part of the Korean peninsula and existed from 37 BC to 668 AD; Baekje was located in the Southwestern Korea and were there from 18 BC to 663 AD. The last of the three Shilla was located on the south east of the peninsula.

Threats from the Chinese Wei Dynasty led tribes to come together and Baekje developed into a centralized state and was a significant contributor in terms of influencing culture of this region. Chinese characters, Buddhism, iron-making, advanced pottery and ceremonial burial were some of the cultural developments in which Baekje had central role to play in the transmission. On the other hand, Shilla developed in the southeast corner of the peninsula was geographically situated in an area where they were separated due to mountains from Chinese influence as well as that of Baekje. Thus, it was found to be more different in practices and ideas from those of Chinese. There were more scientific advancements ...