North Korea

What comes to mind when you think of North Korea? Most people would probably recognize the name from the news. Recently, North Korea has been involved in a dispute with the United States and other countries over its suspected nuclear weapons production program. Let's take a look at the country's roots, in hope of gaining a clearer perspective of the country and its people.

Brief Political History

North Korea has been in turmoil throughout its history. It is currently under a communist system of rule. The leadership of the country recently changed from Kim Il Sung to his son, Kim Jong Il. Kim Il Sung ruled with absolute power. The brand of communism practiced in North Korea is highly influenced by chuch'e sasang which are ideas about self-reliance of the country.

Early Government

Before 313 A.D., the area which is now North Korea was inhabited by Chinese tribes. One city in the area, Lolang, was a great center of Chinese culture including commerce, industry, and art. The Chinese inhabitants of the area patterned much of their civilization and government after the traditional Chinese system. The early residents organized themselves into 70 clan states over time, which were also grouped into broader tribal confederations known as Chin-Han, Ma-Han, and Pyon-Han. The Chin-Han confederation was situated in the middle of the peninsula, Ma-Han in the southwest, and Pyon-Han in the southeast. Their economies were based on agriculture.

Around the middle of the 400's A.D. the Chinese threat from the north became a cause for the three kingdoms to unite. They eventually merged into two kingdoms to increase their defense capabilities. The reason the three kingdoms merged into two instead of one is a geographic one because, certain features naturally separated the two. These features are the T'aebaek mountain range, and the Sobaek range. The fact that two separate kingdoms were created instead of one would prove to be significant for Korea, and the entire world.

Silla unified Korea in 668, but was constantly watching the Chinese, who still had their eye on the peninsula. The first 215 years of the Silla dynasty are remembered for their new political, legal, and educational institutions, which possessed great energy. Domestic and foreign trade prospered. Higher learning in Confucian teachings, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine flourished. Buddhism, in 372, reached the height of its influence on the peninsula. Silla began to decline in the later part of the 900's, when rebellions threatened his rule. The chaos led to the Koryo dynasty in 932 under former general, Wang Kon. (Clement, p12)

Koryo and his heirs consolidated control over the peninsula and strengthened the economy by more closely following China's traditions of land grants. The rise of the Khitan Liao tribe in the north, threatened Koryo. When they invaded, Koryo was caught in a state of war from 1010 to 1020. After peace was restored, nearly a century of prosperity followed, not coincidentally, because at the time the Song Dynasty of China was also prospering, and ties were close. By the ...