Month: January 2020

This week we went over the background history of Korea, as well as the three Kingdoms of Korea. It was interesting to hear about the impact that China and Japan had on Korean culture. I knew that there had to have been an impact since they had occupied Korea for so long, but the long-lasting impact was unknown to me. However, after attending the first class, I feel that I have a more extensive source of knowledge of the effects of Chinese culture on Korea. Although this topic was interesting, my favorite aspect that was discussed in Korea this week was the three Kingdoms. After reading the chapter in the textbook on the Kingdoms, I developed a keen interest in the Kingdom of Silla. Silla was located in the Southeast corner of the Korean Peninsula, which was out of direct contact with the East Asian Heartland. Their location forced Silla to develop slower than the other two Kingdoms, in terms of stratification and the creation of institutions. Although it developed more gradually than the other two kingdoms, it was still one of the best known of the Three Kingdoms, as it unified the Peninsula and implemented its language and culture as the dominant element in the evolution of Korea. The Sillas traditions have been preserved and served as models throughout Korean History, even though their culture is supposed to be the least refined and sophisticated of the Three Kingdoms. The majority of the information that we have on this time period comes from History written from later historians that saw themselves as ‘heirs’ of the Sillan tradition.

In the first week of class, we learned about the impact that China and Japan had on Korean development. Chinese culture heavily influenced Korean culture. It has such a tremendous impact in many areas of Korean culture, including arts, written language, religion and government administration. Moreover, in-class we did individual research looking at different people. For example, I researched the former President of South Korea, Park Chung-Hee. He ruled for 18 years, and within this time he dramatically improved the economy, but it was at the cost of political liberty and freedom. He attended a military academy in Japan, which was how he became so impressed with Japan’s economic and military status. He was formally a Second Japanese Lieutenant in WWII. He only became a Korean officer when Korea was freed from the Japanese. Park Chung-Hee eventually became brigadier general for the Korean war and was eventually promoted to General in 1958. In May of 1961, he led a military coup that overthrew the second republic of Korea and remained the leader of the coup until three years later when he won his first term as president of the third republic. While in power he created policies that restricted personal freedom, suppressed the press and political organization, and maintained control over the judicial systems and universities. Overall, he was an efficient ruler who decided to force the people to give up civil liberties in order to bring the government into stability.

This week we discussed the Bone-Rank (Gompuldaejo) system that was prominent in the Silla Kingdom. The bone-rank system was rigid and was used to determine the ranks within the nobility. This system was abolished in the Unified Kingdom of Silla in 935. This system was interesting as it showed the classism that existed in ancient times, and that has continued to exist in the future. Moreover, the bone-rank system directly influenced how people acted towards one another. I believe that it is interesting that this system does not necessarily impact the lower classes, but more so impacts the nobility.