Korea

During the 17th and 18th centuries the Yi dynasty enjoyed generally able kings and competent administration, although virulent factional struggles occurred periodically. Socially, the elite class was gradually inflated by upwardly mobile newcomers, and economically, the dramatic growth of a money economy and a market system was taking place. These complex changes severely strained Yi's political and social system, which in the 19th century began to break down. Christianity, introduced in 1784 from China and covertly propagated after 1836 by underground French Roman Catholic missionaries, put native institutions and values under even greater stress. In 1864 a bold new political movement sought to deal with these challenges: the Taewongun, father of a boy-king, Kojong, seized power, outlawed Christianity, and repelled military interventions by France (1866) and the United States (1871). At the same time he tried to eliminate corruption and refurbish the prestige of the state. The political reaction triggered by these reforms, however, resulted in the downfall of the Taewongun himself. In 1876 the Japanese forced Korea to establish diplomatic relations with them, thus weakening Korea's traditional ties to China. China then sought to neutralize Japan by promoting Korean ties with Western countries, beginning with the Korea-United States treaty of 1882. During the succeeding years, many Korean efforts were made towards modernization and reform, but these were frustrated by the continued influence of foreign powers. Japan's victory over China in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 led to the formal Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910.

Japanese domination of Korea actually began with the Protectorate Treaty (1905), forced on the country after the Russo-Japanese War, under which Japan assumed control of Korea's foreign relations and ultimately of its police and military, currency and banking, communications, and all other vital functions. These changes were tenaciously resisted by the Koreans, from King Kojong at the top to guerrilla armies at the bottom. Formal annexation followed when it was realized that the Koreans would never accept nominal sovereignty with actual Japanese control. From 1910 to 1918 Japan solidified its rule by purging nationalists, gaining control of the land system, and enforcing rigid administrative changes. In 1919 these measures, along with the general demand for national self-determination following World War I, led to what is known as the March First Movement. Millions of Koreans took to the streets in non-violent demonstrations for independence, but foreign support was not forthcoming, Japanese power was great, and the movement was brutally suppressed. In the following years Japan tightened its control, suppressing nationalist movements. Efforts aimed at assimilation, including such draconic measures as the outlawing of the Korean language and even of Korean family names, stopped only with Japan's defeat in World War II.

Shortly before the end of the war in the Pacific, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) agreed to divide Korea at the 38th parallel for the purpose of accepting the surrender of Japanese troops. Both powers, however, used their presence to promote friendly governments. The USSR suppressed the moderate nationalists in the north and gave its support to Kim Il Sung, a Communist who had led anti-Japanese guerrillas in Dongbei. In the south was a well-developed leftist movement, opposed by various groups of right-wing nationalists. Unable to find a congenial moderate who could bring these forces together, the United States ended up suppressing the left and promoting Syngman Rhee, a nationalist who had opposed the Japanese and had lived in exile in the United States. All Koreans looked towards unification, but in the developing Cold War atmosphere, US-Soviet unification conferences (1946, 1947) broke up in mutual distrust. In 1947 both powers began arranging separate governments. US-sponsored elections in 1948, observed by the United Nations, led to the founding of the Republic of Korea in August 1948. The north followed in September 1948 by establishing the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). On June 25, 1950, DPRK forces attacked across the 38th parallel, starting the Korean War.