North Korea
The Korean Peninsula was first populated by peoples of a Tungusic
branch of the Ural-Altaic language family, who migrated from the
northwestern regions of Asia. Some of these peoples also populated
parts of northeast China (Manchuria); Koreans and Manchurians still
show physical similarities. Koreans are racially and linguistically
homogeneous. Although there are no indigenous minorities in North
Korea, there is a small Chinese community (about 50,000) and some
1,800 Japanese wives who accompanied the roughly 93,000 Koreans
returning to the North from Japan between 1959 and 1962. Although
dialects exist, the Korean spoken throughout the peninsula is
mutually comprehensible. In North Korea, the Korean alphabet
(hangul) is used exclusively. |
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Korea's traditional religions are Buddhism and Shamanism. Christian
missionaries arrived as early as the 16th century, but it was not
until the 19th century that major missionary activity began.
Pyongyang was a center of missionary activity, and there was a
relatively large Christian population in the north before 1945.
Although religious groups exist in North Korea today, the government
severely restricts religious activity.
By the first century AD, the Korean Peninsula was divided into the
kingdoms of Shilla, Koguryo, and Paekche. In 668 AD, the Shilla
kingdom unified the peninsula. The Koryo dynasty--from which
Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century derived the Western name
"Korea"--succeeded the Shilla kingdom in 935. The Choson dynasty,
ruled by members of the Yi clan, supplanted Koryo in 1392 and lasted
until Japan annexed Korea in 1910.
Throughout its history, Korea has been invaded, influenced, and
fought over by its larger neighbors. Korea was under Mongolian
occupation from 1231 until the early 14th century. The unifier of
Japan, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, launched major invasions of Korea in 1592
and 1597. When Western powers focused "gunboat" diplomacy on Korea
in the mid-19th century, Korea's rulers adopted a closed-door
policy, earning Korea the title of "Hermit Kingdom." Though the
Choson dynasty recognized China's hegemony in East Asia, Korea was
independent until the late 19th century. At that time, China sought
to block growing Japanese influence on the Korean Peninsula and
Russian pressure for commercial gains there. The competition
produced the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95 and the Russo-Japanese War
of 1904-05. Japan emerged victorious from both wars and in 1910
annexed Korea as part of the growing Japanese empire. Japanese
colonial administration was characterized by tight control from
Tokyo and ruthless efforts to supplant Korean language and culture.
Organized Korean resistance during the colonial era was generally
unsuccessful, and Japan remained firmly in control of the Peninsula
until the end of World War II in 1945. The surrender of Japan in
August 1945 led to the immediate division of Korea into two
occupation zones, with the United States administering the southern
half of the peninsula and the U.S.S.R. taking over the area to the
north of the 38th parallel. This division was meant to be temporary
until the United States, U.K., Soviet Union, and China could arrange
a trusteeship administration.
In December 1945, a conference was convened in Moscow to discuss the
future of Korea. A five-year trusteeship was discussed, and a joint
Soviet-American commission was established. The commission met
intermittently in Seoul but deadlocked over the issue of
establishing a national government. In September 1947, with no
solution in sight, the United States submitted the Korean question
to the UN General Assembly. Initial hopes for a unified, independent
Korea quickly evaporated as the politics of the Cold War and
domestic opposition to the trusteeship plan resulted in the 1948
establishment of two separate nations with diametrically opposed
political, economic, and social systems. Elections were held in the
South under UN observation, and on August 15, 1948, the Republic of
Korea (R.O.K.) was established in the South. Syngman Rhee, a
nationalist leader, became the Republic's first president. On
September 9, 1948, the North established the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.) headed by then-Premier Kim Il-sung, who
had been cultivated and supported by the U.S.S.R.
Korean War of 1950-53
Almost immediately after establishment of the D.P.R.K., guerrilla
warfare, border clashes, and naval battles erupted between the two
Koreas. North Korean forces launched a massive surprise attack and
invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950. The United Nations, in
accordance with the terms of its Charter, engaged in its first
collective action and established the UN Command (UNC), to which 16
member nations sent troops and assistance. Next to South Korea, the
United States contributed the largest contingent of forces to this
international effort. The battle line fluctuated north and south,
and after large numbers of Chinese "People's Volunteers" intervened
to assist the North, the battle line stabilized north of Seoul near
the 38th parallel.
Armistice negotiations began in July 1951, but hostilities continued
until July 27, 1953. On that date, at Panmunjom, the military
commanders of the North Korean People's Army, the Chinese People's
Volunteers, and the UNC signed an armistice agreement. Neither the
United States nor South Korea is a signatory to the armistice per
se, although both adhere to it through the UNC. No comprehensive
peace agreement has replaced the 1953 armistice pact. |
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