Korea (kəˈri:ə or kɔrˈiːə;
한국 Hanguk hanɡuːk or
조선 Joseon tɕosʌn – see etymology) is an
East Asian territory that is
divided into two separate
sovereign states,
North Korea and
South Korea. Located on the
Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by
China to the northwest and
Russia to the northeast. It is separated from
Japan to the east by the
Korea Strait and the
Sea of Japan (East Sea), and it is separated from
Taiwan to the south by the
East China Sea.
The adoption of the
Chinese writing system ("
Hanja" in Korean) in the 2nd century BC, and
Buddhism in the 4th century AD, had profound effects on the
Three Kingdoms of Korea which was first united during the
Silla Dynasty (57 BC – 935) under the king
Munmu of Silla. The united Silla dynasty fell to
Goryeo Dynasty in 935 at the end of
Later Three Kingdoms of Korea era. Goryeo was a highly cultured state and created the
Jikji in the 14th century. The Mongol invasions in the 13th century, however, greatly weakened the nation which was forced to become a tributary state. After the
Mongol Empire's collapse, severe political strife followed and Goryeo was replaced by the
Joseon Dynasty in 1388.
The first 200 years of Joseon were marked by relative peace and saw the creation of the Korean alphabet
Hangul by
King Sejong the Great in the 14th century and the rise in influence of
Confucianism in the country. During the later part of the dynasty, however, Korea's isolationist policy earned it the Western nickname the "
Hermit kingdom". By the late 19th century, the country became the object of the colonial designs of
Japan. In 1910, Korea was
annexed by Japan and remained a colony until the end of
World War II in August 1945.
In 1945, the
Soviet Union and the
United States agreed on the
surrender of Japanese forces in Korea. The aftermath of World War II and
surrender of Japanese forces in the Korean peninsula left Korea partitioned along the 38th parallel, with the north under Soviet occupation and the south under US occupation. These circumstances soon became the basis for the
division of Korea by the two
superpowers, exacerbated by their inability to agree on the terms of Korean independence. The two
Cold War rivals then established governments centered around their own respective ideologies, leading to Korea's division into two political entities: North Korea and South Korea.
North Korea, officially the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a
single-party state, now centred around
Kim Il Sung's
Juche ideology, with a
centrally planned industrial economy.
South Korea, officially the
Republic of Korea, is a
multi-party state with a
capitalist market economy, alongside membership in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the
Group of Twenty.