Written by one of the leading experts on Korea, A Brief History of Korea covers the history of Korea from the origins of the Korean people in prehistoric times to the economic and political situation in North and South Korea today. Providing a detailed overview of the cultural and historical influences that have shaped Korean society, the author discusses the major periods of Korean history Three Kingdoms, Koryo Dynasty, and Chosun Dynasty; the foreign invasions Korea has endured; the post-World War II situation that led to the country's division and the Korean War; and developments in North and South Korea from the end of the Korean War up through the present.

Brief History

This dictionary presents a balanced and objective view of South Korea, providing a long perspective and covering varied aspects of South Korean life. Domestic, political, and social events, foreign affairs, economic and cultural developments, and the men and women who have influenced the country's history are reviewed in the more than 400 entries, many of which are new or have been updated from the first edition. The dictionary's chronology and historical narrative, also updated, cover the entire history of Korea for the benefit of readers who have little or no knowledge of the overall history of the Korean people. The extensive bibliography has been updated to include the most current and best books, journals, and websites, making this a valuable reference source for the scholar, student, and general reader.

Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Korea

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Sociology - Economy and Industry, grade: 2,0, University of Applied Sciences Zwickau, language: English, abstract: South Korea is a country with a very tough background. They went through occupations, dispossessions and humiliation during the last 100 years, which makes this country a really impressive example of how economies can achieve a successful position in the world. It has positioned itself in the world system from one of the poorest countries in the world to one of the most successful ones. We will examine what South Korea values are regarding not only today ́s economy globally but also nationally. We will focus on the history and development of South Korea as well as the Northeast Asian Tiger Economy. We will take a closer look at the history of the country from the very beginning of an exploited country to a rising development, throughout the time of industrialization, leading to democratization and the crisis of the state economy.

South Korea. History and economical development

South Korea (Republic of Korea) is the more successful of the two Koreas in both economic and political terms. Even the Asian economic crisis of 1997–1998, which hit badly, was weathered successfully, and when the next crisis came along in 2007, South Korea coped better than many other countries. This economic strength, taken with the steady progress of democratization since 1987, indicates that when the peninsula is eventually reunified, as one day it probably will be, a new unified Korea will follow the South Korea model rather than that of North Korea. This fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Korea contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Republic of Korea.

Brazinsky explains why South Korea was one of the few postcolonial nations that achieved rapid economic development and democratization by the end of the twentieth century. He contends that a distinctive combination of American initiatives and Korean agency enabled South Korea's stunning transformation. Expanding the framework of traditional diplomatic history, Brazinsky examines not only state-to-state relations, but also the social and cultural interactions between Americans and South Koreans. He shows how Koreans adapted, resisted, and transformed American influence and promoted socioeconomic change that suited their own aspirations. Ultimately, Brazinsky argues, Koreans' capacity to tailor American institutions and ideas to their own purposes was the most important factor in the making of a democratic South Korea.

Nation Building in South Korea

Bringing a fresh perspective to an understudied area, this book offers a critical, source-based examination and assessment of the roles of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (KPG) and the US during World War II in the rebirth of Korea as a nation state. Presenting original research from contemporary Korean and American sources, the first half of this book explores how the US policy regarding the independence of the Korean peninsula was articulated by the US, and how it aimed to prevent the domination of Korea by either China or the Soviets. Chapters 4 and 5 introduce the US’s policy of utilizing Korean soldiers on the battlefield against Japan, and examines whether the KPG’s strategies of military diplomacy were effective or otherwise. Finally, Chapter 6 assesses the impact of the joint military training for the "Eagle Project" involving the Korean independence Army and the US Office of Strategic Services, and its impact on the development of the US-South Korea alliance. Throughout the book, parallels can be drawn from this geopolitical struggle with a more contemporary one – that between China and the US, which shows how the lessons learned in the 1940s are just as relevant to researchers and policy-makers today. This is an illuminating read for students and scholars of Korean modern history, political science and geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific region more generally. The book will also appeal to public servants in the area of foreign affairs and military strategy.

South Korea's Origins and Early Relations with the United States

In this ambitious and innovative study Gregg Brazinsky examines American nation building in South Korea during the Cold War. Marshaling a vast array of new American and Korean sources, he explains why South Korea was one of the few postcolonial nations that achieved rapid economic development and democratization by the end of the twentieth century. Brazinsky contends that a distinctive combination of American initiatives and Korean agency enabled South Korea's stunning transformation. On one hand, Americans supported the emergence of a developmental autocracy that spurred economic growth in a highly authoritarian manner. On the other hand, Americans sought to encourage democratization from the bottom up by fashioning new institutions and promoting a dialogue about modernization and development. Expanding the framework of traditional diplomatic history, Brazinsky examines not only state-to-state relations, but also the social and cultural interactions between Americans and South Koreans. He shows how Koreans adapted, resisted, and transformed American influence and promoted socioeconomic change that suited their own aspirations. Ultimately, Brazinsky argues, Koreans' capacity to tailor American institutions and ideas to their own purposes was the most important factor in the making of a democratic South Korea.

The author served in the United States Army Medical Corps in the South Pacific in World War II. Thankfully for America and the now free Republic of Korea America and its' allies won that war. This allowed us an opportunity to contribute toward The Republic of South Korea's socio-economic and industrial successes. The South Korean construction contractor's management, staff are part of this story. Under great odds they eventually established a viable construction contractor base. They performed construction work for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District building military facilities. Forty-five years ago the author a Civil Service Construction Contract Administrator and his staff helped understand and solve the unique problems faced by our office and the contractors to get the job done under insurmountable challenges. The capable men and women of "The Seoul Builder's Club," and their members should today be proud of their past accomplishments. This memoir and history is dedicated to "The Seoul Builder's Club," of Seoul in the Republic of South Korea.

Republic of South Korea 1957-1959

In 1961 South Korea was mired in poverty. By 1979 it had a powerful industrial economy and a vibrant civil society in the making, which would lead to a democratic breakthrough eight years later. The transformation took place during the years of Park Chung Hee's presidency. Park seized power in a coup in 1961 and ruled as a virtual dictator until his assassination in October 1979. He is credited with modernizing South Korea, but at a huge political and social cost. South Korea's political landscape under Park defies easy categorization. The state was predatory yet technocratic, reform-minded yet quick to crack down on dissidents in the name of political order. The nation was balanced uneasily between opposition forces calling for democratic reforms and the Park government's obsession with economic growth. The chaebol (a powerful conglomerate of multinationals based in South Korea) received massive government support to pioneer new growth industries, even as a nationwide campaign of economic shock therapy-interest hikes, devaluation, and wage cuts-met strong public resistance and caused considerable hardship. This landmark volume examines South Korea's era of development as a study in the complex politics of modernization. Drawing on an extraordinary range of sources in both English and Korean, these essays recover and contextualize many of the ambiguities in South Korea's trajectory from poverty to a sustainable high rate of economic growth.

The Park Chung Hee Era

By examining the most controversial Park Chung-hee period (1961-1979), Developmental Dictatorship and the Park Chung-hee Era helps the reader rediscover the socioeconomic origins of modern Korea. The essays in this book written by twelve noted Korean social scientists discuss the relationship between South Koreas economic development and totalitarianism in the form of the Park dictatorship. ABOUT THE EDITOR lee Byeong-cheon holds a PhD in economics from Seoul National University. He is a professor in the Department of Economics and International Trade at Kangwon National University. Dr. Lee was a visiting professor at University of California, Berkeley. CONTRIBUTORS Lee Byeong-cheon, Kim Sam-soo, Seo Ick-jin, Yoo Chul-gyue, Lee Sang-cheol, Lee Joung-woo, Lee Chong-suk, Cho Young-chol, Chin Jung-kwon, Han Hong-koo, Hong Seong-tae, Hong Yun-gi.

Developmental Dictatorship and the Park Chung-hee Era

Now in a fully revised and updated edition, this history of modern Korea explores the social, economic, and political issues it has faced since being catapulted into the wider world at the end of the nineteenth century. Placing this formerly insular society in a global context, Michael J. Seth describes how this ancient, culturally and ethnically homogeneous society first fell victim to Japanese imperialist expansionism, and then was arbitrarily divided in half after World War II. Seth traces the postwar paths of the two Koreas—with different political and social systems and different geopolitical orientations—as they evolved into sharply contrasting societies. South Korea, after an unpromising start, became one of the few postcolonial developing states to enter the ranks of the first world, with a globally competitive economy, a democratic political system, and a cosmopolitan and dynamic culture. By contrast, North Korea became one of the world's most totalitarian and isolated societies, a nuclear power with an impoverished and famine-stricken population. Considering the radically different and historically unprecedented trajectories of the two Koreas, Seth assesses the insights they offer for understanding not only modern Korea but the broader perspective of world history. All readers looking for a balanced, knowledgeable history will be richly rewarded with this clear and cogent book.

A Concise History of Modern Korea

A fresh historical and theoretical exploration of the much-debated, but still elusive, question of the Korean divide. In contrast to much of the literature on the divide, which deals with state-building on the two sides of the Demilitarized Zone, this book sheds light on the slow, but steady process of homogenization between the two estranged peoples, as accelerated after the end of the Cold War and especially after the inauguration of President Kim Dae-jung in 1998. Providing immense empirical detail as well as theoretical debate on the ideas in policy shaping in South Korea, the book presents a rich ‘history of enemies’ and covers issues including: an overview of the structural shift and the rise and fall of identity groups in South Korea history of 'enemy-making' and 'peace-building' North Korea's external relations with the US, Japan and Europe Hyundai's groundbreaking, cross-border tourism and other economic cooperation projects the lingering nuclear weapons crises. By focusing on the question of identities, the book presents a new approach on one of the most important legacies of the Cold War and threat to peace in the contemporary world: the divided Korean peninsula. As such it fills a major gap in the literature, utilizing new theoretical and empirical frameworks to deal with the Korean division and its future implications in East Asia.

South Korean Engagement Policies and North Korea

Economic Development in the Republic of Korea

Cultural Policy in the Republic of Korea

South Korea's history is a captivating journey through centuries of dynastic rule, foreign invasions, and remarkable modernization. Emerging from the Three Kingdoms period in the 7th century, the Korean Peninsula witnessed the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties, characterized by cultural achievements and Confucian influence. However, it endured Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945 and was subsequently divided along the 38th parallel after World War II, leading to the Korean War in the early 1950s. South Korea, under the leadership of Park Chung-hee and later democratized in the late 20th century, transformed into a thriving economic powerhouse and global cultural influence, marked by its technological innovation, K-pop phenomenon, and vibrant democracy, solidifying its place as a prominent nation on the world stage.

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History of South Korea

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