III.

The Choson (Yi) Dynasty (1392-1910)

During the 14th century, Koreans were broadly stimulated by Neo-Confucianism, which had been formulated by the Chinese philosopher Zhu Xi. This highly developed value system energized the middle ranks of Koryo officialdom, and their movement for social and political reform inspired the founding of the Yi dynasty (also known as Choson) by Yi Songgye.

A.

The Early Period

Yi's early kings and its Confucianized elite class established a social and political structure that withstood all challenges until 1910, achieving one of the longest dominations by a single dynasty in world history. Although heavily influenced by Chinese culture, Yi dynasty Korea maintained a distinctive identity, as illustrated by its own unique alphabet—Han’gul, invented in 1446 by King Sejong (see Korean Language). Yi's first 200 years were blessed with peace and generally good government, although disruptive divisions within the elite class began in the 16th century. While distracted by these struggles, Yi was invaded in 1592 by the Japanese, who wanted to use Korea as a transit route for the conquest of China. By 1598, however, Yi, with the aid of China's Ming dynasty and the efforts of its own redoubtable naval hero, Yi Sunsin, had repulsed the Japanese. Recovery had still not been achieved when Korea suffered more invasions, this time from the Manchus (1627, 1636), who thus wrenched Yi away from Ming suzerainty. The Manchu conquest of China in 1644 and the advent of the Qing dynasty brought new problems for Yi but also had the effect of stimulating the Koreans, temporarily cut off from Chinese influence, to develop their own culture more creatively.

B.

The Dynasty's Decline

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.