HIEA Quiz 1 - Korean History

ID QUIZZES

  • Identify significant facts related to a figure, event, or phenomenon
  • 3 in-class quizzes, graded according to ✓+(100%), ✓ (85%), ✓- (70%) system
    • Identifying Sentence (1~2)
    • Significance (1~2)
    • Supporting Details (2+)
    • DATE

EXAMPLE: Korean War

Conflict from 1950-1953 that originated as a civil war resulting from North Korea’s invasion of the South but became a proxy conflict for international cold war.

Known as the “forgotten war” in the US but hardly forgotten in Korea, the war’s outcome hardened a division between North and South Korea that lasts to the present day. UN forces initially led by Douglas McArthur. Peace treaty has never been signed.

Tan’gun (단군왕검)

  • Mythological founder and god-king of the kingdom of Gojoseon (고조선), recorded back to 2333 BCE, who was the son of a divine father and a mother who was originally a bear.
    • Tan’gun was significant as he is thought to be the legendary founder of the old korean kingdom of Kojoson, and represents an origin of heavenly ties.
      • Could also say he is significant because he becomes a symbol for Korean nationalism during modern Korean history
    • His alleged tomb is near modern day Pyongyang. The holiday Gaecheonjeol (개천절) (Opening Heaven Day) on October 3rd is a South Korean holiday dedicated to celebrating the legendary foundation of Gojoseon.

Han’gŭl/Chosŏn'gŭl (한글/조선글)

  • Language, an invention which is credited to King Sejong (1397-1450), that was used in the Joseon Dynasty along Chinese characters.
    • Hangul is significant because it was reimagined as a nationalist symbol and pride in the late 19th and 20th century and is the alphabet that is currently used in Korea now.
    • Around the time of its first creation, the Yangban elite preferred the use of Chinese characters and literary Chinese over Chosongul. The alphabet became known as the “vulgar language” mostly used by women and popular novels.

Yi Sun-sin (이순신 장군)

  • Yi Sun-sin (1545-1598) was an admiral during the Hideyoshi Invasions (임진왜란) (1592-1598) of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), who had used naval tactics to help repel Japanese invaders at sea.
    • Admiral Yi Sun-sin is a revered hero of premodern Korean history, and is often seen as a symbol of anti-Japanese resistance.
    • He is often known for his turtle boats that had stood in resistance against the Japanese invasions. It is also important to note that it was the combination of Ming-led forces and Yi Sun-sin’s naval tactics that ultimately led to the end of the invasions.

Yangban (양반)

  • They were the hereditary bureaucratic elites/scholar-gentry class. The term yangban originated in the Koryŏ dynasty (918–1392), meaning “two groups” as it consisted of both civilian officials and military officials.
    • The yangban class was the highest social class in the Choson (Yi) dynasty after the Monarchy, and they exemplified the confucian ideal of “scholar-official.”
    • Yangban males learned Chinese to take a civil exam to get a government position—the most- prestigious thing you could do - and the Yangban elite preferred the use of Chinese characters and literacy. They were exempt from taxation and corvee labor requirements.

“Serving the great” (Sadae) (사대)

  • A Confucian diplomatic policy employed during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) in Korea describing its foreign relations. It involved adopting a subservient stance toward powerful neighboring imperial countries (Ming and later Qing China).
    • Sadae relations were important as they were a form of foreign relations during a time of limited isolationist Joseon. It also ensured stability and protection for Korea with an emphasis on hierarchy, with a non-interference stance from China.
    • There were tributary missions 3-4 times a year in which mutual exchanges of gifts occurred, acknowledging China as an “older brother.” This also presented opportunities for trade and smuggling as merchants joined the diplomats on missions.

Silk Letter Incident (황사영 백서 사건)

  • The Silk Letter Incident of 1801 involved a Korean catholic, Hwang Sa-yong (황사영), whose smuggled letter to a French bishop in Beijing, asking for aid against the persecution of Catholics, was intercepted.
    • This incident was significant as it was a clear case of a Catholic yangban who had considered being filial to God to be most important, committing treason of the highest order by attempting to invite a foreign power to interfere directly in Joseon affairs, in an attempt to save the lives of Catholics being persecuted.
    • Korean Catholic leaders have petitioned for Hwang to be canonized as a saint, which has been controversial. The silk letter was written on a real piece of silk, about two feet tall, with about 13,000 chinese characters (~50 pages of English text).

Low-Rodgers Expedition (신미양요)

  • The Low-Rodgers Expedition of 1871 involved the dispatch of five armed US warships and 1,230 troops to the island of Kanghwa island in an attempt to “open” Korea for trade, as well as inquire about the fate of the General Sherman ship (1866).
    • This expedition was significant in deepening “barbaric” rhetoric from both the US and Joseon Korea, with the death of ~250 koreans and only 3 americans, adding to Joseon Korea’s rejection of “Western Barbarian Appeasement.”
    • The valiance of Koreans was remarked upon by Rodgers and Low, “rarely equaled and never excelled by any people.” The flag of the Joseon commander, Sujagi (수자기), was captured by the US naval warship and held for decades, despite the insignificance of the 1871 expedition in American history.

Kanghwa Treaty

  • The 1876 Treaty of Kanghwa was Korea’s first unequal treaty, formed with King Kojong as isolationist Taewangun was out.
    • Significant as it opened 3 ports and allowed settlement from Japan, a pragmatic approach to the developing world of trade.
    • Extraterritoriality, major settlement in Busan. Major shift in Joseon relations, many date Korean history to begin in 1876.

Kapsin Coup (갑신정변)

  • The Kapsin Coup of 1884 consisted of members of the “enlightenment party” occupying the royal palace for three days.
    • This resulted in the quick issuance of 14 edicts aimed at reforming the government, such as abolishing the relationship with Qing China and equal rights in law.
    • The coup began at the First Korean Post Office, during the celebration of its opening. The Enlightenment Party (개화파) considered the West and Meiji Japan as a source of civilization, conflicting with Confucian conservatives and monarchy.

Ewha Hakdang (이화학당)

  • Seoul’s first women’s school founded by Mary Fitch Scranton and first opened in 1885.
    • Ewha Hakdang is significant because it was the first women’s school founded after the introduction of formal female education to Joseon through Western missionaries and still exists today as Ewha Women’s University.
    • The school offered free lodging and food but still had no students due to existing gender norms that women did not attend school. After the royal “endorsement” by King Kojong after he visited the school, the school began to see more students enrolled.

Imo Soldier’s Mutiny (임오군란)

  • The Imo Soldiers’ Mutiny of 1882 resulted due to the poor pay and treatment of soldiers in contrast to the new Special Skills Force formed in 1881 (Byeolgigun, 별기군), trained by a Japanese military advisor.
    • This mutiny was significant as it resulted in the arrest of Taewongun (briefly was put back in power), as King Kojong and Queen Min contacted Qing troops to put down the rebellion.
    • A Korean shrine was set up in honor of the Qing General. The Qing troops, however, remain in Korea to assert influence as a change of strategy.

Taewŏn’gun (흥선대원군)

  • The Grand Prince Taewongun (이하응, 1820-1898) was the father of child King Kojong, and was the real power behind the screen, ruling as regent during 1864-1873 as Kojong grew up during the Joseon dynasty.
    • Taewongun was significant as he strengthened the monarchy during his rule, while also remaining adamant against foreign policy, committing to isolationist policy.
    • Taewongun rebuilt the Gyeongbok Palace (경복궁) as a means of enhancing royal prestige and power. The tomb of Taewongun’s father was raided in 1868 by German Oppert in an attempt to hold his bones in ransom and force opening trade.