M ODERN L IBRARY C HRONICLES
Currently Available
K AREN A RMSTRONG on Islam
D AVID B ERLINSKI on mathematics
R ICHARD B ESSEL on Nazi Germany
I AN B URUMA on modern Japan
P ATRICK C OLLINSON on the Reformation
F ELIPE F ERNNDEZ -A RMESTO on the Americas
L AWRENCE M. F RIEDMAN on law in America
P AUL F USSELL on World War II in Europe
F G ONZLEZ -C RUSSI on the history of medicine
P ETER G REEN on the Hellenistic Age
A LISTAIR H ORNE on the age of Napoleon
P AUL J OHNSON on the Renaissance
F RANK K ERMODE on the age of Shakespeare
J OEL K OTKIN on the city
S TEPHEN K OTKIN on the fall of Communism
H ANS K NG on the Catholic Church
M ARK K URLANSKY on nonviolence
E DWARD J. L ARSON on the theory of Evolution
M ARGARET M AC M ILLAN on the uses and abuses of history
M ARTIN M ARTY on the history of Christianity
M ARK M AZOWER on the Balkans
J OHN M ICKLETHWAIT AND A DRIAN
W OOLDRIDGE on the company
A NTHONY P AGDEN on peoples and empires
R ICHARD P IPES on Communism
C OLIN R ENFREW on prehistory
K EVIN S TARR on California
M ICHAEL S TRMER on the German Empire
G EORGE V ECSEY on baseball
M ILTON V IORST on the Middle East
A.N. W ILSON on London
R OBERT S. W ISTRICH on the Holocaust
G ORDON S. W OOD on the American Revolution
Forthcoming
T IM B LANNING on Romanticism
A LAN B RINKLEY on the Great Depression
J ASON G OODWIN on the Ottoman Empire
B ERNARD L EWIS on the Holy Land
P ANKAJ M ISHRA on the rise of modern India
O RVILLE S CHELL on modern China
A LSO BY B RUCE C UMINGS
The Origins of the Korean War, Volume I:
Liberation and the Emergence of Separate Regimes, 19451947
The Origins of the Korean War, Volume II:
The Roaring of the Cataract, 19471950
Koreas Place in the Sun: A Modern History
Parallax Visions: Making Sense of AmericanEast Asian Relations
Dominion from Sea to Sea: Pacific Ascendancy and American Power
D EDICATED TO P RESIDENT K IM D AE J UNG
(19252009):
dissident, politician, statesman, conciliator, peacemaker
C ONTENTS
C HAPTER O NE:
C HAPTER T WO :
C HAPTER T HREE:
C HAPTER F OUR:
C HAPTER F IVE:
C HAPTER S IX:
C HAPTER SEVEN:
C HAPTER EIGHT:
C HAPTER NINE:
C HRONOLOGY
2333 B.C . | Mythical founding of the Korean nation by Tangun and his bear wife. |
A.D. 668918 | Silla kingdom rules a Korea unified up to the Taedong River flowing through Pyongyang. |
9181392 | Koryo dynasty governs Korea from its capital at Kaesong and produces the worlds most exquisite celadon pottery. |
1231 | Mongols sweep through China and invade Korea. |
1392 | Establishment of the Choson dynasty by Gen. Yi Song-gye, who makes Seoul the capital. |
1443 | Invention of hangul, Koreas unique alphabet, by scholars working for King Sejong. |
15921598 | Japanese invasions under the warlord Hideyoshi devastate Korea, but are turned back by Adm. Yi Sun-shins forces; Hideyoshi dies. |
1876 | Japanese gunboats open Koreas ports to foreign trade and impose the first unequal treaty. |
1882 | United States and Korea sign a similarly unequal treaty. |
1894 | Tonghak peasant uprising defeated. |
18941895 | Japan defeats China in Sino-Japanese War. |
1894 | Slavery abolished. |
19041905 | Japan wins Russo-Japanese War; Korea becomes a Japanese protectorate. |
1910 | Japan annexes Korea as its colony and abolishes the Choson dynasty. |
1919 | Independence movement against Japanese rule begins on March 1, and after many months of nationwide protest is crushed. |
1932 | Japanese establish the puppet state of Manchukuo on March 1, comprising three northeastern provinces of China. |
1937 | Japan provokes Sino-Japanese War. |
1941 | Japan attacks the United States at Pearl Harbor. |
1945 | Korea liberated following the surrender of Japanese forces to the Allies. |
19451948 | U.S. Army Military Government in Korea. |
1948 | Republic of Korea and Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea established. |
19501953 | Korean War. |
1961 | General Park Chung Hee leads the first military coup. |
1980 | General Chun Doo Hwan crushes the Kwangju rebellion and leads the second military coup. |
1987 | Nationwide protests force the military dictatorship to hold presidential elections. |
1992 | Kim Young Sam elected president and ushers in a more democratic political era. |
1994 | Kim Il Sung dies and his son, Kim Jong Il, becomes top leader in the North. |
1997 | Kim Dae Jung becomes the first member of the opposition to win the presidency in the South. |
2000 | First summit between Korean heads of state held in Pyongyang; Kim Dae Jung awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. |
2002 | Roh Moo Hyun elected. |
2007 | Lee Myung Bak elected. |
G LOSSARY
AMG | U.S. Army Military Government |
CIC | Counter-Intelligence Corps (American) |
DPRK | Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North) |
G-2 | U.S. Military Intelligence |
JCS | Joint Chiefs of Staff (American) |
KCIA | Korean Central Intelligence Agency |
KMAG | Korean Military Advisory Group (American) |
KNP | Korean National Police (South) |
KPA | Korean Peoples Army (North) |
KTRC | Korean Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South) |
KWP |