South Korea (한국, 韓國 Hanguk), formally the Republic of Korea (대한민국, 大韓民國 Daehan Minguk) is a country in East Asia. South Korea occupies the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea to the north, China across the sea to the west and Japan a short ferry ride to the southeast.

History

Archeological finds of prehistoric toolmaking date back to 70,000 BC, and the first pottery is found around 8000 BC. Comb-pattern pottery culture peaked around 3500-2000 BC.

Korea's history begins with the founding of Gojoseon (also called Ancient Choson) by the legendary Dangun in 2333 BC. Archeological and contemporaneous written records of Gojoseon as a kingdom date back to around 7th-4th century BC. Gojoseon was eventually defeated by the Chinese Han Dynasty and Korea was governed as four commanderies of the Han. The political chaos following the fall of the Han Dynasty in China eventually allowed native tribes to regain control of Korea, eventually becoming the Three Kingdoms of Korea, namely Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla, which vied for control of the peninsula. Despite repeated attempts by the Chinese Sui Dynasty and later, the Tang Dynasty to conquer the Korean peninsula, Goguryeo managed to repel them. Eventually, Goguryeo fell to a Silla-Tang alliance, which had earlier defeated Baekje, when it was attacked simultaneously from the north and south, thus unifying the peninsula under Silla. Even though the Tang later invaded, Silla forces managed to drive them out, thus maintaining Korea's independence, but at the same time serving as a tributary to the Tang. Unified Silla was replaced by the Goryeo (also Koryo) dynasty, from which the modern name "Korea" derives. Goryeo was then replaced by the Joseon (also Choson) dynasty after a coup by one of its generals, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910, one of the longest actively ruling dynasties in world history. It was also during the Joseon dynasty, during the late 16th century when Korea experienced the first of many invasions by the Japanese, then led by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, leaving their mark in the form of Japanese-style fortresses in the Gyeongsang region. However, an alliance between the Joseon dynasty and the Chinese Ming dynasty eventually defeated the Japanese, and this, in addition to the untimely death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, forced the Japanese to pull out of Korea, though they would return with a vengence some 300 years later. Throughout most of its history from the Three Kingdoms period up till 1895, the various Korean states were tributary states to China, resulting in heavy Chinese influences in Korean culture, but at the same time preserving native Korean elements.

Korea's status as a Chinese protectorate ended in 1895 after China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War and the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Under the terms of the treaty, Qing Dynasty China was to recognize the independence of Korea, which eventually became a puppet state of Japan.

In the early 20th century, Japan invaded Korea, thus beginning a 40-year occupation of the country, first, as a protectorate beginning in 1905, and through formal annexation beginning in 1910. There were numerous rebellions, but through means such as suppression of resistance and a cultural assimilation policy that included forcing Koreans to take Japanese names and forbidding them to speak the Korean language, Japan maintained control of the Korean peninsula as a colony until the end of World War II.

After Japan's defeat in World War II, US-occupied southern half and Soviet-occupied northern half each declared separate states in 1948. The Korean War (1950-53) began with North Korea's attack, and when US and other UN forces intervened on South Korea's side, China supported the North. An armistice was signed in 1953 splitting the peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel, but a peace treaty has never been signed.

Thereafter, despite initially being economically outdone by North Korea, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth under the leadership of former dictator and president Park Chung Hee, with per capita income rising to roughly 20 times the level of North Korea, also earning it a place among the East Asian Tigers. South Korea is now a liberal democracy and the 10th largest economy in the world. In June 2000, a historic first summit took place between the South's President Kim Dae-jung and the North's leader Kim Jong-il (leading Kim Dae-jung to awarding first Nobel Peace Prize for South Korea), but the peace process has moved at a glacial pace.