NAME  

DATE  CLASS

Civilizations of Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia

Lesson 1 Korea: History and Culture

ESSENTIAL QUESTION
Why do people form governments?

GUIDING QUESTIONS
Why is Korea described as a bridge between
Terms to Know
China and Japan? shamanism belief in gods and spirits; shamans
communicate with these spirits
How did Korea build a civilization?

Where in the world?

When did it happen?

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Civilizations of Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia

Lesson 1 Korea: History and Culture, Continued

Location of Korea
The mountainous Korean Peninsula lies between China and Defining
Japan. Korea has been called a bridge between China and
Japan. The Chinese and Japanese civilizations have influenced 1.What is shamanism?
Korea in many ways. The Koreans have mixed these influences
with their own traditions to create a unique culture.
The first Koreans were nomads. They came from
northern or central Asia. The early Koreans lived in villages
with no central government. They grew rice and made
tools and weapons of bronze. Later, they used iron to
make these items. The early Koreans believed in
shamanism. They thought that certain people called
shamans could communicate with good and evil spirits.
Listing
In 109 B.C. the Chinese took control of the northern part of 2. Place a three-tab
the Korean Peninsula. The Koreans drove them out 300 Foldable along the dotted
years later. Three separate kingdoms emerged. line to cover the text
beneath the graphic
organizer. Write the title
Early Korea on the
anchor tab. Label the
three tabs Influence from
China, Influence from
Japan, and Unique
Korean Creations.

Use both sides to record

During the Three Kingdoms period, Chinese culture
what you learn about
spread from Koguryŏ to Paekche and Silla. People started each topic.
to use the Chinese writing system. They also accepted the
beliefs of Buddhism and Confucianism. Each kingdom
used China's government as a model. A powerful king
ruled with the help of educated officials and nobles.
Identifying
Japanese merchants, artisans, and scholars settled in Paekche.
Glue Foldable here

They introduced Japanese culture there. Korean culture 3. Which types of

also blossomed. In Silla, a queen named Sondok built a Japanese people
stone observatory. This is a structure for viewing space. settled in Korea?
The building still stands today and is considered the oldest
observatory in Asia.
In the A.D. 500s and A.D. 600s, the three kingdoms
fought wars for control of the Korean Peninsula. In one
battle, China helped Silla conquer Paekche and Koguryŏ.
Silla controlled most of the Korean Peninsula.
The rise of Silla brought a time of peace. Society was
made up of a few nobles at the top and a large group of
farmers below.

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Civilizations of Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia

Lesson 1 Korea: History and Culture, Continued

The government gave land to farmers. It also built irrigation

systems for rice fields. More food was produced, trade
Reading increased, and the economy grew.
Check
Silla kings also encouraged the arts, mainly the building of
4. How did outside Buddhist temples. One temple was a nine-story wooden
influences affect early tower, one of the tallest structures in East Asia at the time.
Korea? Another achievement by the Silla was printing Buddhist
sacred writings with wooden blocks.

Korean Civilization
After years of conflict, the Silla kingdom collapsed. Nobles
in the north fought to claim power. By A.D. 935, a general
Determining named Wang Kŏn had won. He was the first Korean ruler
to unite all of Korea. He founded the Koryŏ dynasty. It
Cause and Effect stayed in power for 400 years.
5. What was the effect of The Koryŏ rulers set up a code of laws. Like China, they
giving land to the farmers based their civil service system on examinations. Buddhism
and building irrigation continued to spread under their leadership. Korean artisans
systems during the Silla developed movable metal type. They printed one of the
kingdom? world’s oldest books using metal type. They also perfected
the art of making celadon, a fine porcelain pottery known
for its green color.
In A.D. 1231, the Mongols invaded the northern part of Korea.
After 25 years of struggle, the royal family surrendered to
Mongol rule. The Korean people suffered greatly under the
rule of the Mongols. Thousands of Koreans were forced to
build ships for Kublai Khan’s attempts to invade Japan.

Marking Korea Under the Mongols

the Text • Invaded northern Korea in A.D. 1231
• Royal family surrendered after 25 years of conflict
Underline the names of
• Korean people suffered greatly under Mongol rule
the generals responsible
for founding Korean • Forced to build ships for Kublai Khan’s attempts to
dynasties. invade Japan

In 1392, the Korean general Yi Song-gye founded a new

Identifying
dynasty. The new ruling family was known as the Yi dynasty. It
Name two of Sejong's lasted for over 500 years. Yi rulers set up their capital at
achievements. Hanseong. This site is now Seoul, the modern capital of South
Korea.
One of the greatest Yi kings was Sejong. He ruled from
1394 to 1450. Sejong was interested in science and
technology. He used bronze to make the first instruments
that people used to measure the amount of rainfall. He was
also involved in producing sundials and globes. The globes
showed the position and motion of the planets.
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Civilizations of Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia

Lesson 1 Korea: History and Culture, Continued
Sejong and his advisers worked to spread literacy, or the
ability to read, among the Korean people. They created an
alphabet called hangul. The Chinese and Japanese alphabets Contrasting
use thousands of characters. Hangul uses one letter for each 8. How does hangul
sound, similar to the English alphabet. Hangul is still the differ from the writing
standard writing system in Korea today.
systems of China and
In 1592 Japanese forces attacked Korea. With Chinese Japan?
help, the Koreans were able to win the land battles. They
were also successful at sea because of their new invention:
the world’s first iron-covered ships called turtle ships.
In the early 1600s, the Koreans were attacked by a Chinese
dynasty known as the Manchus. The Yi dynasty was defeated. It
had to pay tribute to show that it surrendered to the Manchu Reading
rulers. Check
Invasions of Korea 9. How did the building
of turtle ships help the
Invaders Koreans?
Year Result

1231 Mongols Mongols defeated the

Koryŏ dynasty and
ruled Korea.
1592 Japanese Koreans defeated the
Japanese, but were
weakened as a result.
10. Place a two-tab
early 1600s Chinese (Manchu The Manchus defeated Foldable along the
Dynasty) the Yi Dynasty and forced dotted line to cover the
the Koreans to pay tribute. Check for
Understanding. Write the
title Korea on the anchor
tab. Label the top tab
Early Korea and the
Check for Understanding bottom tab Silla
List two aspects of life in early Korea. Kingdom.
Glue Foldable here

1. Use both sides of the

tabs to write what you
2. Name two improvements during the Silla kingdom. remember about each.
Use your notes to help
3. answer Check for
Understanding.
4.

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