Republic of Korea 고려민국 Timeline: Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum
OTL equivalent: North Korea, South Korea, and Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture | ||||||
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Motto: 九道一國 (Classical Korean) ("One Nation Made Up of Nine Provinces") |
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Anthem: Aegukga |
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Location of Korea
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Capital | Seoul | |||||
Other cities | Pyongyang, Busan | |||||
Official languages | Korean | |||||
Ethnic groups | Korean; Japanese; Russian; Chinese | |||||
Religion | Irreligion; Buddhism; Christianity; Islam | |||||
Demonym | Korean | |||||
Government | Unitary state; parliamentary republic | |||||
- | President | |||||
- | Prime Minister | |||||
Legislature | National Congress of Korea | |||||
Establishment | ||||||
- | Founding of the Republic | March 12, 1921 | ||||
Area | ||||||
- | Total | 266,664 km2 102,960 sq mi |
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Population | ||||||
- | estimate | 89,821,203 | ||||
Currency | Won (₩) (KRW ) |
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Time zone | KST (UTC+8:30) | |||||
Drives on the | Right | |||||
Internet TLD | .kr, .고려 | |||||
Calling code | +82 |
Korea (Korean: 고려 Goryeo), officially the Republic of Korea (Korean: 고려민국 Goryeo Minguk), is a sovereign state in the Korean Peninsula. Its neighbors are China to the west, Manchuria to the north, the Soviet Union to the northeast, Japan to the east, and the East China Sea to the south. Korea lies in the north temperate zone with predominantly mountainous terrain. It covers a total area of 266,664 sq km and has a population of almost 90 million. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 10,521,782.
Climate[]
The climate of Korea differs dramatically from north to south. The southern regions experience a relatively warm and wet climate similar to that of Japan, affected by warm ocean waters including the East Korea Warm Current. The northern regions experience a colder and to some extent more inland climate, in common with Manchuria. For example, the annual precipitation of the Yalu River Valley (600 mm (24 in)) is less than one-half of that on the south coast (1500 mm (59 in)). Likewise, there is a 20° C (68° F) difference in January temperature between the peninsula's southern and northern tips.
The entire peninsula, however, is affected by similar general patterns, including the East Asian monsoon in midsummer and the frequent incidence of typhoons in autumn. The majority of rainfall takes place during the summer months, with nearly one-half during the monsoon alone. Winters are cold, with January temperatures typically below freezing outside of Jeju Island. Winter precipitation is minimal, with little snow accumulation outside of mountainous areas.
Politics and government[]

The National Congress Building in Seoul
According to the 1934 Constitution of the Republic of Korea, Korea is a sovereign and independent country that governed under the principle of National Democracy.
The National Congress of Korea (국민대표대회 Gukmin Daepyo Daehoe) is the highest state organ of Korea. Its members are elected every four years by indirect elections. The election, however, is only participated in by parties that are recognized as legal, with the Korean Nationalist Party (고려국민당 Goryeo Gukmindang) as its leading party. The Congress elects the Legislative Council of Korea (립법원 Ribbeop-won) from among its members every two years to exercise the legislative power and to act on behalf of the National Congress if the latter is not in session.
The President of the Republic of Korea (총재 Chongjae) is elected by the National Congress from among its members every four years. The President is the head of state of the Republic, and the nominal commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The President of the Republic has the power to advise the Council of the Ministers in the matters concerning executive, defense and financial affairs of Korea.

Seokjojeon Hall, the seat of the government of Korea
The Council of Ministers of Korea (각료회의 Gakryo Hoeui) serves as the highest administrative body of Korea and headed by the Chairman of the Council who bearing the title of Prime Minister (총리 Chongri) and assisted by three Vice-Chairmen of the Council, who bore the title of Vice-Prime Ministers (부총리 Bu-Chongri). The composition of the Council of Ministers is nominated by a formateur committee called the Committee of Three (삼인관 Sam'in-gwan) which is consisted by three members of the National Congress that appointed by the President prior being approved by the two-thirds majority of the Congress.
The State Council of Korea (국무원 Gukmu-won) is the advisory body for the National Congress and National Government. Its members are elected by the prefectural councils and by the corporate and special interest groups every four years. The State Council acts as a supervisor of powers and duties of National Congress and represents the political parties and mass organizations that allied with or loyal to the Korean Nationalist Party.

The Supreme Court of Korea in Jongno, Seoul
The National Court of Korea (국민재판소 Gukmin Jaepanso) serves as the country's supreme judicature in charge of judicial matters and supervision and administration of lower courts. All of the judges of the Court are appointed by the National Congress of Korea from the candidates that have been nominated by the President of the Republic. All citizens of Korea are subjected to Korean law and under the authority of the National Court. The National Procuratorate of Korea (국민검찰소 Gukmin Geomchalso) charged with both the investigation and prosecution of crime at the national level and supervised the procuratorates in every level below.
History[]
Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392)[]
Goryeo under Mongol rule (1270–1351)[]

Kublai Khan (1215–1294)
Starting from 1231, the Mongol Empire, led by Kublai Khan, conducted several invasions against Korea under Goryeo. Following the invasions, the Mongols seized the northern portions of the Peninsula and integrated them into their empire as Ssangseong Prefecture and Dongnyeong Prefecture. In March 1258, Kim Jun assassinated Goryeo military commander Choe Ui, effectively ending the Choe military dictatorship of Korea; following this, scholars who had advocated on peace with Mongolia rose to power. A peace treaty was signed which included a provision requiring Korea to accept Mongol suzerainty.
Goryeo became a "completely integrated client kingdom" from 1270, but its formal protocol was that of a subordinate principality. The Mongol Empire encouraged intermarriage between Koreans and Mongols once the vassaldom was created. Goryeo kings were married to Mongol Borjigid princesses beginning with King Chungnyeol (r. 1274-1308), and Goryeo royals were raised and educated in the Yuan court. While the Goryeo court continued to exist, the court officials were chosen by the Mongol Yuan Court at Khanbaliq, in modern-day Beijing. The Mongols exacted tribute from all around their dominion. They got gold, silver, cloth, grain, ginseng, and falcons from Goryeo. Goryeo, like the rest of the Mongol Empire, supplied palace women, eunuchs, Buddhist monks, and other manpower to the Yuan Court.

The Mongol fleet crossed the Strait of Shimonoseki to southern Honshu. 1282.
Korea served as a military outpost for the Mongols to invade the Japanese Islands. The Mongols compelled a sizeable number of Korean naval and infantry forces to support Mongol military goals and directed Korean shipbuilding and militarization toward an amphibious attack on the Japanese coasts. Korea sent 770 fully manned ships and 5,000 soldiers in 1274, and 900 ships and 10,000 soldiers in 1282. During the successful second campaign to Japan in 1282, the Korean soldiers were rewarded with war lootings by the Mongols. Korean military officials who participated in the campaign took concubines and wives in Japan when they were stationed.
Along with the Mongols, there were also Muslims from Central Asia who became influential within the Yuan Court, called semu (

Muslim butcheries became very common since the Goryeo era to provide them with halal meat.
Muslim community was highly respected by the Goryeo court, both from their association with the Yuan Court and the technical expertises they possessed. Several mosques were built in Kaeseong, called yegung (
Late Goryeo period (1351–1392)[]

Empress Gi (1315–ca. 1370), the last empress-consort of the Yuan Dynasty.
After 1270 Goryeo became a semi-autonomous client state of the Yuan dynasty. The Mongols and the Kingdom of Goryeo became intertwined with marriages and Goryeo became khuda (marriage alliance) vassal of the Yuan dynasty for about 80 years and monarchs of Goryeo were mainly imperial sons in-law (khuregen). The last Yuan empress-consort, Empress Gi, was a daughter of a Korean lower-ranked aristocrat. Empress Gi had great political influence both in the Yuan and the Goryeo court, and even manage to significantly increase the status and influence of her family members.
In 1351, Gongmin ascended to the Goryeo throne. King Gongmin who had recognized the decline of the Yuan Dynasty began to reorganize the Goryeo administration. He expelled pro-Yuan aristocracy and military officials, including the family of Empress Gi in 1356. In 1356, the Goryeo army retook Ssangseong and Dongnyeong Prefectures from the Yuan control partly thanks to the defection of Yi Ja-chun, a minor Korean official in the service of the Mongols in Ssangseong, and his son, Yi Seong-gye. The king also attempted to reform the land-holding properties, but was met with resistance from the landed gentry and land-holding government officials.

King Gongmin and his consort, Queen Noguk
During Gongmin's period, Goryeo was also able to repel two sizable Red Turban invasions in 1359 and 1360, and finally resisted the Yuan's last effort to rule Goryeo when General Choe Yeong routed an invading Yuan tumen in 1364. As the dynasty seemed to regain its glory, tragedy was befallen to the ruling king. Since 1349, King Gongmin had married to Budashiri, a descendant of Kublai Khan; Budashiri was given the title Queen Noguk in 1351. By contrast with earlier marriages between the Yuan and Goryeo dynasties, however, Budashiri's marriage to Gongmin was described as happy. When the queen died in 1365 due to complications during childbirth, Gongmin became depressed and neglected his official duties.
The court affairs were to be managed by the trusted men of Gongmin from 1365 until the king's assassination in 1374. After Gongmin's death, a high official Yi In-im assumed the helm of the government and enthroned eleven-year-old, King U. In this turbulent time, Goryeo focused on the Wokou threat in the 1380s and destroyed hundreds of pirate ships with Choe Mu-seon's naval artillery. In 1388, King U planned a campaign to invade present-day Liaoning of China and put the general Yi Seong-gye in charge, but he stopped at the border and rebelled. Yi usurped the throne, founded the Joseon Dynasty, and became King Taejo in 1392.
Joseon Dynasty (1392–1905)[]
Early Joseon era (1392–1544)[]

King Sejong the Great of Joseon (1397–1450; r. 1418–1450).
Taejo established Neo-Confucianism as the kingdom's state religion in 1394. Inspired by Neo-Confucian teachings, Taejo sought to establish a strong bureaucratic state. In the early years of the dynasty, his son and grandson, King Taejong (1367–1422; r. 1400–1418) and Sejong the Great (1397–1450; r. 1418–1450), instituted extensive administrative, social, and economic reforms and strengthened royal authority. In 1418, Sejong ascended to the throne. Korea advanced in natural science, agriculture, literature, traditional Chinese medicine, and engineering under his reign. Nevertheless, King Sejong's most famous achievement is the invention of hangul, the Korean native writing system, in 1443.
Koreans had used Chinese characters both to write Korean words both semantically and phonetically, making it hard to be studied by the commoners. Sejong later created his own set of 28 alphabets to write words based on how they sound rather what they mean. Hangul was finished in 1443 and published in 1446, along with a handbook titled Hunminjeongeum (訓民正音), which explained what the letters are as well as the philosophical theories and motivations behind them. Hangul usage was not immediately widespread as successive monarchs after Sejong discouraged them, but the letters were eventually regained popularity in the late 19th century.

King Sejong introduced hangul as a writing system for Korean language during his reign.
Sejong also published Jeongeum-munbeop (正音文法), a book on hangul phonology and orthography, in 1449 with the help of Muslim scholar Ho U-yeol, a descendant of Ho Seon. Ho U-yeol had studied Classical Arabic grammar and he found many similarities between Korean and Arabic grammars about pronunciation changes when certain letters meet. Ho established extensive theories on voice assimilation in Korean language modeled after the Arabic tajwid rules. Due to their significant contributions to Korean culture, Sejong gained an epithet "the Great", while Ho was regarded as the father of Korean linguistics.
Sejong admired Ho's studies who had gained him an immense trust. Ho led an effort to restore rights of the Muslims to practice their religion openly. He also introduced to the king many works of Muslim scholars overseas, much to the king's admiration. The king had banned the Islamic rituals in 1427, but Ho's personal influences on the monarch helped to have the ban to be lifted in 1449, shortly before Sejong's death. Although royal treatment toward Muslims throughout the Joseon era alternated between tolerance and repressions, Sejong's royal guarantee indeed had helped them to survive and gain lasting ground in Korea.
After Sejong's death, Joseon witnessed prosperity and increased wealth, but was also marred with court politics and civil unrests. The reign of Yeonsangun (1476–1506; r. 1495–1506) was considered the lowest point of the dynasty. Yeonsangun behaved erratically by executing many Confucian and Muslim scholars he deemed critical and engaging in self-indulging actions which at the behest of common people. In 1506, he was deposed in a coup which placed his half-brother Jungjong (1488–1544; r. 1506–1544) on the throne. Court politics were fraught with bloody, chaotic conflicts for nearly 50 years afterward, with in-laws of the royal family wielding significant power and contributing to corruption.
Middle Joseon era (1544–1685)[]

The Japanese landing at Busan, 1590.
After Jungjong's death in 1544, Joseon was marred with intense and bloody power struggles between political factions that weakened the country. It was at this atmosphere, Japan tried to use Korea as a stepping stone to invade the Ming Dynasty. Since the late 14th century, Japan wanted to challenge China's traditional dominance in East Asia and sought to conquer China. Several diplomatic missions were sent to ask Korea to become a tributary state of Japan and help the conquest of China or else it will face a punitive invasion; Korea rejected these missions repeatedly. In 1590, Empress Go-Suikō ordered an invasion to Korea led by Imperial Prince Nobuhito with an army of approximately 150,000 soldiers with an original objective of entering China.
On May 1, 1590, the Japanese army under the command of Konishi Yukinaga landed at Busan. At a rapid rate, Japanese advanced northward and took Hanseong in June. King Seonjo (1552–1608; r. 1567–1590) and the royal family fled the capital for Pyongyang and left it undefended. It brought a negative public sentiment as the people saw the monarch had abandoned them. Japanese achieved swift victories in the north and the border regions, helped by the rebellions from the Koreans themselves against their royals. In Hamgyeong Province, for example, the officials led by Guk Gyeong-in revolted against the government who they perceived as incompetent and defected to the Japanese invading forces. In early August 1590, the Joseon royal family fled and sought refuge to Ming China.

The 17th century painting of a Japanese-style castle at Ulsan.
Japanese army pursued the fleeing royals to China and crossed the Yalu River to Manchuria. However, they were engaged by the Ming forces which managed to prevent the Japanese to move further beyond the Great Wall. In King Seonjo's absence, Japanese installed his 12-year-old nephew, Yeonseongsu, as King Cheongjong (1578–1613; r. 1590–1613) and Japanese suzerainty over Joseon was recognized. Under Japanese overlordship, there were many Japanese Catholic lords and generals, including Konishi Yukinaga, Kuroda Nagamasa and Sō Yoshitoshi, rewarded with lands and appointed overlords in Korea with numerous Japanese-style castles across the peninsula as their seats. These lords also introduced Christianity for the first time in Korea and converted the Koreans who had sided with Japan during the invasion, including Guk Gyeong-in, then became the governor of Hamgyeong.
Korean nobilities began to copy the way their Japanese overlords lives to. While Chinese characters remained to be used, hangul alphabets were utilized to inflect Chinese characters so they could be understood in native Korean readings. This system, known as johan honhyo (朝漢混淆), mirrored old Japanese mixed script and continued to be used in vernacular Korean writing up until the 19th century when native words were to be written entirely in hangul instead. Other aspects of Japanese culture were also introduced in this period, such as tea drinking culture, wrestling. and martial arts. In 1598, King Cheongjong also invited sword masters from Japan to teach swordsmanship to the royal princes and nobles' sons as Korea was lacking native sword masters at the time.

King Cheongjong of Korea (1578–1624; r. 1590–1624).
After the death of Cheongjong in 1624, the Joseon court became very weakened due to incompetence of the succeeding monarchs with various clans vying for influence. Among them, the Andong Kim clan rose to prominence under Kim Ja-jeom. Kim was from the military sub-class of the yangban and, as his power grew, appointed military officials to key posts, replacing civilian officials. He became Chief State Councillor in 1645, a position he held until his death in 1658. By this period, Japanese suzerainty over Korea had declined due to Japan's increasing isolation, leaving Korea vulnerable to Qing ambitions. In 1685, the Qing dynasty invaded Korea, seeking to make the Joseon dynasty a tributary state. King Heungjeong (1626–1693, r. 1660–1693) appointed Kim Do-kyeom (1651–1713), a grandson of Kim Ja-jeom, as Generalissimo (都元帥, Dowonsu), to command the overall Joseon military. Despite their efforts, Joseon could not repel the Qing invasion and became a tributary state of the Qing.
Late Joseon era (1685–1894)[]

Kim Do-kyeom (1651–1713), the Generalissimo of Joseon (1685–1710)
Although subjugated by the Qing, Kim Do-kyeom retained his title by representing the Korean court in submitting to the Kangxi Emperor in Beijing, sparing the king from humiliation. As a gesture of gratitude, the king arranged Kim's marriage to his granddaughter, Princess Hyojeong, in 1686, introducing royal lineage into Kim's family. Through legitimacy nominally granted by the king, the Kim clan ruled the country under the principle of Jonwang Gwimu (尊王貴武, "Revere the King, Esteem the Military"), with the Qing dealing directly with their military government instead of the monarchy. Following Heungjeong's death in 1693, his successor, Prince Uimyeong, was forced to abdicate by Kim due to his independent tendencies. Uimyeong's younger brother, Hongmyeong, was installed as King Geunjong (1661–1732, r. 1695–1732). This further weakened the court's power, consolidating authority in the hands of Kim's descendants.

The Korean delegates paid tributes to the Qing emperor in Beijing, as depicted on Ten Thousand Nations Coming to Pay Tribute (1761).
Kim swiftly eliminated rival clans, such as the Muslim Kaesong Ho clan and the Christian Damyang Guk clan, by demanding their allegiance to his government under the threat of execution or exile. A coalition of local ruling clans soon banded against the Kim government during the Jeongchuk War between 1697–1699, but was completely defeated at the end. This decisive purge allowed the Kim regime to end centuries of factional politics, establishing domestic stability essential for economic growth throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. In response to prior invasions, the Kim dictatorship adopted an isolationist stance, closing Korea's borders to all nations except Qing China, while maintaining limited interactions with Japan through Tsushima. This strict policy of seclusion earned Joseon the nickname "Hermit Kingdom," reflecting its deliberate detachment from the outside world.
For nearly a century, Joseon enjoyed a period of peace and stability. In 1700, the king honored Kim Do-kyeom with the title Taepyong Daegong (太平大公, "Grand Duke of Pacification") for his role in maintaining political stability, a title passed down to his heirs. In 1718, Kim's successor, Kim Seon (1686–1749), normalized relations with Japan by sending a diplomatic mission to Kyoto to congratulate Empress Momozono on her ascension. Led by chief envoy Ho Mu-yeol, the embassy was granted an audience with the empress. Under the third Grand Duke Taepyong, Kim Hoe-ryong (1716–1786), the Joseon military government took a historic step in 1752 by emancipating all government-owned slaves, paving the way for the gradual abolition of slavery in Korean society over the following century.
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