Evolution of South Korean Literature with special reference to Han

Rivista Italiana di Filosofia Analitica Junior

ISSN: 2037-4445

Vol 14, No. 2 (2023)

https://rifanalitica.it

1251

Evolution of South Korean Literature with special reference to Han

Kang

Ms. Sonal Singh

Research Scholar

Kalinga University, Raipur

Dr. Shilpi Bhattacharya

Professor and Dean

Department of English, Kalinga University, Raipur

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to explain the dynasties that existed in Korea and the formation of South and North

Korean nation and the establishment of their literature during the late twentieth century. And how

China’s dominance, Japanese colonization, greed for liberation, split between North and South, the

Korean War affected the literature of both the Koreas as well as brings an integral visibility of the

South Korean writer Han Kang with respect to showcasing and emphasizing the “Horror of Humanity”

in her work which she feels is intensely inhuman and thus tried to portray humanity by emphasizing

the inhuman action and the illusion of being human. And it also explains the dominance of Chinese

language in the Korean literature as earlier Korea didn’t had the script of its own and was a vassal

state of China for over one thousand years. In 109 BC, China invaded and colonized Korea and

established four commanderies which were ruled directly by the Chinese. Subsequently over the

centuries until the late 19

century, a politically unified Korea maintained a tributary relationship with

the ruling dynasty of China. Korea was deeply influenced and followed the Chinese form of

governance, and the Chinese religion of Confucianism and later Korea developed its own vernacular

alphabet called ‘hangul.’

KEYWORDS: Confucianism, idu, hyangchal, hanja, gugyeol, hangul, colonization, liberation, division,

war.

INTRODUCTION

South Korea is a small peninsular region of East Asia and is a partitioned nation of a former unified

Korea. “Korea” is a modern spelling of “Corea”, a name attested in English as early as 1614. The

name “Korea” is derived from the name of ancient kingdom Goryeo, also romanized as Koryo. The

establishment of Korean dynasty begins with Gojoseon (Old Joseon or Choson, 2333 BCE,

mythological) the first kingdom in the Korean peninsula established by the legendary founder named

Dangun, Wiman Joseon (dynasty of Gojoseon, 194 BCE), the three kingdoms of Korea or Samhan

(Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla in 57 BCE), Goryeo (918-1392), and ends with Joseon in October 1897.

According to the mythic account recounted in the Samguk Yusa (1280s), the Gojoseon (Old Joseon)

kingdom was founded in northern Korea and southern Manchuria in 2333 BC. Gojoseon possessed

the most advanced culture in the Korean peninsula and was an important marker in the progression

towards the more centralized states of later periods. Wiman, Chinese Wei Man, (flourished c. 190 BC),

Chinese general, or possibly a Korean in Chinese service, who took advantage of the confusion that

existed around the time of the founding of the Han dynasty in China to usurp the throne of the Korean

state of Chosŏn. He moved the capital to the present-day site of P’yŏngyang on the Taedong River,

dominating the area on the Korean-Manchurian border, and extended his influence down the Korean

peninsula.

From the 1

century BC, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla grew to control the peninsula and Manchuria as

the Three Kingdoms of Korea (57 BC–668 AD), until unification by Silla in 676. Silla and Baekje

Rivista Italiana di Filosofia Analitica Junior 
ISSN: 2037-4445   
Vol 14, No. 2 (2023) 
 
https://rifanalitica.it 
1252 
controlled the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, maintaining the former Samhan territories, while 
Goguryeo  controlled  the  northern  half  of  the  Korean  Peninsula,  Manchuria  and  the Liaodong 
Peninsula, uniting Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye, and other states in the former Gojoseon territories. 
In the late 9
th
 century, Silla was divided into the Later Three Kingdoms (892–936), which ended with 
the unification by Wang Geon’s Goryeo dynasty. During the Goryeo period, laws were codified, a civil 
service system  was  introduced,  and  culture  influenced  by Buddhism flourished.  However, Mongol 
invasions in the 13
th
 century brought Goryeo  under the influence of the Mongol Empire in Mongolia 
and the Yuan dynasty of China until the mid-14
th
 century. 
The  last  dynasty  Joseon  was  formed  on  17  July  1392  by  powerful  Goryeo  military  commander  Yi 
Seong-gye which lasted over for  500 years.  During  the beginning  of Joseon  Dynasty on 1394,  the 
capital was moved to Seoul, also known as Hanyang and later as Hanseong and it remained until its 
fall.  Seoul  has  been  the  capital  of  numerous  kingdoms  on  the  Korean  peninsula  since  it  was 
established. But today’s Seoul is the capital of South Korea. Joseon encouraged the entrenchment 
of Confucian ideals  and  doctrines  in  Korean  society. Neo-Confucianism was  installed  as  the  new 
state’s  ideology. Buddhism was  accordingly  discouraged,  and  occasionally  Buddhists  faced 
persecutions. Joseon’s  peaceful  era  remained  till  two  centuries  but  was  broken  by  the  Japanese 
invasion  and  later  Joseon  was  invaded  by  Jurchens  and  Manchus  in  1627  and  1636  respectively 
which led this dynasty to follow harsh isolationist policy due to which the country was known as the 
“hermit kingdom” in western literature.  
Under  Joseon  dynasty-  trade,  literature,  science  and  technology,  and  classical  Korean  literature 
flourished and saw the emergence of vernacular alphabet hangul due to its consolidate effective rule. 
The Joseon dynasty was replaced by the Korean Empire and in 12 October 1897, Korean Empire was 
formed. It was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by King Gojong of the Joseon 
dynasty and the empire ruled till Japan’s annexation of Korea in August 1910 and in 1905, the Korean 
Empire became a protectorate of the Empire of Japan. 
Korea had been remained as a  vassal state  under  the  powerful countries  by  China, Japan, Soviet 
Union, and USA. Earlier Korea was the tributary state of China. For thousand of years East Asia was 
dominated  by  China  because  China  possessed  a  large  population  and  military,  best  products  and 
technology, best education system and bureaucracy. Japan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, 
Ryukyu and of course Korea were China’s tributaries.  
  
And in 1895, Korea got liberated from China and became a self-reliant nation. But this liberation didn’t 
last for long. Prior Korea was not as powerful as the other nations who were planning to invade it. In 
1904, the Russian and Japanese war began for invasion of Korea to which Japanese won. In 1910, 
Japan colonized Korea. Koreans were threatened a lot under Japanese rule. Japanese treated  them 
as slaves.  
 
In order to establish control, Japan waged an all-out war on Korean culture. It became a crime to teach 
history from the non-approved texts and authorities burned over 200,000 Korean historical documents, 
wiped out the historical memory of Korea. Japanese not only threatened the Korean people but also 
their cultural symbols too. One of the most powerful symbol of Korean sovereignty and independence 
was its royal palace called Gyeongbokgung, which was built in Seoul in 1395 by the mighty Joseon 
dynasty. The Japanese colonial government tore down over a third of the complex’s historic buildings, 
and  the  remaining  structures  were  turned  into  tourist  attractions  for  Japanese  visitors.  Korean 
language and the names were banned during their ruling period. During World War II, many Korean 
men were compelled to serve in Japan’s army or work in wartime factories while many women were 
compelled to provide sexual services to the Japanese soldiers and these women were known as the 
“comfort women.”   
And  then  Korean  Declaration  of  Independence  was  announced  on  1  March  1919  after  the  end  of 
World War I against the Japanese rule so that Korea would no longer tolerate them. Then there was 
the  establishment  of  the  Provisional  Government  of  the  Republic  of  Korea  on  11  April  1919. 

Rivista Italiana di Filosofia Analitica Junior 
ISSN: 2037-4445   
Vol 14, No. 2 (2023) 
 
https://rifanalitica.it 
1253 
The Korean Provisional Government (KPG), formally the Provisional  Government of the Republic of 
Korea,  was  a  partially  recognized  Korean government-in-exile based  in Shanghai, China,  and  later 
in Chongqing, during the period of Japanese colonial rule in Korea.  
 
On 11 April 1919, a provisional constitution providing for a democratic republic named the “Republic of 
Korea” was enacted. It introduced a presidential system and three branches (legislative, administrative 
and judicial) of government. The KPG inherited the territory of the former Korean Empire.  
The Korean  resistance  movement actively  supported  the  independence  movement  under  the 
provisional government, and received economic and military support from the Kuomintang (“Chinese 
Nationalist Party”), the Soviet Union, and France. After the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945, the 
provisional government came to an end. 
When Japanese lost World War II, they left the Korean peninsula in 1945. Japan ruled over Korea for 
almost thirty-five years. And soon after the end of Japanese colonization over Korea, the Soviet Union 
and  USA  captured  the  Korean  territory  and  divided  Korea  along  with  38
th
  parallel  line  through  the 
National  Geographic  map  into  North  and  South  without  any  proper  acquaintance  of  geographical 
knowledge. 
The Soviets and USA ruled Korea for over five years and left the Korean peninsula in 1948. And on 
15
th
  August  1948,  South  Korea  got  the  liberation  and  officially  declared  itself  as  “The  Republic  of 
Korea”  and  on  9
th
  September  1948,  North  Korea  liberated  and  officially  declared  itself  as  “The 
Democratic  People’s  Republic  of  Korea.  And  finally  after  thirty-eight  years  of  being remained  as  a 
slave nation, Koreans were ruling Korea. But again this peaceful serene situation didn’t last for long, 
North Korea wanted to rule the entire peninsula so it began to invade South and consequently, the 
Korean War began on 25
th
 June 1950 between North and South and this war lasted for almost three 
years till 1953. During the war North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union while South 
Korea was supported by the US and its other allied countries. And the fight ended with an armistice 
agreement, still divided with a demilitarized zone (DMZ) on 27
th
 July 1953. This is how Korea got split 
and the new nation formed into North and South as well as Korea’s literature also got divided.  
And  later,  the Panmunjom  Declaration  for  Peace,  Prosperity  and  Reunification  of  the Korean 
Peninsula was adopted between the Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, and the President 
of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, on 27  April 2018, during the 2018 inter-Korean Summit on the South 
Korean side of the Peace House in the Joint Security Area. 
According to the declaration, the governments of North Korea and South Korea agreed to cooperate 
on officially ending the Korean War and the Korean conflict, beginning a new era of peace and sharing 
commitments in ending divisions and confrontation by approaching a new era of national reconciliation, 
peace, reunification and  prosperity  and  improvements to  inter-Korean  communication  and  relations. 
This declaration agreed that both sides would “make active efforts to seek the support and cooperation 
of the international community for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula”. The declaration was 
submitted to the United Nations General Assembly on 6 September 2018. 
DISCUSSION 
 
Prior the division of literature into North and South, Korea didn’t had the script of its own and Japan 
too. Korea was totally dependant on Chinese writing system as it was the only writing system in Korea. 
Korea was deeply influenced by the Chinese civilization and also followed its ideology of Confucianism. 
And all the literary works in Korean literature were based on Confucian canon (literary Chinese) until 
the advent of vernacular Korean alphabet ‘Hangul’ in 1443-1444 by King Sejong of Choson dynasty. 
Although Hangul had been created but it did not come into widespread official use until the late 19th 
and early 20th century. Thus, until that time it was necessary to be fluent in reading and writing Hanja 
to be literate in  Korean, as Korean documents, history, literature and records throughout its history 
until  the  contemporary  period  were  written  primarily  in Literary  Chinese using  Hanja  as  its  primary 
script.  

Rivista Italiana di Filosofia Analitica Junior

ISSN: 2037-4445

Vol 14, No. 2 (2023)

https://rifanalitica.it

1254

Hanja are Chinese characters used in Korean writing. The knowledge of Chinese characters is still

very important those who wishes to interpret and study older texts from Korea, or anyone who wishes

to read scholarly texts in the humanities. A high proficiency in Hanja is also useful for understanding

the etymology of Sino-Korean words as well as to enlarge one's Korean vocabulary. Korea has a rich

vocabulary because of its historical contact with China and Japan and due to its rapid modernization.

Therefore Sino-Korean words and loanwords are considered an integral part of Korean vocabulary.

Hangul is also known as Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea. And during Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-

1945), the Korean language as well as hangul were suppressed and Japanese imposed their

language on them for use. When Korea got liberated from Japan, the use of Korean

language as well as the alphabet hangul were restored both in North and South.

Prior the invention of hangul, as Koreans grew familiar with the Chinese characters and classical

Chinese, they tried to deconstruct the elements of the Chinese writing system so that they could

express the native Korean sounds in a Korean way. Consequently, idu writing system was devised to

represent the ancient Korean language by borrowing the Chinese characters. So, idu is defined as the

transcription of ancient Korean vocabulary, phrases, and sentences that use Chinese characters.

Hyangchal, the local writing system used to write vernacular poetry such as hyangga and it is often

classified as the subgroup of Idu script, the gugyeol writing system which was created for interpretive

reading of classical Chinese texts. But the 1894 reform abolished the traditional examination system

and instituted Korean language as a subject for civil servants. So finally, the Chinese language was

forbidden after one thousand year of being remained as dominant language among Koreans and

considered detrimental among the Korean people and Korean believed that the Chinese language

was responsible for their downfall.

Ever since its national division in 1945, the linguistic divergence also occurred in North and South

Korea. Both countries had adopted different political ideologies from their ruling allies Soviet Union

and USA. South Korea turned towards capitalism and North Korea turned towards communism. And

they both had implemented different language policies. North Korea implemented P’yongyang based

Cultured Language (munhwao) and South Korea implemented traditional Seoul based Standard

Language (p’yojun mal). And both these languages adopted by North and South Korean territory

include pronunciations, hangul spelling conventions, lexicon, meanings and styles. And the most

important conspicuous thing is the phonological difference between Cultured Language (CL) and

Standard Language (SL).

And with their split and the Korean War led to the development of North and South Korean literature.

South Korean literature depicts the scenarios of the time of colonization period under the Japanese

and the liberation after 1945 which concerned the writers to purge the vestiges of Japanese

colonization. The wounds and chaos of the people during the Korean War, political turmoil - the

formation of the authoritarian and dictorial power under Yushin constitution which allowed the

president Park Chung-hee to legally and openly violate and suppress his opposition and the civil

liberties during 1972, despotism, and the Gwangju Uprising during 1980 against the martial law

implemented by the former president Chun Doo-hwan after Park Chung-hee, and the spur of

industrialization which led to the development of labour and agrarian fiction and also the rise of roman-

fleuve.

South Korean literature comprises the genres - mainstream fiction referred to as ‘pure literature’ in

South Korea, popular fiction (defined as the mass market-targeted works, or as an opposite of pure

literature), historical fiction (one of the largest selling genre in South Korea and it often covers the

Choson Dynasty and the colonization era), fantasy, science fiction., poetry, and essayists.

And Han Kang holds a very important place not only in South Korea but globally. Han Kang, the South

Korean writer born on 27

November, 1970. She was extremely affected by the Gwangju Uprising

which took place in 1980 and this democratization movement against the martial law leads to many

Rivista Italiana di Filosofia Analitica Junior

ISSN: 2037-4445

Vol 14, No. 2 (2023)

https://rifanalitica.it

1255

brutal deaths of the innocent people with lots of blood spill around there. Han Kang too hails from

Gwangju but the situation was remained serene till she stayed there but she had to shift to Seoul

because of her father’s occupation and then the uprising took place. Though Han Kang was small at

that time but that horrifying incident had an immense impact upon her as well as displayed in her

works too.

Inspired and horrified by this incident, Han Kang wrote ‘The Vegetarian’ and ‘Human Acts’ which

portrays the humanity of human beings ‘threatening.’ With her fictional work ‘The Vegetarian’, Han

Kang achieved the international fame and visibility for which she won the Man Booker International

Prize in 2016. This international fame and visibility was also achieved by Deborah Smith, the British

translator of Korean fiction who translated Han Kang’s ‘The Vegetarian’ in English and won the Man

Booker International Prize for it.

Whereas North Korean literature is based on socialist realism. After its division and its liberation from

Japanese colonial rule in 1945, North Korea set forth many objectives and one such objective was the

establishment of socialist culture by including literature as an integral part of it. And during the mid-

1960s, North Korean literature focused on Juche (self-reliance) thought of Kim Ilsong (country’s

founder and the first leader) for its literary production. Juche is the state ideology of North Korea and

the official ideology of the Workers’ Party of Korea. With the establishment of Juche ideology, the

emphasis of literature turned from socialist realism to Juche’s revolutionary ideology. The main motive

behind Juche was that Korea for many many years remained a vassal state and due to which Korea

didn’t developed itself and its people and that’s why Korea had to depend on other countries for their

survival and which was the reason for their downfall for always being remained as a slave nation but

after the liberation however, learned from past experiences, North Korea didn’t wanted that same thing

to persist again and thus, North Korea isolated itself from the rest of the world.

Literary works in North Korean literature eulogize the character of Kim Ilsong’s anti-Japanese

struggles during the colonial period especially under the period of Juche literature. Since 1970, the

poems comprising tribute to Kim Ilsong had become so extreme in quantity that it was grouped as a

separate genre of songga (hymns). And in fiction, the North Korean writers emphasized on proletarian

literature from the colonial period.

CONCLUSION

Korea has had suffered a lot prior and even after its split. Consequently, the partition between North

and South Korea, emergence of the Korean War, and the political turmoil of imposing martial law or

authoritarian rule over the citizens played a very crucial role in the development of South Korean

literature. The scenarios of that time in South Korea had a deep impact over Han Kang which arose

her visibility globally with her perspective of showcasing ‘The Horror of Humanity’ in her work.

REFERENCES

[1] Lee, Peter H. “A History of Korean Literature.” Cambridge University Press, 18 Dec 2003.

[2] Yongmin, Kwon. “Pukhan ui munhak” (Literature of North Korea). Uryu, 1989.

[3] “History of North and South Korea.” Youtube, uploaded by History Scope, 1 Nov 2020,

https://youtu.be/9TMtRTFqPXw.

[4] Seon-tae, Yoon. “The Creation of Idu.” Korean Journal / Summer 2010,

https://kj.accesson.kr/assets/pdf/8235/journal-50-2-97.pdf.

[5] “Han Kang Interview: The Horror of Humanity.” Youtube, uploaded by Louisiana Channel, 23

June 2020, https://youtu.be/tQTI6bV0waE.

[6] “South Korean Literature.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korean_literature.

[7] “North Korean Literature.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_literature.

Rivista Italiana di Filosofia Analitica Junior 
ISSN: 2037-4445   
Vol 14, No. 2 (2023) 
 
https://rifanalitica.it 
1256 
[8]  “Juche.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juche. 
[9]  “Hyangchal.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyangchal. 
[10]  “Hanja.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanja. 
[11]  “Chun  Doo-hwan.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chun_Doo-hwan. 
[12]  “Fourth  Republic  of  Korea.”Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Republic_of_Korea. 
[13]  “Park  Chung  Hee.”Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Chung_Hee. 
[14]  Kang, Han. “Human Acts.” Granta Books, 3 Nov 2016.  
[15]  Kang, Han. “The Vegetarian.” Random House, 13 June 2016. 
[16]  “Han  Kang.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Kang. 
[17]  “Korea.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea. 
[18]  “Gojoseon.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gojoseon 
[19]  “Wiman  Joseon.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiman_Joseon 
[20]  “Three  Kingdoms  of  Korea.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Kingdoms_of_Korea 
[21]  “Goryeo.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goryeo 
[22]  “Joseon.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseon 
[23]  “Korean  Empire.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Empire 
[24]  “Korean  Declaration  of  Independence.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia 
Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Declaration_of_Independence 
[25]  “Provisional  Government  of  the  Republic  of  Korea.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia, 
Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_Government_of_the_Republic_of_Korea 
[26]  “Panmunjom  Declaration.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panmunjom_Declaration 
[27]  Kim, Jong-Hak. “Was Korea Ever a Part of China?: A Historical Review.” IFANS Perspectives, 
Feburary  09,  2021, 
https://www.ifans.go.kr/knda/com/fileupload/FileDownloadView.do?storgeId=c61b04e5-0182-
4c75-ad21-828ecacfb855&uploadId=346596669843959&fileSn=1 
[28]  “Wiman.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wiman 
[29]  “History  of  Seoul.”  Wikipedia,  The  Free  Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Seoul 
[30]  “Was Korea ever  part  of  China?  Why  history  alone  can’t  answer  question  of  what  makes  a 
region  part  of  another  country.”  South  China  Morning  Post, 
https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2092957/was-korea-
ever-part-china-why-history-alone-cant 
[31]  “The  Joseon  dynasty  (1392-1910).”  Khan  Academy, 
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/korea-japan/joseon-dynasty/a/the-joseon-
dynasty-13921910  

Rivista Italiana di Filosofia Analitica Junior

ISSN: 2037-4445

Vol 14, No. 2 (2023)

https://rifanalitica.it

1257

[32] “History of Korea.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Korea

[33] “Korean War.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War

[34] “History of South Korea.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_Korea, Accessed July 17, 2023

[35] “South Korea.” History Channel, History.Com Editors, Feb 2, 2018 and updated Aug 21, 2018,

https://www.history.com/topics/asian-history/south-korea

[36] “Japan-Korea Treaty of 1910.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan%E2%80%93Korea_Treaty_of_1910

[37] “First Republic of Korea.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Republic_of_Korea

[38] “North Korea.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea

[39] Blakemore, Erin, “How Japan Took Control of Korea.” History Channel, Feb 28, 2018 and

updated July 17, 2023, https://www.history.com/news/japan-colonization-korea, Accessed 16

Aug 2023

[40] “Gugyeol.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gugyeol, Accessed Aug 18, 2023