n the Gangnam District of Seoul, the Bongeunsa Buddhist temple built in 794 CE stands across the street from COEX Starfield, the largest underground shopping mall in Asia. Sutras play on loudspeakers and monks conduct prayer sessions on temple grounds surrounded by skyscrapers and bustling traffic.
Juxtapositions like this between the ancient and contemporary are common in South Korea. They reflect the nation’s complex history and rapid modernization.
Korea is sometimes dubbed “the hermit kingdom,” referring to its history of isolation and refusal to open its borders to international trade until 1876. To this day, only 4.9% of South Korean residents are foreigners. This insulation from the outside world has resulted in South Korea being known for maintaining a largely-intact traditional culture, and as of 2020, the country is home to 50 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
However, due to a history of conflict, many of Korea’s ancient sites have been relocated or rebuilt multiple times.
For almost all of Korea’s written history dating back to 57 BCE, Korea has been divided into multiple kingdoms which often warred with each other. Alliances and conflicts between kingdoms and modern China shifted constantly. This illustrates how the idea of a unified Korean country and identity has been a nebulous concept long before today’s North and South.
Among the most notable historical warfare, Japan invaded Korea twice — once in 1592 and again in 1598 — and razed both Seoul and Pyongyang in the process, including many of their ancient temples, palaces, and heritage sites.
The war was an unprecedented catastrophe for the Japanese. Despite being consistently outnumbered, the Korean army and navy decimated their troops. Throughout the war, Korean Admiral Yi Sun-Sin destroyed approximately 700 battleships in seven years, a feat unprecedented in the history of naval warfare. This string of nearly-impossible feats propelled Admiral Yi into Korea’s most famous historical hero.
In the port city of Busan, where one of the most famous 1590’s battles took place, a giant statue of Admiral Yi overlooks the ocean and protects the Korean citizens of the city to this day.
Much of South Korea’s history can be observed in single locations. For example, the royal palace of Gyeongbokgung in Seoul was built in 1395 CE, razed by the Japanese in the 1590’s, and reconstructed in 1867. On its private grounds in 1895, Queen Min — a strong nationalist empress beloved by her husband and people — was assassinated by the Japanese in one of Korea’s greatest historical tragedies. Her death started a domino effect which led to peasant uprisings, the Russo-Japanese War, and Japanese colonization. The palace was decommissioned during Japanese occupation, and restored in 1990 to its modern glory.
From 1910 to 1945, Korea faced attempted cultural annihilation at the hands of Imperial Japan, who occupied the nation, outlawed the Korean language, and burned over 200,000 Korean historical documents.
At the end of World War II, Russia and the United States’ liberation of Korea from the Japanese split the nation into the North and South we know today — and locked some Korean heritage sites dating as far back as the Neolithic Age behind the borders of North Korea.
What little history survived Japanese occupation unscathed was thrown into disarray during the Korean War. At the time, South Korea was one of the world’s poorest nations, and South Koreans dropped bombs from their bare hands out of irrigation planes in early battles as they struggled with an extreme shortage of fighter planes before the United States and United Nations offered aid. With fewer ships, ground troops, guns and tanks than the North Koreans, South Korea exists today because of the international community’s aid. The war left 5 million dead, the country divided, and permanently separated millions of families.
In light of such tragedy, South Korea was expected to recover from the war slowly over decades, but history proved otherwise. The country rapidly shifted from an agrarian society to an industrial one, with rapid urbanization, millions of repatriated refugees, and quick explosion of the middle class.
This incredible change is often referred to as “The miracle on the Han River.” At the beginning of the Korean War 71 years ago, three bridges crossed the Han River into the city of Seoul — one of which was destroyed in order to delay invading North Korean troops. The city of one million people was almost entirely on the East bank of the river.
Today, over 20 bridges cross the Han, reflecting massive amounts of newly-created transportation and trade. The Han River runs through the center of Seoul, now home to 10.3 million people, and even its shape has been changed to reflect increased construction and water filtration.
South Korea bears the scars of its history, but preserves the echoes of its beautiful past. Through its relocated temples, its seaside guardian statues, its rebuilt royal palace, and its ancient river turned into a city center, Korea is both a modern and ancient country that bares its stories to both visitors and residents.
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Lessons in Modernization from South Korea
Photo by Janis Rozenfelds via Unsplash.
October 20, 2021
South Korea bears the scars of its history, but preserves the echoes of its beautiful past. Through its relocated temples, its seaside guardian statues, its rebuilt royal palace, and its ancient river turned into a city center, Korea is both a modern and ancient country.
I
n the Gangnam District of Seoul, the Bongeunsa Buddhist temple built in 794 CE stands across the street from COEX Starfield, the largest underground shopping mall in Asia. Sutras play on loudspeakers and monks conduct prayer sessions on temple grounds surrounded by skyscrapers and bustling traffic.
Juxtapositions like this between the ancient and contemporary are common in South Korea. They reflect the nation’s complex history and rapid modernization.
Korea is sometimes dubbed “the hermit kingdom,” referring to its history of isolation and refusal to open its borders to international trade until 1876. To this day, only 4.9% of South Korean residents are foreigners. This insulation from the outside world has resulted in South Korea being known for maintaining a largely-intact traditional culture, and as of 2020, the country is home to 50 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
However, due to a history of conflict, many of Korea’s ancient sites have been relocated or rebuilt multiple times.
For almost all of Korea’s written history dating back to 57 BCE, Korea has been divided into multiple kingdoms which often warred with each other. Alliances and conflicts between kingdoms and modern China shifted constantly. This illustrates how the idea of a unified Korean country and identity has been a nebulous concept long before today’s North and South.
Among the most notable historical warfare, Japan invaded Korea twice — once in 1592 and again in 1598 — and razed both Seoul and Pyongyang in the process, including many of their ancient temples, palaces, and heritage sites.
The war was an unprecedented catastrophe for the Japanese. Despite being consistently outnumbered, the Korean army and navy decimated their troops. Throughout the war, Korean Admiral Yi Sun-Sin destroyed approximately 700 battleships in seven years, a feat unprecedented in the history of naval warfare. This string of nearly-impossible feats propelled Admiral Yi into Korea’s most famous historical hero.
In the port city of Busan, where one of the most famous 1590’s battles took place, a giant statue of Admiral Yi overlooks the ocean and protects the Korean citizens of the city to this day.
Much of South Korea’s history can be observed in single locations. For example, the royal palace of Gyeongbokgung in Seoul was built in 1395 CE, razed by the Japanese in the 1590’s, and reconstructed in 1867. On its private grounds in 1895, Queen Min — a strong nationalist empress beloved by her husband and people — was assassinated by the Japanese in one of Korea’s greatest historical tragedies. Her death started a domino effect which led to peasant uprisings, the Russo-Japanese War, and Japanese colonization. The palace was decommissioned during Japanese occupation, and restored in 1990 to its modern glory.
From 1910 to 1945, Korea faced attempted cultural annihilation at the hands of Imperial Japan, who occupied the nation, outlawed the Korean language, and burned over 200,000 Korean historical documents.
At the end of World War II, Russia and the United States’ liberation of Korea from the Japanese split the nation into the North and South we know today — and locked some Korean heritage sites dating as far back as the Neolithic Age behind the borders of North Korea.
What little history survived Japanese occupation unscathed was thrown into disarray during the Korean War. At the time, South Korea was one of the world’s poorest nations, and South Koreans dropped bombs from their bare hands out of irrigation planes in early battles as they struggled with an extreme shortage of fighter planes before the United States and United Nations offered aid. With fewer ships, ground troops, guns and tanks than the North Koreans, South Korea exists today because of the international community’s aid. The war left 5 million dead, the country divided, and permanently separated millions of families.
In light of such tragedy, South Korea was expected to recover from the war slowly over decades, but history proved otherwise. The country rapidly shifted from an agrarian society to an industrial one, with rapid urbanization, millions of repatriated refugees, and quick explosion of the middle class.
This incredible change is often referred to as “The miracle on the Han River.” At the beginning of the Korean War 71 years ago, three bridges crossed the Han River into the city of Seoul — one of which was destroyed in order to delay invading North Korean troops. The city of one million people was almost entirely on the East bank of the river.
Today, over 20 bridges cross the Han, reflecting massive amounts of newly-created transportation and trade. The Han River runs through the center of Seoul, now home to 10.3 million people, and even its shape has been changed to reflect increased construction and water filtration.
South Korea bears the scars of its history, but preserves the echoes of its beautiful past. Through its relocated temples, its seaside guardian statues, its rebuilt royal palace, and its ancient river turned into a city center, Korea is both a modern and ancient country that bares its stories to both visitors and residents.
