The Founding of Gojoseon (2333 BCE, traditional)
Traditionally said to have been founded by Dangun Wanggeom, this is considered the first state in Korean history, growing in the Liaoning region of Manchuria and the northwest Korean Peninsula on a Bronze Age culture. This traditional founding date, from the Dangun foundation myth recorded in the Samguk Yusa, cannot be archaeologically confirmed as the exact point Gojoseon began to exist as a political entity, but it remains the traditional starting point of Korean history education as the first state of the Korean people.
The Founding of Goguryeo (37 BCE, traditional)
Traditionally said to have been founded by Jumong (King Dongmyeong), who moved south from Buyeo to establish the kingdom at Jolbon (near present-day Huanren, Liaoning, China), later moving the capital to Gungnae Fortress.
The Founding of Baekje (18 BCE, traditional)
Traditionally founded by Onjo, said to be a son of Goguryeo's founder Jumong, who established the kingdom at Wiryeseong in the Han River basin (present-day Seoul).
The Founding of Silla (57 BCE, traditional)
Traditionally founded by Park Hyeokgeose, who established the state of Saro in the Gyeongju region, later growing by absorbing surrounding small states.
King Gwanggaeto the Great's Campaigns and Territorial Expansion (391β412)
Attacked Baekje to seize territory north of the Han River, repelled a Wa (Japanese) invasion at Silla's request, and extended power into Manchuria, achieving Goguryeo's greatest territorial extent. His achievements are recorded in detail on the Gwanggaeto Stele (414), erected by his son King Jangsu, making him the conqueror-king with the most detailed surviving primary source from the Three Kingdoms period.
King Jinheung of Silla's Golden Age β Control of the Han River, Organization of the Hwarang (mid-6th century)
Allied with Baekje to seize the Han River basin from Goguryeo, then broke the alliance to push Baekje out as well, taking sole control of the Han River basin; also organized the Hwarang as a formal state institution and erected commemorative stelae marking territorial expansion. Securing the Han River basin opened a route for direct exchange with China, becoming the decisive turning point that let Silla eventually seize the initiative in the unification of the Three Kingdoms.
Silla's Unification of the Three Kingdoms (676)
After destroying Baekje and Goguryeo, Silla defeated Tang China β which had sought to rule the entire peninsula β at battles including Maesoseong and Gibeolpo, unifying the region south of the Daedong River. Though criticized for drawing in a foreign power and for an incomplete unification limited to south of the Daedong River, this marked the first time in Korean history that the central and southern Korean Peninsula were unified under a single state.
The Founding of Balhae (698)
Dae Joyeong, a Goguryeo refugee, led fellow Goguryeo refugees and Mohe people to found Balhae at Dongmo Mountain (in present-day Jilin, China). With a state claiming to succeed Goguryeo founded just 30 years after its fall, this began the "North-South States Period" in which Silla and Balhae coexisted.
The Carving of the Tripitaka Koreana (1236β1251)
Carrying the hope of repelling the Mongol invasion through the power of Buddha, the complete Buddhist canon was carved onto over 80,000 woodblocks on Ganghwa Island. Registered as a UNESCO Memorial of the World for its remarkable precision β containing almost no errors β and its vast scale, it represents the pinnacle of Goryeo woodblock printing culture.
Jikji β The World's Oldest Surviving Metal-Type Printed Book (1377)
A Buddhist text printed with movable metal type at Heungdeoksa Temple in Cheongju, predating Johannes Gutenberg's metal-type printing in Germany (c. 1450) by more than 70 years. Now held at the National Library of France, it is officially recognized by UNESCO as the world's oldest surviving metal-type printed work, registered on the Memory of the World Register.
The Founding of Goryeo by Wang Geon (918)
Wang Geon, formerly a subject of Gung-ye, overthrew Gung-ye and founded Goryeo with its capital at Songak (present-day Kaesong).
The Mongol Invasions, the Move to Ganghwa Island, and the Sambyeolcho Resistance (1231β1270)
Facing repeated Mongol invasions, the ruling Choe military regime moved the capital to Ganghwa Island to resist (1232), but prolonged war devastated the country and Goryeo eventually returned its capital to Gaegyeong (1270); in protest, the elite Sambyeolcho forces continued resistance, moving between Ganghwa Island, Jindo, and Jeju Island (1270β1273). Having endured nearly 30 years of resistance without being fully conquered β maintaining its state system while accepting a form of submission β Goryeo is regarded as a notable exception among the many states conquered by the Mongols.
The Founding of Joseon and the Move to Hanyang (1392, capital moved 1394)
Yi Seong-gye (King Taejo) named the new dynasty Joseon and, following a plan by Jeong Do-jeon, moved the capital to Hanyang (present-day Seoul), building the city walls and Gyeongbokgung Palace among other structures. The new dynasty adopted Confucianism (Neo-Confucianism) as its governing ideology, and Hanyang, chosen as capital at this time, remains South Korea's capital to this day.
King Sejong the Great's Creation of Hangeul (Created 1443, Promulgated 1446)
King Sejong personally created a native Korean writing system that ordinary people could easily learn and use (1443), and promulgated it through a book titled Hunminjeongeum (1446). A globally distinctive achievement in writing-system creation, it enabled ordinary people who could not read Chinese characters to become literate for the first time, and remains the root of today's Hangeul alphabet.
The Outbreak of the Imjin War (1592β1593)
Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Joseon under the pretext of conquering Ming China, and Hanyang fell within about 20 days β but naval forces led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin won major victories including the Battle of Hansan Island, and righteous militia (uibyeong) rose up across the country to turn the tide of the war. The beginning of a seven-year war that devastated the country, but one widely remembered to this day for how the nation was defended through Yi Sun-sin's exploits and the resistance of righteous militia among the common people.
The Manchu Invasions and the Humiliation at Samjeondo (1627, 1636β1637)
After the first Manchu invasion (1627), the newly founded Qing demanded a lord-vassal relationship and invaded again (1636); King Injo resisted at Namhansanseong Fortress before ultimately surrendering to the Qing emperor at Samjeondo. An event in which Joseon, in trying to maintain loyalty to the fallen Ming dynasty, instead suffered a humiliating surrender to the Qing β leaving a deep scar on Joseon society and fueling later calls for a "northern expedition" against Qing.
The Treaty of Ganghwa (1876)
A treaty signed under pressure from Japan following the Unyo incident, which opened the ports of Busan, Wonsan, and Incheon and formally stated Joseon's independence β but it was an unequal treaty that granted extraterritorial rights favoring Japan. Korea's first modern treaty with a foreign power and the beginning of its opening to the outside world, followed by a series of further treaties with Western powers.
The Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty β Loss of National Sovereignty (1910)
Japan forced through a treaty stripping the Korean Empire of its governing authority entirely, ending the Korean Empire and beginning Japanese colonial rule. This marked the start of 35 years of colonial rule that lasted until liberation in 1945; the treaty is officially regarded by the South Korean government as void from the outset due to its coercive nature.
Ahn Jung-geun's Assassination of ItΕ Hirobumi (1909)
Ahn Jung-geun shot and killed ItΕ Hirobumi, Japan's first Resident-General of Korea, at Harbin Station in Manchuria. A defining act of resistance that struck down a chief architect of Japanese aggression; Ahn Jung-geun was later executed at LΓΌshun Prison.