South 고등학교 1학년 Korean History 2
Chapters: 3
1. Colonial rule and national movements
Colonial policies in imperial context · Colonial economic exploitation · National movements at home and abroad · Social and cultural change under rule · Building an independent state
- Imperialism: Why Empires Grew and How People Resisted – Imperialism is when a powerful state takes control over other lands and peoples, by war, treaties or money. Colonialism is one form: ruling a colony directly. Between about 1870 and 1914 ('New Imperialism') industrial powers raced for colonies in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. They wanted raw materials, markets, places to invest, ports and prestige, and excused it with racist ideas. Control grew from trading posts to unequal treaties to full colonies. The colonies were drained: raw materials left cheap, factory goods came back, local industry fell. People resisted with revolts, reforms and mass movements, and most colonies were free by the 1970s. The borders and inequalities left behind still shape the world.
- Independence Movements: From Colonial Rule to a Free State – An independence movement is the long effort of a people to end outside rule and build their own state. It usually grows in stages: anger at unfair rule, mass peaceful protest, a leadership (sometimes in exile), pressure from other countries, and sometimes armed struggle. Korea (1919-1945), India (to 1947) and Ghana (1957) show different paths to the same goal.
- Social History: How Ordinary People Lived – Social history studies the lives of ordinary people, not only kings, wars and treaties. It asks how people worked, lived, ate, dressed, married, worshipped, fell ill and had fun, and how society was divided into groups. Before modern times most societies were shaped like a pyramid: a small group of rulers and nobles, priests and rich families, a middle layer of townspeople, merchants and craftsmen, and a huge base of peasants, with some unfree people such as serfs or slaves. Villages ran their own communities; towns were places of markets, guilds and mixing between groups. Industrialisation moved people from farms to factories, created a working class and a growing middle class, and led to unions, new laws and later welfare states. Daily life changed with new light, transport, newspapers, schools and medicine. Social historians also look for 'hidden' people (women, the poor, minorities, migrants) and even at how feelings and customs changed.
2. Development of the Republic of Korea
Cold War and liberation · Korean War and division · Democratisation from April Revolution to June Uprising · Industrialisation and its effects · Cultural and daily-life change
- The Cold War (1945–1991) – The Cold War was a long contest (1945–1991) between two superpowers: the USA with its Western allies (capitalism, multi-party elections) and the USSR with its Eastern allies (communism, one-party rule). They never fought each other directly. Instead they formed rival alliances (NATO, Warsaw Pact), raced to build nuclear weapons and reach space, backed opposite sides in proxy wars (Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan) and came close to nuclear war in Cuba in 1962. Many new nations, led by India and others, stayed non-aligned. Détente eased tension in the 1970s. Reforms in the USSR, the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and the break-up of the USSR (1991) ended it.
- Democratisation – Democratisation is the process by which a country moves from authoritarian rule to democracy. It usually follows stages: an authoritarian regime; rising pressure from protests, economic crisis and the outside world; negotiation or a break with the old rulers; founding free elections; and consolidation, when courts, a free press, civil society and peaceful changes of government make democracy stable. South Korea (April Revolution 1960, Gwangju 1980, June Struggle 1987, peaceful handover 1997) and Poland (Solidarity 1980, martial law 1981, Round Table and June elections 1989, reforms and free elections by 1991) are two clear cases. The road is not straight: it can stall or go backwards.
- Economic Growth: How a Country Makes More Each Year – Economic growth is a rise in a country's real GDP: the value of all final goods and services it makes in a year, after removing the effect of price rises. The growth rate is the percentage change in real GDP. GDP per head tells us the average output per person. Growth goes up and down around a trend in the economic cycle, creating output gaps. Growth comes from more and better resources (workers, skills, machines, technology) and brings higher incomes and jobs, but can also cause pollution, inequality and inflation.
- Social History: How Ordinary People Lived – Social history studies the lives of ordinary people, not only kings, wars and treaties. It asks how people worked, lived, ate, dressed, married, worshipped, fell ill and had fun, and how society was divided into groups. Before modern times most societies were shaped like a pyramid: a small group of rulers and nobles, priests and rich families, a middle layer of townspeople, merchants and craftsmen, and a huge base of peasants, with some unfree people such as serfs or slaves. Villages ran their own communities; towns were places of markets, guilds and mixing between groups. Industrialisation moved people from farms to factories, created a working class and a growing middle class, and led to unions, new laws and later welfare states. Daily life changed with new light, transport, newspapers, schools and medicine. Social historians also look for 'hidden' people (women, the poor, minorities, migrants) and even at how feelings and customs changed.
3. Korea today
Democracy after 1987 · Financial crisis and social change · Peace on the peninsula and in East Asia
- Democratisation – Democratisation is the process by which a country moves from authoritarian rule to democracy. It usually follows stages: an authoritarian regime; rising pressure from protests, economic crisis and the outside world; negotiation or a break with the old rulers; founding free elections; and consolidation, when courts, a free press, civil society and peaceful changes of government make democracy stable. South Korea (April Revolution 1960, Gwangju 1980, June Struggle 1987, peaceful handover 1997) and Poland (Solidarity 1980, martial law 1981, Round Table and June elections 1989, reforms and free elections by 1991) are two clear cases. The road is not straight: it can stall or go backwards.
- Economic History: How People Made a Living Through Time – Economic history studies how people produced, traded and shared wealth over time. For most of history, economies were based on farming, and rulers lived on taxes paid in crops, labour or coins. Trade, money and banks slowly raised incomes. The Industrial Revolution made output per person grow fast. In the 20th century, countries tried market, planned and mixed models. Growth came with crises: hyperinflation after the First World War, the Great Depression of 1929, the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global crisis. Today the challenge is growth that is fair and sustainable.
- Peace Education: How People Build Lasting Peace – Peace is more than 'no war'. Negative peace means no fighting. Positive peace means fairness, trust and a good life for all. Violence can be direct (hitting, war), structural (unfair rules that keep people poor) or cultural (ideas that make harm look normal). Thinkers gave us tools: Mozi taught equal care for all and opposed attacking wars; Kant said fair governments, a league of free states and kindness to visitors can make peace last; Gandhi showed non-violent resistance. Conflicts are solved step by step: cool down, listen, find needs, think of options, agree. After division or war, reconciliation is built like a bridge: talks, truth, apology, trade, family meetings and shared projects. Germany (1990) and South Africa's truth commission are examples; divided peoples such as on the Korean peninsula still discuss how peaceful unification could happen.