96-551: The Book of Sui ( Chinese : 隋書 ; pinyin : Suí Shū ) is the official history of the Sui dynasty , which ruled China in the years AD 581–618. It ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written by Yan Shigu , Kong Yingda , and Zhangsun Wuji , with Wei Zheng as the lead author. In the third year of Zhenguan of the Tang dynasty (629), Emperor Taizong of Tang ordered Fang Xuanling to supervise
192-523: A U.S. zone and a Soviet zone . Dean Rusk and Charles H. Bonesteel III suggested the 38th parallel as the dividing line, as it placed Seoul under U.S. control. To the surprise of Rusk and Bonesteel, the Soviets accepted their proposal and agreed to divide Korea. Despite intentions to liberate a unified peninsula in the 1943 Cairo Declaration , escalating tensions between the Soviet Union and
288-413: A feed-in tariff . Around 350 residential micro combined heat and power units were installed in 2012. In 2017, South Korea was the world's seventh largest emitter of carbon emissions and the fifth largest emitter per capita. President Moon Jae-in pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero in 2050. Seoul's tap water recently became safe to drink, with city officials branding it " Arisu " in
384-588: A retronym applied to non-simplified character sets in the wake of widespread use of simplified characters. Traditional characters are commonly used in Taiwan , Hong Kong , and Macau , as well as in most overseas Chinese communities outside of Southeast Asia. As for non-Chinese languages written using Chinese characters, Japanese kanji include many simplified characters known as shinjitai standardized after World War II, sometimes distinct from their simplified Chinese counterparts . Korean hanja , still used to
480-437: A bid to convince the public. Efforts have also been made with afforestation projects. Another multibillion-dollar project was the restoration of Cheonggyecheon , a stream running through downtown Seoul that had earlier been paved over by a motorway. One major challenge is air quality, with acid rain, sulfur oxides, and annual yellow dust storms being particular problems. It is acknowledged that many of these difficulties are
576-640: A brief unification of the Three Kingdoms and becoming the most dominant power on the Korean Peninsula. In addition to contesting control of the Korean Peninsula, Goguryeo had many military conflicts with various Chinese dynasties, most notably the Goguryeo–Sui War , in which Goguryeo defeated a huge force said to number over a million men. Baekje was a maritime power, sometimes called the " Phoenicia of East Asia". Its maritime ability
672-509: A certain extent in South Korea , remain virtually identical to traditional characters, with variations between the two forms largely stylistic. There has historically been a debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters . Because the simplifications are fairly systematic, it is possible to convert computer-encoded characters between the two sets, with the main issue being ambiguities in simplified representations resulting from
768-714: A close election over the Democratic Party candidate by the narrowest margin ever. Yoon was sworn in on May 10, 2022. South Korea occupies the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula , which extends some 1,100 km (680 mi) from the Continental and East Asian mainland. This mountainous peninsula is flanked by the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. Its southern tip lies on
864-563: A conservative government was elected in 2007 led by President Lee Myung-bak , former mayor of Seoul . Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan jointly co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup . However, South Korean and Japanese relations later soured because of conflicting claims of sovereignty over the Liancourt Rocks . In 2010, there was an escalation in attacks by North Korea. In March 2010 the South Korean warship ROKS Cheonan
960-517: A coup. Yi Seong-gye declared the new name of Korea as "Joseon" in reference to Gojoseon, and moved the capital to Hanseong (one of the old names of Seoul ). The first 200 years of the Joseon dynasty were marked by peace and saw great advancements in science and education, as well as the creation of Hangul by Sejong the Great to promote literacy among the common people. The prevailing ideology of
1056-578: A few decades. As Lelang Commandery was destroyed and rebuilt around this time, the place gradually moved toward Liaodong. Thus, its force was diminished and only served as a trade center until it was conquered by Goguryeo in 313. Beginning around 300 BC, the Japonic -speaking Yayoi people from the Korean Peninsula entered the Japanese islands and displaced or intermingled with the original Jōmon inhabitants. The linguistic homeland of Proto- Koreans
SECTION 10
#17327718740771152-475: A nationwide next-generation network that will be 10 times faster than broadband facilities, in order to reduce energy usage. The renewable portfolio standard program with renewable energy certificates runs from 2012 to 2022. Quota systems favor large, vertically integrated generators and multinational electric utilities, if only because certificates are generally denominated in units of one megawatt-hour. They are also more difficult to design and implement than
1248-659: A new renaissance of the Joseon dynasty during the 18th century. In the 19th century, Joseon began experiencing economic difficulties and widespread uprisings, including the Donghak Peasant Revolution . The royal in-law families had gained control of the government, leading to mass corruption and weakening of the state. In addition, the strict isolationism of the Joseon government that earned it "the hermit kingdom " became increasing ineffective due to increasing encroachment from powers such as Japan, Russia, and
1344-456: A political prisoner sentenced to death (later commuted to exile). He won against the backdrop of the 1997 Asian financial crisis , where he took IMF advice to restructure the economy and the nation soon recovered its economic growth, albeit at a slower pace. In June 2000, as part of President Kim Dae-jung's " Sunshine Policy " of engagement, a North–South summit took place in Pyongyang ,
1440-706: A result of South Korea's proximity to China, which is a major air polluter. South Korea had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.02/10, ranking it 87th globally out of 172 countries. South Korea is a member of the Antarctic-Environmental Protocol , Antarctic Treaty , Biodiversity Treaty , Kyoto Protocol (forming the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG), regarding UNFCCC , with Mexico and Switzerland), Desertification , Endangered Species , Environmental Modification , Hazardous Wastes , Law of
1536-549: A series of massive public demonstrations from November 2016, and she was removed from office. After the fallout of Park's impeachment and dismissal, elections were held and Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party won the presidency, assuming office on May 10, 2017. His tenure saw an improving political relationship with North Korea, some increasing divergence in the military alliance with the United States, and
1632-526: A series of successful battles of attrition, the Japanese forces were eventually forced to withdraw, and relations between all parties became normalized. However, the Manchus took advantage of Joseon's war-weakened state and invaded in 1627 and 1637 and then went on to conquer the destabilized Ming dynasty. After normalizing relations with the new Qing dynasty , Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of peace. Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo particularly led
1728-473: A significant boost for South Korea's global image and economy. South Korea was formally invited to become a member of the United Nations in 1991. The transition of Korea from autocracy to modern democracy was marked in 1997 by the election of Kim Dae-jung, who was sworn in as the eighth president of South Korea on February 25, 1998. His election was significant given that he had in earlier years been
1824-500: A southwestern region of mountains and valleys; and a southeastern region dominated by the broad basin of the Nakdong River . South Korea is home to three terrestrial ecoregions: Central Korean deciduous forests , Manchurian mixed forests , and Southern Korea evergreen forests . South Korea's terrain is mostly mountainous, most of which is not arable . Lowlands , located primarily in the west and southeast, make up only 30% of
1920-536: A whole, rather than just the South Korean state. The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. According to Korea's founding mythology , the history of Korea begins with the founding of Joseon (also known as " Gojoseon ", or "Old Joseon", to differentiate it with the 14th century dynasty) in 2333 BCE by the legendary Dangun . Gojoseon was noted in Chinese records in
2016-869: Is 産 (also the accepted form in Japan and Korea), while in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan the accepted form is 產 (also the accepted form in Vietnamese chữ Nôm ). The PRC tends to print material intended for people in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese in traditional characters. For example, versions of the People's Daily are printed in traditional characters, and both People's Daily and Xinhua have traditional character versions of their website available, using Big5 encoding. Mainland companies selling products in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan use traditional characters in order to communicate with consumers;
SECTION 20
#17327718740772112-539: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Traditional Chinese characters Traditional Chinese characters are a standard set of Chinese character forms used to write Chinese languages . In Taiwan , the set of traditional characters is regulated by the Ministry of Education and standardized in the Standard Form of National Characters . These forms were predominant in written Chinese until
2208-425: Is a comprehensive overhaul of South Korea's economy, utilizing nearly two percent of the national GDP. The greening initiative includes such efforts as a nationwide bike network, solar and wind energy, lowering oil dependent vehicles, backing daylight saving time and extensive usage of environmentally friendly technologies such as LEDs in electronics and lighting. The country—one of the world's most wired—plans to build
2304-494: Is affected by the East Asian monsoon , with precipitation heavier in summer during a short rainy season called jangma , which begins end of June and lasts through the end of July. In Seoul, the average January temperature range is −7 to 1 °C (19 to 34 °F), and the average August temperature range is 22 to 30 °C (72 to 86 °F). Winter temperatures are higher along the southern coast and considerably lower in
2400-412: Is also the site of South Korea's highest point: Hallasan , an extinct volcano , reaches 1,950 meters (6,400 feet) above sea level . The easternmost islands of South Korea include Ulleungdo and Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo/Takeshima), while Marado and Socotra Rock are the southernmost islands of South Korea. South Korea tends to have a humid continental climate and a humid subtropical climate , and
2496-505: Is concentrated in the summer months of June through September. The southern coast is subject to late summer typhoons that bring strong winds, heavy rains and sometimes floods. The average annual precipitation varies from 1,370 millimeters (54 in) in Seoul to 1,470 millimeters (58 in) in Busan. During the first 20 years of South Korea's growth surge, little effort was made to preserve
2592-511: Is defined by the Sea of Japan . South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands . It has a population of 51.96 million, of which half live in the Seoul Capital Area , the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the world . Other major cities include Busan , Daegu , and Incheon . The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. Its first kingdom
2688-682: Is located somewhere in southern Siberia / Manchuria , such as the Liao River area or the Amur River area. Proto-Koreans arrived in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula at around 300 BC, replacing and assimilating Japonic-speakers and likely causing the Yayoi migration. During the Proto–Three Kingdoms period , the states of Buyeo , Okjeo , Dongye , and Samhan occupied the whole Korean peninsula and southern Manchuria. From them,
2784-404: Is the world's ninth-largest exporter and ninth-largest importer . Its armed forces are ranked as one of the world's strongest militaries, with the world's second-largest standing army by military and paramilitary personnel . In the 21st century, South Korea has been renowned for its globally influential pop culture, particularly in music , TV dramas , and cinema , a phenomenon referred to as
2880-614: The Book of Sui was completed by a separate set of authors and added in 656 – 20 years after the original text was completed. The treatises cover the Liang , Chen , Northern Qi , and Northern Zhou dynasties in addition to the Sui . In addition to the Book of Liang and Book of Chen , the Book of Sui is an essential source of information on the subjects covered for those dynasties. The treatises on classics (經籍) are especially important because
2976-493: The Chinese Commercial News , World News , and United Daily News all use traditional characters, as do some Hong Kong–based magazines such as Yazhou Zhoukan . The Philippine Chinese Daily uses simplified characters. DVDs are usually subtitled using traditional characters, influenced by media from Taiwan as well as by the two countries sharing the same DVD region , 3. With most having immigrated to
Book of Sui - Misplaced Pages Continue
3072-466: The 1987 constitution with a unicameral legislature, the National Assembly . It is considered a regional power and a developed country , with its economy ranked as the world's fourteenth-largest by nominal GDP and the fourteenth-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP . Its citizens enjoy one of the world's fastest Internet connection speeds and densest high-speed railway networks . The country
3168-675: The Book of Sui is the only standard history including such a section since the Book of Han and contains essential bibliographical information for the period from the Later Han (25–220) to the Sui dynasty. The treatises were initially circulated as a separate set titled "Treatises of the History of the Five Dynasties" (五代史志). This article about a non-fiction book on Chinese history
3264-676: The Gwangju Democratization Movement . Chun subsequently created the National Defense Emergency Policy Committee and took the presidency according to his political plan. Chun and his government held South Korea under a despotic rule until 1987, when a Seoul National University student, Park Jong-chul , was tortured to death. On June 10 , the Catholic Priests Association for Justice revealed
3360-653: The Kensiu language . South Korea South Korea , officially the Republic of Korea ( ROK ), is a country in East Asia . It constitutes the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone ; though it also claims the land border with China and Russia . The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea , while its eastern border
3456-559: The Korea Strait and the East China Sea . The country, including all its islands, lies between latitudes 33° and 39°N , and longitudes 124° and 130°E . Its total area is 100,410 square kilometers (38,768.52 sq mi). South Korea can be divided into four general regions: an eastern region of high mountain ranges and narrow coastal plains; a western region of broad coastal plains, river basins , and rolling hills;
3552-692: The Korean War , the Cold War 's first major conflict, which continued until 1953. At the time, the Soviet Union had boycotted the UN, thus forfeiting their veto rights . This allowed the UN to intervene in a civil war when it became apparent that the superior North Korean forces would unify the entire country. The Soviet Union and China backed North Korea, with the later participation of millions of Chinese troops . After an ebb and flow that saw both sides facing defeat with massive losses among Korean civilians in both
3648-689: The Korean War , which ended in 1953 after extensive fighting involving the American-led United Nations Command and the People's Volunteer Army from China with Soviet assistance . The war left 3 million Koreans dead and the economy in ruins . The authoritarian First Republic of Korea led by Syngman Rhee was overthrown in the April Revolution of 1960. However, the Second Republic failed to control
3744-807: The Korean Wave . It is a member of the OECD 's Development Assistance Committee , the G20 , the IPEF , and the Paris Club . The name Korea is an exonym , although it was derived from a historical kingdom name, Goryeo ( Revised Romanization ) or Koryŏ ( McCune–Reischauer ). Goryeo was the shortened name officially adopted by Goguryeo in the 5th century and the name of its 10th-century successor state Goryeo. Visiting Arab and Persian merchants pronounced its name as "Korea". The modern name of Korea appears in
3840-488: The Later Three Kingdoms period in the late 9th century. Buddhism flourished during this time. Many Korean Buddhists gained great fame among Chinese Buddhist circles and greatly contributed to Chinese Buddhism . Examples of significant Korean Buddhists from this period include Woncheuk , Wonhyo , Uisang , Musang , and Kim Gyo-gak . Kim was a Silla prince whose influence made Mount Jiuhua one of
3936-622: The Mongol invasions in the 13th century greatly weakened the kingdom. Goryeo was never conquered by the Mongols, but exhausted after three decades of fighting, the Korean court sent its crown prince to the Yuan capital to swear allegiance to Kublai Khan , who accepted and married one of his daughters to the Korean crown prince. Henceforth, Goryeo continued to rule Korea, though as a tributary ally to
Book of Sui - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-478: The Seoul subway system , and laid the foundation for economic development during his 17-year tenure, which ended with his assassination in 1979. The years after Park's assassination were marked again by political turmoil, as the previously suppressed opposition leaders all campaigned to run for president in the sudden political void. In 1979, General Chun Doo-hwan led the coup d'état of December Twelfth . Following
4128-640: The Shanghainese -language character U+20C8E 𠲎 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-20C8E —a composition of 伐 with the ⼝ 'MOUTH' radical—used instead of the Standard Chinese 嗎 ; 吗 . Typefaces often use the initialism TC to signify the use of traditional Chinese characters, as well as SC for simplified Chinese characters . In addition, the Noto, Italy family of typefaces, for example, also provides separate fonts for
4224-465: The Three Kingdoms of Korea emerged: Goguryeo , Baekje , and Silla . Goguryeo, the largest and most powerful among them, was a highly militaristic state and competed with various Chinese dynasties during its 700 years of history. Goguryeo experienced a golden age under Gwanggaeto the Great and his son Jangsu , who both subdued Baekje and Silla during their respective reigns, achieving
4320-602: The 8th and 9th centuries dominated the seas of East Asia and the trade between China, Korea, and Japan, most notably during the time of Jang Bogo . In addition, Silla people made overseas communities in China on the Shandong Peninsula and the mouth of the Yangtze River. However, Silla was later weakened due to internal strife and the revival of successor states Baekje and Goguryeo , which culminated into
4416-658: The Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism. In 936, the Later Three Kingdoms were united by Wang Geon , who established Goryeo as the successor state of Goguryeo. Balhae had fallen to the Khitan Empire in 926, and a decade later the last crown prince of Balhae fled south to Goryeo, where he was warmly welcomed and included in the ruling family by Wang Geon, thus unifying the two successor nations of Goguryeo. Like Silla, Goryeo
4512-603: The Mongols for the next 86 years. During this period, the two nations became intertwined as all subsequent Korean kings married Mongol princesses, and the last empress of the Yuan dynasty was a Korean princess. In the mid-14th century, Goryeo drove out the Mongols to regain its northern territories, briefly conquered Liaoyang , and defeated invasions by the Red Turbans . However, in 1392, General Yi Seong-gye , who had been ordered to attack China, turned his army around and staged
4608-555: The People's Republic of China, traditional Chinese characters are standardised according to the Table of Comparison between Standard, Traditional and Variant Chinese Characters . Dictionaries published in mainland China generally show both simplified and their traditional counterparts. There are differences between the accepted traditional forms in mainland China and elsewhere, for example the accepted traditional form of 产 in mainland China
4704-601: The Russian Far East and was called the "Prosperous Country in the East". Late Silla was a wealthy country, and its metropolitan capital of Gyeongju grew to become the fourth largest city in the world. It experienced a golden age of art and culture, exemplified by monuments such as Hwangnyongsa , Seokguram , and the Emille Bell . It also carried on the maritime legacy and prowess of Baekje, and during
4800-497: The Sea , Marine Dumping , Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (not into force), Ozone Layer Protection , Ship Pollution , Tropical Timber 83 , Tropical Timber 94 , Wetlands , and Whaling . The South Korean government's structure is determined by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea . Like many democratic states, South Korea has a government divided into three branches: executive , judicial , and legislative . The executive and legislative branches operate primarily at
4896-446: The South Korean public. South Korea saw another milestone in 2012 with the first ever female President Park Geun-hye elected and assuming office. The daughter of former President Park Chung Hee, she carried on a conservative brand of politics. President Park Geun-hye's administration was formally accused of corruption, bribery, and influence-peddling for the involvement of close friend Choi Soon-sil in state affairs. There followed
SECTION 50
#17327718740774992-419: The United States during the second half of the 19th century, Chinese Americans have long used traditional characters. When not providing both, US public notices and signs in Chinese are generally written in traditional characters, more often than in simplified characters. In the past, traditional Chinese was most often encoded on computers using the Big5 standard, which favored traditional characters. However,
5088-455: The United States led to the division of Korea into two political entities in 1948: North Korea and South Korea. In the South, the United States appointed and supported the former head of the Korean Provisional Government Syngman Rhee as leader. Rhee won the first presidential elections of the newly declared Republic of Korea in May 1948. In the North, the Soviets backed a former anti-Japanese guerrilla and communist activist, Kim Il Sung , who
5184-530: The United States. This is exemplified by the Joseon–United States Treaty of 1882 , in which it was compelled to open its borders. In the late 19th century, Japan became a significant regional power after winning the First Sino-Japanese War against Qing China and the Russo-Japanese War against the Russian Empire . In 1897, King Gojong, the last king of Korea , proclaimed Joseon as the Korean Empire . However, Japan compelled Korea to become its protectorate in 1905 and formally annexed it in 1910. What followed
5280-402: The Vietnam War. Park was heavily criticized as a ruthless military dictator, who in 1972 extended his rule by creating a new constitution , which gave the president sweeping (almost dictatorial) powers and permitted him to run for an unlimited number of six-year terms. The Korean economy developed significantly during Park's tenure. The government developed the nationwide expressway system ,
5376-432: The ancient kingdom of Gojoseon (2333 BCE). In 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the country's official name from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk ( Korean Empire ). The name Daehan (Great Han) derives from Samhan (Three Han), referring to the Three Kingdoms of Korea , not the ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula. However, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it
5472-437: The authoritarian rule continued in the Fifth Republic led by Chun Doo-hwan , which violently seized power by two coups and brutally suppressed the Gwangju Uprising . The June Democratic Struggle of 1987 ended authoritarian rule , forming the current Sixth Republic. The country is now considered among the most advanced democracies in continental and East Asia. South Korea maintains a unitary presidential republic under
5568-400: The capital of North Korea. Later that year, Kim received the Nobel Peace Prize "for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular". However, because of discontent among the population for fruitless approaches to the North under the previous administrations and, amid North Korean provocations,
5664-453: The coexistence of the spellings Corea and Korea in 19th-century publications, some Koreans believe that Imperial Japan , around the time of the Japanese occupation, intentionally standardized the spelling of Korea , making Japan appear first alphabetically. After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the official name for the entire territory, though it was not universally accepted. The new official name has its origin in
5760-517: The completion of the Book of Sui, which was being compiled around the same time as other official histories were being written. The Book of Sui was completed in 636 AD, the same year as the Book of Chen was completed. The format used in the text follows the composite historical biography format (斷代紀傳體) established by Ban Gu in the Book of the Later Han with three sections: annals (紀), treatises (志), and biographies (傳). The extensive set of 30 treatises, sometimes translated as "monographs", in
5856-534: The coup d'état, Chun planned to rise to power through several measures. On May 17, Chun forced the Cabinet to expand martial law to the whole nation, which had previously not applied to Jeju Island . The expanded martial law closed universities, banned political activities, and further curtailed the press. Chun's assumption of the presidency through the events of May 17 triggered nationwide protests demanding democracy; these protests were particularly focused, Gwangju , to which Chun sent special forces to violently suppress
SECTION 60
#17327718740775952-436: The early 7th century. Gojoseon expanded until it controlled the northern Korean Peninsula and parts of Manchuria . Gija Joseon was purportedly founded in the 12th century BCE, but its existence and role have been controversial in the modern era. In 108 BCE, the Han dynasty defeated Wiman Joseon and installed four commanderies in the northern Korean peninsula. Three of the commanderies fell or retreated westward within
6048-407: The environment. Unchecked industrialization and urban development have resulted in deforestation and the ongoing destruction of wetlands such as the Songdo Tidal Flat. However, there have been recent efforts to balance these problems, including a government run $ 84 billion five-year green growth project that aims to boost energy efficiency and green technology. The green-based economic strategy
6144-416: The first Portuguese maps of 1568 by João vaz Dourado as Conrai and later in the late 16th century and early 17th century as Corea (Korea) in the maps of Teixeira Albernaz of 1630. The Kingdom of Goryeo became first known to Westerners when Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Malacca in 1511 and described the peoples who traded with this part of the world known by the Portuguese as the Gores . Despite
6240-456: The incident, igniting the June Democratic Struggle across the country. Eventually, Chun's party, the Democratic Justice Party , and its leader, Roh Tae-woo , announced the June 29 Declaration , which included the direct election of the president. Roh went on to win the election by a narrow margin against the two main opposition leaders, Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam . Seoul hosted the Olympic Games in 1988 , widely regarded as successful and
6336-493: The inverse is equally true as well. In digital media, many cultural phenomena imported from Hong Kong and Taiwan into mainland China, such as music videos, karaoke videos, subtitled movies, and subtitled dramas, use traditional Chinese characters. In Hong Kong and Macau , traditional characters were retained during the colonial period, while the mainland adopted simplified characters. Simplified characters are contemporaneously used to accommodate immigrants and tourists, often from
6432-725: The mainland. The increasing use of simplified characters has led to concern among residents regarding protecting what they see as their local heritage. Taiwan has never adopted simplified characters. The use of simplified characters in government documents and educational settings is discouraged by the government of Taiwan. Nevertheless, with sufficient context simplified characters are likely to be successfully read by those used to traditional characters, especially given some previous exposure. Many simplified characters were previously variants that had long been in some use, with systematic stroke simplifications used in folk handwriting since antiquity. Traditional characters were recognized as
6528-682: The majority of Chinese text in mainland China are simplified characters , there is no legislation prohibiting the use of traditional Chinese characters, and often traditional Chinese characters remain in use for stylistic and commercial purposes, such as in shopfront displays and advertising. Traditional Chinese characters remain ubiquitous on buildings that predate the promulgation of the current simplification scheme, such as former government buildings, religious buildings, educational institutions, and historical monuments. Traditional Chinese characters continue to be used for ceremonial, cultural, scholarly/academic research, and artistic/decorative purposes. In
6624-916: The merging of previously distinct character forms. Many Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between these character sets. Traditional characters are known by different names throughout the Chinese-speaking world. The government of Taiwan officially refers to traditional Chinese characters as 正體字 ; 正体字 ; zhèngtǐzì ; 'orthodox characters'. This term is also used outside Taiwan to distinguish standard characters, including both simplified, and traditional, from other variants and idiomatic characters . Users of traditional characters elsewhere, as well as those using simplified characters, call traditional characters 繁體字 ; 繁体字 ; fántǐzì ; 'complex characters', 老字 ; lǎozì ; 'old characters', or 全體字 ; 全体字 ; quántǐzì ; 'full characters' to distinguish them from simplified characters. Some argue that since traditional characters are often
6720-400: The middle of the 20th century, when various countries that use Chinese characters began standardizing simplified sets of characters, often with characters that existed before as well-known variants of the predominant forms. Simplified characters as codified by the People's Republic of China are predominantly used in mainland China , Malaysia, and Singapore. "Traditional" as such is
6816-415: The mountainous interior. Summer can be uncomfortably hot and humid, with temperatures exceeding 30 °C (86 °F) in most parts of the country. South Korea has four distinct seasons; spring, summer, autumn and winter. Spring usually lasts from late March to early May, summer from mid-May to early September, autumn from mid-September to early November, and winter from mid-November to mid-March. Rainfall
6912-478: The national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. The judicial branch operates at both the national and local levels. Local governments are semi-autonomous and contain executive and legislative bodies of their own. South Korea is a constitutional democracy. The constitution has been revised several times since its first promulgation in 1948 at independence. However, it has retained many broad characteristics and with
7008-470: The north and the south, the war eventually reached a stalemate. During the war, Rhee's party promoted the One-People Principle , an effort to build an obedient citizenry through ethnic homogeneity and authoritarian appeals to nationalism . The 1953 armistice , never signed by South Korea, split the peninsula along the demilitarized zone near the original demarcation line. No peace treaty
7104-677: The official script in Singapore until 1969, when the government officially adopted Simplified characters. Traditional characters still are widely used in contexts such as in baby and corporation names, advertisements, decorations, official documents and in newspapers. The Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative in Southeast Asia regarding simplification. Although major public universities teach in simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications such as
7200-700: The original standard forms, they should not be called 'complex'. Conversely, there is a common objection to the description of traditional characters as 'standard', due to them not being used by a large population of Chinese speakers. Additionally, as the process of Chinese character creation often made many characters more elaborate over time, there is sometimes a hesitation to characterize them as 'traditional'. Some people refer to traditional characters as 'proper characters' ( 正字 ; zhèngzì or 正寫 ; zhèngxiě ) and to simplified characters as 簡筆字 ; 简笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'simplified-stroke characters' or 減筆字 ; 减笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'reduced-stroke characters', as
7296-470: The resignation of the autocratic President Syngman Rhee. This was followed by 13 months of political instability as South Korea was led by a weak and ineffectual government. This instability was broken by the May 16, 1961, coup led by General Park Chung Hee . As president, Park oversaw a period of rapid export-led economic growth enforced by political repression . Under Park, South Korea took an active role in
7392-686: The revolutionary fervor. The May 16 coup of 1961 led by Park Chung Hee put an end to the Second Republic, signaling the start of the Third Republic in 1963. South Korea's devastated economy began to soar under Park's leadership, recording one of the fastest rises in average GDP per capita . Despite lacking natural resources, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers based on international trade and economic globalization , integrating itself within
7488-583: The successful hosting of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang . In April 2018, Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 24 years in jail because of abuse of power and corruption. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the nation since 2020. That same year, South Korea recorded more deaths than births, resulting in a population decline for the first time on record. In March 2022, Yoon Suk Yeol , the candidate of conservative opposition People Power Party , won
7584-568: The time was Neo-Confucianism , which was epitomized by the seonbi class: nobles who passed up positions of wealth and power to lead lives of study and integrity. Between 1592 and 1598, Japan under Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched invasions of Korea , but the advance was halted by Korean forces (most notably the Joseon Navy led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin and his renowned " turtle ship ") with assistance from righteous army militias formed by Korean civilians, and Ming dynasty Chinese troops. Through
7680-529: The total land area. South Korea has 20 national parks and popular nature places like the Boseong Tea Fields, Suncheon Bay Ecological Park , and Jirisan . About 3,000 islands, mostly small and uninhabited, lie off the western and southern coasts of South Korea. Jeju Province is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) off the southern coast of South Korea. It is the country's largest island, with an area of 1,845 square kilometers (712 square miles). Jeju
7776-636: The traditional character set used in Taiwan ( TC ) and the set used in Hong Kong ( HK ). Most Chinese-language webpages now use Unicode for their text. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends the use of the language tag zh-Hant to specify webpage content written with traditional characters. In the Japanese writing system , kyujitai are traditional forms, which were simplified to create shinjitai for standardized Japanese use following World War II. Kyūjitai are mostly congruent with
7872-985: The traditional characters in Chinese, save for minor stylistic variation. Characters that are not included in the jōyō kanji list are generally recommended to be printed in their traditional forms, with a few exceptions. Additionally, there are kokuji , which are kanji wholly created in Japan, rather than originally being borrowed from China. In the Korean writing system , hanja —replaced almost entirely by hangul in South Korea and totally replaced in North Korea —are mostly identical with their traditional counterparts, save minor stylistic variations. As with Japanese, there are autochthonous hanja, known as gukja . Traditional Chinese characters are also used by non-Chinese ethnic groups. The Maniq people living in Thailand and Malaysia use Chinese characters to write
7968-518: The ubiquitous Unicode standard gives equal weight to simplified and traditional Chinese characters, and has become by far the most popular encoding for Chinese-language text. There are various input method editors (IMEs) available for the input of Chinese characters . Many characters, often dialectical variants, are encoded in Unicode but cannot be inputted using certain IMEs, with one example being
8064-519: The unification of the Three Kingdoms by Silla led to the Northern and Southern States period , in which Balhae controlled the northern parts of Goguryeo, and much of the Korean Peninsula was controlled by Later Silla . Relationships between Korea and China remained relatively peaceful during this time. Balhae was founded by a Goguryeo general and formed as a successor state to Goguryeo. During its height, Balhae controlled most of Manchuria and parts of
8160-587: The words for simplified and reduced are homophonous in Standard Chinese , both pronounced as jiǎn . The modern shapes of traditional Chinese characters first appeared with the emergence of the clerical script during the Han dynasty c. 200 BCE , with the sets of forms and norms more or less stable since the Southern and Northern dynasties period c. the 5th century . Although
8256-584: The world economy with export-oriented industrialization . The Fourth Republic was established after the October Restoration of 1972, in which Park wielded absolute power. The Yushin Constitution declared that the president could suspend basic human rights and appoint a third of the parliament. Suppression of the opposition and human rights abuse by the government became more severe in this period. Even after Park's assassination in 1979,
8352-649: Was divided into two zones : a northern zone , which was occupied by the Soviet Union , and a southern zone , which was occupied by the United States . After negotiations on reunification failed, the southern zone became the Republic of Korea in August 1948, while the northern zone became the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea the following month. In 1950, a North Korean invasion began
8448-744: Was a highly cultural state, and invented the metal movable type printing press . After defeating the Khitan Empire, which was the most powerful empire of its time, in the Goryeo–Khitan War , Goryeo experienced a golden age that lasted a century, during which the Tripitaka Koreana was completed and significant developments in printing and publishing occurred. This promoted education and the dispersion of knowledge on philosophy, literature, religion, and science. By 1100, there were 12 universities that produced notable scholars. However,
8544-505: Was a period of forced assimilation, in which Korean language, culture, and history were suppressed. This led to the March First Movement protests in 1919 and the subsequent foundation of resistance groups in exile, primarily in China. Among the resistance groups was Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea . Towards the end of World War II , the U.S. proposed dividing the Korean peninsula into two occupation zones:
8640-636: Was appointed premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in September. In October, the Soviet Union declared Kim Il Sung's government as sovereign over both the north and south. The UN declared Rhee's government as "a lawful government having effective control and jurisdiction over that part of Korea where the UN Temporary Commission on Korea was able to observe and consult" and the government "based on elections which
8736-602: Was ever signed, resulting in the two countries remaining technically at war. Approximately 3 million people died in the Korean War, with a higher proportional civilian death toll than World War II or the Vietnam War , making it one of the deadliest conflicts of the Cold War era. In addition, virtually all of Korea's major cities were destroyed by the war. In 1960, a student uprising (the " April Revolution ") led to
8832-484: Was instrumental in the dissemination of Buddhism throughout East Asia and spreading continental culture to Japan. Baekje was once a great military power on the Korean Peninsula, especially during the time of Geunchogo , but was critically defeated by Gwanggaeto the Great and declined. Silla was the smallest and weakest of the three, but used opportunistic pacts and alliances with the more powerful Korean kingdoms, and eventually Tang China , to its advantage. In 676,
8928-435: Was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule , the two names Han and Joseon coexisted. Following the surrender of Japan , in 1945, the "Republic of Korea" was adopted as the legal English name for the new country. However, it is not a direct translation of the Korean name. As a result, the Korean name "Daehan Minguk" is sometimes used by South Koreans as a metonym to refer to the Korean ethnicity (or " race ") as
9024-599: Was noted in Chinese records in the early 7th century BCE. After the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea into Silla and Balhae in the late 7th century, Korea was ruled by the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) and the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). The succeeding Korean Empire (1897–1910) was annexed in 1910 into the Empire of Japan . Japanese rule ended following Japan's surrender in World War II , after which Korea
9120-533: Was observed by the Temporary Commission" in addition to a statement that "this is the only such government in Korea." Both leaders engaged in authoritarian repression of political opponents. South Korea requested military support from the United States but was denied, and North Korea's military was heavily reinforced by the Soviet Union. On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, sparking
9216-493: Was sunk killing 46 South Korean sailors, allegedly by a North Korean submarine. In November 2010 Yeonpyeongdo was attacked by a significant North Korean artillery barrage, with 4 people dying. The lack of a strong response to these attacks from both South Korea and the international community (the official UN report declined to explicitly name North Korea as the perpetrator for the Cheonan sinking) caused significant anger with
#76923