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Koreans refer to their country as "Daehan", meaning
'Great Han' where 'Han' is another traditional
name for Korea. South Korea has a total area of about 99,390 sq km
(or about 38,375 sq miles), including numerous offshore islands in
the south and west regions, the largest being Cheju. Busan is geographically
located in the southeast region of the Korean Peninsula
2333BC Legend has it that the man-god 'Tan Gun' founded the Joseon (meaning Land of the Morning Calm) Kingdom in
2333 BC. However, modern urban development is helping to uncover relics and
remains which provide more detailed historical information.
Using items such as 'hunting stones' found during urban
development in various areas of Busan, the first human presence
on the Korean Peninsula has been traced back as far as the
Paleolithic Age (500,000 to 10,000 BC - the Old Stone Age).
However, most of the ruins and remains found in the Busan
area are from the period after the beginning of the Neolithic
Age (8,000 to 5,500 BC - the New Stone Age) and since
most of the older remains are located near rivers or seas, the general
conclusion is that the life of Korean ancestors revolved around fishing. Furthermore,
it is believed that the local culture had a Japanese influence,
thought to originate from the Kita Kyushu region. This
is not surprising given the close proximity of Japan to Korea.
600BC
In contrast to the above, more recent remains are being uncovered inland on hilly
regions and away from the oceans. Such finds are thought to
date back to the Bronze Age (2,400 - 600 BC) and of note
is that these remains have an agricultural influence with metal
tools and household pottery items.
 300BC
By far the most popular finds are 'shell mounds' and 'old tombs'
which can be found throughout the Busan area.
Furthermore, Busan
boasts a higher number of finds from the Iron Age (1,200 - 300
BC) than any other Korean region. Excavations from this
period indicate that Busan was the central production area of
Iron and it is believed that this was exported to Japan and
other regions via the Suyeong River. Such trading is in
fact well recorded in the history of the Three Kingdoms
of China, which emerged as the first centralized
communities in the 1st century BC.
372AD
The Three Kingdoms of Silla, Koguryo, and Baekje had
similar ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. However, Koguryo
occupied the northern part of the peninsula from the
Chinese border to the Han River, while Silla and Baekche
dominated the southern regions. All three kingdoms were
heavily influenced by China, and Buddhism was introduced
to Koguryo in 372 AD. Various alliances were formed either
with or against the Chinese until 660 when Silla allied
with China to overthrow Baekje. Koguryo fell shortly
afterwards in 668 AD. As a result the three Kingdoms were unified in Korea and by 700 AD
the Goryeo Kingdom had fully evolved.
Korea's English name was derived during the Goryeo
period. At this time the government codified the laws
and introduced a civil service system. During this time
Buddhism flourished and spread throughout the peninsula.
Like other kingdoms before it, Goryeo also
internal strife and external threats, most notably from
the Mongols who had taken over China.
1231AD
In 1231 the Mongols invaded Korea, forcing the royal family to flee
to Kanghwa Island near Seoul. After 25 years of
struggle, the royal family finally surrendered and next 150 years saw continued Goryeo rule, but under
the control of the Mongols. As Mongol power declined, so too did Goryeo. In 1392 a Korean general,
Yi, Song-Gye, was sent to China to campaign against the Ming
rulers. Instead, he allied himself with the Chinese,
returned to overthrow the Korean king, and setup his own
dynasty, the Yi Dynasty. During the Yi Dynasty the
Korean capital was moved to Hanyang-Gun
(Seoul) in 1394 and adopted Confucianism as the
country's official religion. As a result, Buddhists lost
much of their wealth and power.
 1443AD During
this period in 1443, the Korean alphabet, Han-Gul, was invented
by King Sejong the Great.
The alphabet was intended to be simple to use and
contains only 10 vowels and 14 consonants. This period also had its share
of external problems, suffering invasions by the
Japanese (1592-1598) and the Manchus (1627-1636).
1876AD
With the arrival of Japanese and Western traders in the 19th
century, the Korean rulers tried to prevent the opening
of the country to foreign trade by closing the borders,
earning Korea its nickname of the Hermit Kingdom.
Beginning in 1876, the Japanese forced a series of
Western-style trade agreements on Korea, leading to
Japan's eventual annexation of the country in 1910. Due
to growing anti-Japanese sentiment, in 1897 King Kojong
declared himself to be emperor of the Taehan Empire, an
independent Korea. However, during the Russo-Japanese
War (1904-1905), Japanese forces moved onto the
peninsula, despite Korean declarations of neutrality.
The signing of the Japan-Korea Protection Treaty in 1905
gave Japan virtual control over Korea, and in 1910 a
Korean royal proclamation announced the annexation by
Japan. Whilst Japan did provide Korea with the benefits of
road and rail links around the country, above all they proved to
be the most harsh of masters. This in turn bred much anti-Japanese
sentiment and the Japanese attempted to
root out all elements of Korean culture by forcing
people to adopt Japanese names; to convert to native
Japanese religion (Shinto). Japan also outlawed the use of
Korean language in all schools and business.
1919AD
The resulting unrest led to the Korean Independence Movement on March 1, 1919.
This was brutally repressed by the Japanese who killed thousands
of Koreans and injured or imprisoned tens of thousands
more. The Japanese also destroyed hundreds of churches,
temples, schools, and private homes and during World War
II, they siphoned off more and more of Korea's
resources, including its people, to feed its Imperial
war machine. Many of the forced laborers were never repatriated to Korea.
1953AD
After WW2, US forces occupied the south of the peninsula, while USSR took over the
north. Elections to decide the fate of the country were
held only in the south, and after declaring its
independence, the north invaded in an unprovoked attack. The ensuing Korean War
started on June 25, 1950 and lasted until July 27, 1953. By the
end of the Korean War, two million people had died
and the country had been officially divided.
Busan proved to be a soft and comfortable hometown place
for returning brothers-in-arms during the Korean War and
continued to flourish thereafter. Busan was upgraded to a
'Jikhalsi' (City under the Direct Control of Government) in 1963.
1972AD
After a few years of semi-democracy in the South, martial law was
declared in 1972. The next 15 years saw alternating democracy and
repressive martial law and by late 1980s
the country was at flashpoint. Large scale student
protests enveloped the country and workers all over Korea were
walking off the job to join them. Among the demands were
democratic elections, freedom of the press and the
release of political prisoners. Civil war was averted by
President Chun who suddenly decided that the protesters demands
would be met.
1988AD
In 1988, Seoul hosted the Olympic Games and
elections produced a new president, Roh Tae-woo. Roh
significantly freed up the political system and relations
were re-established with China and the Soviet Union. In
1992, Roh was replaced by Kim Young-sam of the Democratic Liberal Party,
and this saw the start of moves to abolish corrupt
practice which had been prevalent in the country.
1997AD
1997 was a bad year for
South Korea's economy, due to the so called Asian-Crisis. Korean currency (Won)
fell against other currencies and this in turn affected
many businesses including tourism.
1988AD
In February 1998, Kim Dae-jung became president, the first time
a non-conservative had headed the country in its 50
years of independence. Kim Dae-jung promised to introduce
economic and democratic reforms and to improve relations
with North Korea. By mid-1998 the South Korean economy had shrunk for the
first time in 20 years. Rising bankruptcies and soaring
unemployment led to large-scale labour unrest, but this
has since subsided with an general economic recovery.
2000AD
Making good on promises of more neighbourly relations
with North Korea, Kim, Dae-jung made an historic visit to shake
the hand of reclusive North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il,
in June 2000. In October 2000 he was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize. His desire for collaboration also extended
to Europe and in December 2001 he was the first Asian
leader to speak before the European Parliament.
 2002AD
The World Cup football finals were hosted jointly by South
Korea and Japan in 2002 and this resulted in a massive
increase of global awareness of Korea and its culture.
This year also saw the appointment of Roh Moo-hyun as
President and continual government reforms are greatly
contributing to the counties higher global acceptance, There are
undoubtedly significant challenges ahead and we await a
favourable resolution of nuclear tensions that currently cloud the peninsula.
Like most of Korea, Busan is full of new construction projects for residential and
commercial applications. Construction of the 2nd Lotte World
tower is ongoing, with completion planned for 2005. When
complete this building will stand some 465m (107 stories) high.
As one of three Millennium projects in Busan, development of the
so called Centum City project also continues. This is scheduled
for completion in 2010 and is expected to play a pivotal role in
the transformation of the industrial structure of Busan economy,
to one centered around the digital industry.
The location for the Centum City project was strategically
placed close to large scale apartment complexes in Haeundae New
Town district and close to tourist attractions such as
the Suyeong Bay Yacht racing facility and the Haeundae Beach
resort. |
