Joseon dynasty in the context of "Jurchen people"

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. North Korea, like South Korea, claims to be the sole legitimate government of the Korean Peninsula and adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city.

The Korean Peninsula was first inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early 7th century BCE. Following 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. In 1945, after the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, Korea was divided into two zones along the 38th parallel, with the north occupied by the Soviet Union and the south occupied by the United States. In 1948, separate governments were formed in Korea: the socialist and Soviet-aligned Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north, and the capitalist, Western-aligned Republic of Korea in the south. The North Korean invasion of South Korea in 1950 started the Korean War. In 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement brought about a ceasefire and established a demilitarized zone (DMZ), but no formal peace treaty has ever been signed. Post-war North Korea benefited greatly from economic aid and expertise provided by other Eastern Bloc countries. However, Kim Il Sung, North Korea's first leader, promoted his personal philosophy of Juche as the state ideology. Pyongyang's international isolation sharply accelerated from the 1980s onwards as the Cold War came to an end. The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 then brought about a sharp decline to the North Korean economy. From 1994 to 1998, North Korea suffered a famine with the population continuing to suffer from malnutrition. In 2024, the DPRK formally abandoned efforts to reunify Korea.

Korean court music (Korean: 궁중음악; Hanja: 宮中音樂) comprises three main musical genres: aak, an imported form of Chinese ritual music; a pure Korean form called hyangak; and a combination of Chinese and Korean styles called dangak.

Korean court music and its historical origins can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms Period (57 BCE–668), the Unified Silla (668–935), Goryeo (918–1392) and Joseon dynasties (1392–1910). It was partly modelled on the court music of China, known as yayue. Korean court music also shows similarities with the court music of Japan, known as gagaku and of Vietnam, known as nhã nhạc, which also are also derivative of yayue.

The Kapsin Coup, also known as the Kapsin Revolution, was a failed three-day coup d'état that occurred in Korea during 1884. Korean reformers in the Enlightenment Party sought to initiate rapid changes within the country, including eliminating social distinctions by abolishing the legal privileges of the yangban class. The coup d'état attempt, with Japanese support, began on December 4, 1884, with seizure of the royal palace Changdeokgung in Seoul and the killing of several members of the pro-Chinese conservative faction. However, the coup was eventually suppressed by a Chinese garrison stationed in the country. Thwarted by the Chinese actions, some of the pro-Japanese faction leaders found exile in Japan. The event led to informal Chinese domination of Korea from 1885 to 1894. Within the Joseon court, Chinese influence grew particularly under the Resident-General Yuan Shikai.
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Taoism or "Do" is thought to be the earliest state philosophy for the Korean people. However, its influence waned with the introduction of Buddhism during the Goryeo kingdom as the national religion and the dominance of neo-Confucianism during the Joseon dynasty. Despite its diminished influence during those periods, it permeated all strata of the Korean populace, integrating with its native animism as well as Buddhist and Confucian institutions, temples, and ceremonies. The Taoist practice in Korea developed, somewhat in contrast to China, as an esoteric meditative practice in the mountains taught by the "mountain masters" or "mountain sages".

One of Korea's well-known founding myths in which a tiger and a bear seek to become human during an encounter with Hwanung may be viewed as a Taoist parable. The exact origin, despite various theories by historians, is in question because the royal records maintained by the early Korean kingdoms were destroyed during the two occasions in which the royal libraries were burned by invading Chinese armies. Later attempts to study the history and philosophy of Korean Taoism were suppressed during the Joseon kingdom which embraced only Confucianism as the proper field of study.

The Ganghwa Island incident or the Japanese Battle of Ganghwa (Korean: 운요호 사건 [雲揚號事件] Unyo-ho sageon meaning "Un'yō incident"; Japanese: 江華島事件 Kōka-tō jiken) was an armed clash between the Joseon dynasty of Korea and Japan which occurred in the vicinity of Ganghwa Island on September 20, 1875.

Ch'oe Yŏng (Korean: 최영; Hanja: 崔瑩; 1316–1388), also romanized as Choi Young, was a Korean general born in Hongseong or Cheorwon during the Goryeo period. He became a national hero after he put down Cho Il-sin's Rebellion (조일신의 난). He also participated in the Red Turban Rebellions and later allied with the Ming dynasty to overthrow the Mongol Yuan dynasty. In his final years, General Ch'oe was betrayed and executed by his former subordinate Yi Sŏng-gye, who founded the Joseon dynasty of Korea, bringing an end to the Goryeo period.

Dance in Korea began with shamanistic early rituals five thousand years ago and now ranges from folk dance to newly created and adopted contemporary dance.