The Joseon dynasty was founded in Hanseong (present-day Seoul) by General Yi Seong-gye in 1392. Its territory corresponded largely with present-day North and South Korea. Major economic and administrative reforms, following the adoption of Neo-Confucianism as the state ideology, were made during the Early Joseon period. The dynasty renounced Buddhism and confiscated the estates and properties of Buddhist temples, which consequently reduced the religion’s position of authority within society. King Sejong the Great (reigned 1418-1450) invented Hangeul, the Korean alphabet in 1443, although the Chinese written language continued to be predominant within the academies and in government until the late Joseon period. The Japanese invasion of Korea (1592-1598), led by the Kanpaku Toyotomi Hideyoshi, devastated the Korean Peninsula. There were also two invasions by Manchurians (1627 and 1636) that attempted to change Korea’s alliance with Ming dynasty China. The 26th King of the Joseon dynasty, Gojong, established the Daehan Empire in 1897 and became the first emperor of Korea. In 1905, Korea was forced to sign the Japan-Korea Protectorate Treaty that deprived Korea of diplomatic sovereignty and made it a protectorate of Japan. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea into its empire, starting the Japanese colonial period in Korea.
Joseon society had a rigid social hierarchy. Although it was possible to move up and down within the social stratification, noble families of civil or military officials, known as Yangban, were at the top of the social structure; and a serf-like class, known as Nobi, were at the bottom of society. There was a movement for social reform known as Silhak, starting in the 18th century, which advocated a practical method of ruling, rather than strict adherence to Confucian ideology. Silhak scholars were particularly in favour of administrative and economic reforms.
The arts of Korea continued to develop under the Joseon, now with Neo-Confucianism as a major influence. The literati embraced Chinese styles of landscape painting. Buncheong ceramics developed from Goryeo celadon ware and thrived for the first two centuries of the Joseon Dynasty. It was then replaced by porcelain, mainly white and blue-and-white porcelain. The Neo-Confucian elite had austere aesthetics, and white symbolized purity and frugality.
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