It is believed that the first Korean kingdom "Kojoseon" was founded 5000 years ago by King Tangun, but apart from pottery, nothing has survived from that time and the story of Tangun is confirmed only by ancient Korean chronicles and the faith of the Koreans themselves. Obviously, the history of KoJoseon begins to be traced back to the 5th century BC. e. Now there are ruins of cities of that period and written references to the ancient state, including in Chinese sources. However, the name Korea comes from the state of Goguryeo, which was formed in the 1st century AD, after the state of Kojoseon was destroyed by the Chinese Han Empire. Goguryeo, in addition to the territory of modern DPRK, occupied the territory where the Chinese Dalian, Shenyang, Harbin are now located. The capital of Goguryeo was Pyongyang.

Over time, Goguryeo north of Pyongyang became the Bohai state, and the United Silla state was formed south of Pyongyang. In 935, after the feudal wars and the change of dynasties, "United Silla" became "Goryeo", short for "Goguryeo". The capital of Koryo was the city of Kaesong, now a North Korean city located on the very border with South Korea. In Kaesong, in 53, an armistice agreement was signed in the Korean War.

At the end of the 14th century, the Goryeo dynasty was replaced by the Joseon dynasty, which fought against both the Manchus and the Japanese, pursued a policy of isolationism, and as a result turned into a tributary of the Chinese Qing dynasty. Under the banner of liberating Korea from Chinese rule, Japan in the late 19th century increased its influence on the peninsula, in fact, turning Korea into its vassal. In 1910, Japan simply annexed Korea to itself, making it its colony, after which the brutal extermination of everything Korean began. Koreans were forbidden to learn their native language, forced to take Japanese names, thousands of them were taken to Japan for hard work, Korean women were sexually exploited and abused. Many works of art and many historical values ​​were taken out of Korea, their culture was in decline.

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