South Korea

By TennisPlayerGio37
  • 2000 BCE

    Antiquity

    In antiquity in Korea, there were was really just one ethnicity, they spoke one language and they practiced two main religious beliefs. Koreans are supposedly the descendants of the ancient people from *Manchuria (region in China) who settled in the northern Korean Peninsula. They spoke Korean languages. Koreans follow *Shamanism (the idea that some wise people have special powers) and *Ancestor Worship (belief that you can communicate with your dead ancestors).
  • 150

    Buddhism

    Indian *MONKS (members of a religious community) traveled to China in about 150 AD, which impacted Korea's religion. Trade between India and China in this time had brought Indian people into China, and with that came ideas. Buddhism spread from India to China as monks rode with the traders' *caravans. In around the 4th and 5th centuries, Buddhism became the main faith in China. Because it became so popular in China, it spread to Korea around the 4th century and began to populate more and more.
  • 300

    Hanja

    Chinese migration to Korea impacted their language in *CIRCA (around) 300 AD. *HANJA (traditional writing system) became popular in use by the upper-class by the Three Kingdoms. Because of it being used by mainly the upper-classes, it was difficult for others to learn, which limited character development.

  • Chinese Getting Korean Tributes

    Koreans traveled to China in the 1780s and learned about a new religion. Koreans learned about Christianity when they traveled to China during *TRIBUTE (money given to another country) missions. They learned about Christianity from Chinese people who had recently converted to *CATHOLIC (sect of Christianity) during these missions and when they arrived home from China, they brought religious writings and started meeting secretly with other Koreans.

  • Today

    Today, most of the people of South Korea have one ethnicity, speak one language, and practice several religions. Nearly all of the people of South Korea are ethnic Koreans who speak the Korean language. There is also a small group of Japanese people. Over 50% of the population follows no religion. About 25% of South Koreans are *Christian (someone who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ). A little over 15% of people are *Buddhists (someone who follows the teachings of the Buddha).