History and Politics

Ancient Korea to the Joseon Dynasty

25 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

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Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 25 questions

  1. According to Korean founding legend, who established Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, in 2333 BC?
  2. Which three kingdoms shared the Korean peninsula and Manchuria in the era before Silla's unification in 676?
  3. Which foreign power allied with Silla to defeat Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668?
  4. Which city, with the temple of Bulguksa and the grotto of Seokguram, was the capital of Silla for nearly a thousand years?
  5. Which state, founded in 698 by Dae Joyeong, a former Goguryeo general, ruled Manchuria and the north of the peninsula beside Unified Silla?
  6. Which dynasty, founded by Wang Geon in 918, gave the English language the name Korea?
  7. Which Goryeo-era Buddhist text, printed at Heungdeok temple in 1377, is the oldest surviving book printed with movable metal type?
  8. Who founded the Joseon dynasty in 1392 after a coup against the Goryeo court?
  9. Which king oversaw the creation of the Korean alphabet, announced in 1446?
  10. Which admiral used armoured turtle ships to defeat Japanese fleets in the Imjin War, including at Hansan Island in 1592?
  11. Which Japanese ruler launched the invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597, aiming ultimately at China?
  12. Which Goguryeo general destroyed a huge Sui army at the Salsu River in 612?
  13. Which Goryeo general won the Battle of Kuju in 1019 by destroying a Khitan invading army?
  14. After the Mongol invasions began in 1231, to which island did the Goryeo court move its capital to resist?
  15. What was the name of the elite youth corps of Silla that trained in martial arts and moral values?
  16. Which class of scholar-officials and landowners formed the Joseon ruling elite?
  17. Which philosophy was the state ideology of the Joseon dynasty?
  18. Which palace, built in 1395 and rebuilt in the nineteenth century, was the main royal residence of the Joseon dynasty?
  19. Which UNESCO Memory of the World record covers 472 years of Joseon history, written day by day by court historians?
  20. Which scholar, known by the pen name Dasan, was a leading figure of the Silhak reform school in the late Joseon period?
  21. Which 1876 treaty with Japan opened three Korean ports to trade and ended Joseon's isolation?
  22. Which 1894 uprising of peasants, led by Jeon Bong-jun, began in Jeolla province and led to the intervention of Chinese and Japanese troops?
  23. Which ruler proclaimed the Korean Empire in 1897 and took the title of emperor?
  24. Which Goguryeo king, commemorated by a huge stele beside the Yalu River, greatly expanded the kingdom between 391 and 413?
  25. Which stone tower in Gyeongju, built in the reign of Queen Seondeok in the seventh century, is regarded as the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in East Asia?

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