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Bronze objects were exchanged into the Korean Peninsula from the outside before 900 B.C. However, the [[Molding (process)|moulds]] for bronze casting from [[Songguk-ri]] and an increased number of bronze artifacts indicates that people in the southern part of the peninsula engaged in bronze metallurgical production starting from circa 700 B.C. Several hundred years later iron production was adopted, and Korean-made iron tools and weaponry became increasingly common after approximately 200 B.C. Iron tools facilitated the spread of intensive agriculture into new areas of the Korean Peninsula.
== Three Kingdoms Period ==
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== Goryeo Dynasty ==
During the [[Goryeo Dynasty]] the world's first [[metal movable type]] printing was
During the late Goryeo Dynasty [[Choe Mu-seon]], a medieval Korean inventor, military commander and scientist who introduced gunpowder to [[Korea]] for the first time and creating various gunpowder based weapons. The weapons were created because of Japanese pirates ([[Wokou]]) frequently raiding Korea's coastal regions. Choe obtained knowledge of gunpowder from a Chinese merchant named Lee Yuan despite the fact that it was against Mongol law. Lee was at first reluctant but eventually came around because he was impressed by Choe's patriotism and determination. Choe later impressed the Koryo court and [[King U]] which then built him a laboratory and a factory geared solely toward gunpowder. He invented the first [[Korean cannon|Korean cannons]] and other weapons such as the [[Singijeon]] (a variation of Chinese [[Fire arrows]]) and later the [[Hwacha]] which were first built in [[1377]] and are widely considered to be the first true [[Multiple rocket launcher|MRLs]]. These weapons were a vast improvement over the previous rocket weapons with one of the key features was that it could fire up to 200 rockets at one time. ▼
▲During the late Goryeo Dynasty [[Choe Mu-seon]], a medieval Korean inventor, military commander and scientist who introduced gunpowder to [[Korea]] for the first time and creating various gunpowder based weapons. The weapons were created because of Japanese pirates ([[Wokou]]) frequently raiding Korea's coastal regions. Choe obtained knowledge of gunpowder
== Joseon Dynasty ==
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Revision as of 18:54, 16 October 2007
Like most other regions in the world, science and technology in Korea has experienced periods of intense growth as well as long periods of stagnation. Past kingdoms and dynasties in Korea were often invaded and the aftermath of the these conflicts caused the various governments to divert funds to reconstruction rather than cultural or scientific development. During the Joseon Dynasty Korea was under the effects of Neo-Confucianism and had a caste system which prevented most citizens from being educated or even literate. Moreover, Joseon society had a negative view toward scientists and gave them no formal support. The exception to this is the reign of Sejong the Great and a few other sovereigns of Joseon who realized that Korea's isolationist "Hermit Kingdom" policy was a failure and prevented the flow of new ideas and technology to Korea.
In the present day there continues to be a sharp contrast of technological and scientific growth and development between North Korea and South Korea over the last 50 years. In terms of advancement, North Korea's state-funded institutes have lagged behind South Korea's private and governmental counterparts.
Prehistory
At the end of the Palaeolithic, people of the Korean Peninsula adopted microlithic stone tool technology, a highly efficient and useful way of making and maintaining a flexible prehistoric toolkit. The Palaeolithic also marks the beginning of a long period of plant and human interaction in which people undoubtedly adopted a number of wild plants for medicinal use.
Archaeological evidence from Gosan-ri in Jeju-do indicates that pottery was first made circa 8500-8000 B.C.[1]People depended on gathering, hunting, and fishing as the main source of food until the Middle Jeulmun Period (c. 3500 B.C. to 2000 B.C.) when small-scale cultivation of plants began.[2][3]
Farmers of the Mumun Period began to use multiple cropping systems of agriculture some time after 1500 B.C.[2] This sophisticated technological advance in food production irrevocably altered the subsistence systems of the Mumun and hastened the beginnings of intensive agriculture in the Korean Peninsula. Korea and adjacent areas of Northeast Asia seem to have been a part of the domestication region of soybean (Glycine max) between 1500 and 500 B.C.[2]Paddy-field agriculture, a highly complex system of wet-rice cultivation, was also introduced into the southern Korean Peninsula during this period.
Widespread archaeological evidence shows that after 850 B.C. the technology for heating homes changed. Before 850 B.C. pit-houses were heated using fire from various kinds of hearths that were dug into the floor of the pit-house. After 850 B.C., hearths disappeared from the interior of pit-house architecture and was likely replaced with some kind of brazier-like technology in Hoseo, Honam, and western Yeongnam.
Bronze objects were exchanged into the Korean Peninsula from the outside before 900 B.C. However, the moulds for bronze casting from Songguk-ri and an increased number of bronze artifacts indicates that people in the southern part of the peninsula engaged in bronze metallurgical production starting from circa 700 B.C. Several hundred years later iron production was adopted, and Korean-made iron tools and weaponry became increasingly common after approximately 200 B.C. Iron tools facilitated the spread of intensive agriculture into new areas of the Korean Peninsula.
Three Kingdoms Period
The production of hard-fired stoneware ceramics, in which clay is vitrified in kilns at >1000°C, occurred first in the Korean Peninsula during the Three Kingdoms Period. [4]
This period is notable for the establishment of industrial-scale production of pottery and roof tiles[5]. This involved the adoption of climbing kiln or 'dragon kiln' technology sometime between A.D. 100-300.
One of very few examples of science and technology during the Three Kingdoms of Korea that has survived until this day is the Cheomseongdae, which means "star gazing platform" and is one of the oldest scientific installations on Earth. It was built during Queen Seondeok's rule. The tower is built out of 362 pieces of cut granite which some claim represent the 362 days of the lunar year and has 12 base stones which supposedly represent the twelve months of the year. The design is said to be strongly influenced by Buddhism.
The nine-story wooden pagoda of Hwangnyongsa, which was commissioned by Queen Seondeok after the main temple was finished, is reputed to be the largest premodern Korean stupa ever built. It was reported to be 80 metres in height. Only its foundation stones remain today but they attest to the mammoth proportions of the original structure.
Goryeo Dynasty
During the Goryeo Dynasty the world's first metal movable type printing was developed by Chae Yun-ui in 1234. This invention made printing easier, more efficient and also increased literacy, which observed by Chinese visitors was seen to be so important where it was considered to be shameful to not be able to read. [6] The Mongol Empire later adopted Korea's movable type printing and spread as far as Central Asia. There is conjecture as to whether or not Chae's invention had any influence on later printing inventions such as Gutenberg's Printing press.[7] When the Mongols invaded Europe they inadvertently introduced different kinds of Asian technology. There is however, no evidence that the movable type was among them or that it had ever reached Europe.
During the late Goryeo Dynasty Choe Mu-seon, a medieval Korean inventor, military commander and scientist who introduced gunpowder to Korea for the first time and creating various gunpowder based weapons. The weapons were created because of Japanese pirates (Wokou) frequently raiding Korea's coastal regions. Choe obtained knowledge of gunpowder by bribing a Chinese merchant named Lee Yuan despite the fact that it was against Mongol law. Choe later impressed the Koryo court and King U which then built him a laboratory and a factory geared solely toward gunpowder. He developed the first Korean cannons and other weapons such as the singijeon (a variation of Chinese Fire arrows) and later the Hwacha which were first built in 1377, in some ways resembling the modern multiple rocket launcher. A key feature was that it could fire up to 200 rockets at one time.
Joseon Dynasty
The Joseon Dynasty under the reign of Sejong the Great was Korea's greatest period of scientific advancement. Under Sejong's new policy that allowed low-birth (서자) Koreans such as Jang Yeong-sil to work for the government. Jang is one of Korea's most famous inventors when he was very young he built machines to help make worker's jobs easier such as aqueducts, canals among others. Jang eventually was allowed to live at the royal palace where he led a group of scientists to work on advancing Korea's science.
Some of his inventions were an automated (self-striking) water clock, the Jagyeokru which worked by activating motions of wooden figures to indicate time visually was invented in 1434 by Jang, who later developed a more complicated water-clock with additional astronomical devices, as well as an improved model of the previous metal movable printing type created in the Goryeo Dynasty. The new model was of even higher quality and was twice as fast. Other inventions were the sight glass, and the udometer. Also during the Joseon Dynasty Heo Jun, a court physician wrote a number of medical texts, but his most significant achievement is Dongeui Bogam, which is often noted as the defining text of Traditional Korean medicine. The work spread to China and Japan, where it is still regarded as one of the classics of Oriental medicine today.
The highpoint of Korean astronomy was during the Joseon period, where men such as Jang created celestial globes which could whether day or night, allowed the instrument to be updated on the positions of the sun, moon, and the stars among other devices[8] Later celestial globes (i.e. gyupyo (규표)) could measure time changes according to the seasonal variations.
The apex of astronomical and calendarial advances made under King Sejong was the Ch'ilchongsan, made up of compiled computations on the courses of the seven heavenly objects (five visible planets, the sun, and moon) developed in 1442. This work made it possible for scientists to calculate and accurately predict all the major heavenly phenomena, such as solar eclipses and other stellar movements. [9] Honcheonsigye is an astronomical clock created by Song I-yeong in 1669. The clock has an armillary sphere with a diameter of 40 cm. The sphere is activated by a working clock mechanism, showing the position of the universe at any given time.
Kangnido, a Korean made map of the world was created in 1402, by Kim Sa-hyeong (김사형:金士衡), Yi Mu (이무:李茂) and Yi Ho (이회:李撓). The map was created in the second year of the reign of Taejong of Joseon. The map was made by combining Chinese, Korean and Japanese maps.
North Korea
In computer, North Korea's hardware technology has been lagging behind; however its software developments have been sound and being expanded.[10] In military, North Korea is confirmed to have the capabilities to manufacture and deploy short and medium-ranged missiles, and chemical weapons.[11]
South Korea
Scientific and technological development in the South Korea at first did not occur largely because of more pressing matters such as the division of Korea and the Korean War that occurred right after its independence. It wasn't until the 1960s under the dictatorship of Park Chung-hee where South Korea's economy rapidly grew from industrialisation and the Chaebol corporations such as Samsung and LG.
As of 2005 South Korea ranked 6th or 7th highest in terms of R&D.[12]
Park Kye-jung, CEO of Ace Electronics, won the Gold and Silver prizes for his invention of motor and motor-equipped gear at the 23rd Invention and New Product Exposition, he took the gold medal with his invention of a special device that converts vibrations from a running car into electric power.[13] During the INPEX held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania sixteen Korean inventions received awards, including four gold prizes, three silvers, three bronzes and six special prizes. The Pittsburgh INPEX had inventors from 20 countries, Contenders from Australia, Germany, the United States and 11 other countries submitted 160 items.[14]
Seoul is ranked as the world's "leading digital city" and a "tech capital of the world"[15][16] South Korea is also among the world's most technologically advanced and digitally-connected countries; it has the third most broadband Internet users among the OECD countries[17] and is a global leader in electronics, digital displays, semiconductor devices, and mobile phones.
South Korea also leads the world in the shipbuilding industry, headed by prominent companies like the Hyundai Heavy Industries. Korea also exports radioactive isotope production equipment for medical and industrial use to countries such as Russia, Japan, Turkey and others.[18]
Korea has a full-fledged space partnership with Russia[19] and has launched the Arirang-1 and Arirang-2 which both have surveillance cameras equipped.
In robotics, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) competes with the Japanese company Honda with its humanoid robot HUBO. Honda's ASIMO and KAIST's HUBO lines are the two of very few humanoid robots that can walk.[20] The first HUBO was developed within a span of 3 years and cost 1 million USD.[21]
In renewable energy, South Korean scientists at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in cooperation with the University of California, Santa Barbara successfully developed an organic photovoltaic power cell with energy efficiency of 6.5 percent.[22]
See also
Notes
- ^ Kuzmin, Yaroslav V. 2006 Chronology of the Earliest Pottery in East Asia: Progress and Pitfalls. Antiquity 80: 362–371.
- ^ a b c Crawford and Lee
- ^ "The History of Science and Technology in Korea". Internet 1996 World Exposition. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Barnes, Gina L. 2001 State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives. London: Curzon, pp. 100-101.
- ^ Lee, Sung-joo. 1998. Silla - Gaya Sahwoe-eui Giwon-gwa Seongjang [The Rise and Growth of Society in Silla and Gaya]. Seoul: Hakyeon Munhwasa.
- ^ Baek Sauk Gi (1987). Woong-Jin-Wee-In-Jun-Gi #11 Jang Young Sil, page 61. Woongjin Publishing.
- ^ http://www.rightreading.com/printing/gutenberg.asia/gutenberg-asia-1-introduction.htm
- ^ p. 56 Baek Seokgi. (1987). Woongjin Wi-in Jeon-gi #11 Jang Yeong-sil. Woongjin Publishing
- ^ http://www.indiana.edu/~easc/resources/korea_slides/science/9-1.htm
- ^ Hong, Sung-Bum. "Research on North Korean Science and Technology: Observation by Key Technology Area" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-07-10.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "North Korea Profile". Country Overviews. Nuclear Threat Initiative. December 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
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(help) - ^ http://korea.net/News/News/NewsView.asp?serial_no=20061219034&part=107
- ^ http://korea.net/news/news/newsView.asp?serial_no=20070612021&part=107&SearchDay=&page=10
- ^ http://korea.net/news/news/newsView.asp?serial_no=20070612021&part=107&SearchDay=&page=10
- ^ http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/new...0706200011.html
- ^ http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/06/16/1181414598292.html
- ^ http://www.oecd.org/document/9/0,2340,en_2649_34223_37529673_1_1_1_1,00.html
- ^ http://korea.net/news/news/newsView.asp?serial_no=20070605015&part=107&SearchDay=&page=5
- ^ http://korea.net/news/news/newsView.asp?serial_no=20070703031&part=107&SearchDay=
- ^ Lugmayr, Luigi (2004-12-22). "New Humanoid Robot: HUBO Robot from Korea". I4U. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
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(help) - ^ Kyu, Lee Sung (2005-01-18). "Korean Robotics Steps Into the Future". OhmyNews. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "High-efficiency plastic solar cell developed". Korea.net. 2007-07-12. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
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Works Cited
- Barnes, Gina L. 2001 State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives. London: Curzon
- Crawford, Gary W. and Gyoung-Ah Lee 2003 Agricultural Origins in the Korean Peninsula. Antiquity 77(295):87-95.
- Kuzmin, Yaroslav V. 2006 Chronology of the Earliest Pottery in East Asia: Progress and Pitfalls. Antiquity 80: 362–371.
- Lee, Sung-joo. 1998. Silla - Gaya Sahwoe-eui Giwon-gwa Seongjang [The Rise and Growth of Society in Silla and Gaya]. Seoul: Hakyeon Munhwasa.