The Korean Iron Age — Prehistoric Korea

The Korean Iron Age began once the skill of working with iron had made its way onto the Korean peninsula. With iron they could forge stronger weapons and tools. In addition to increasing their skills as craftsmen, tradesmen, and artists, making their work better and their lives easier, iron weapons made them better equipped for war.

The transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age in Korea took place beginning around 300–200 BCE. [1] The period after 300 BCE can be called Proto-Historic Korea because the people and land that became Korea were, at this time, beginning to be written about by historic cultures in the region (like China who had long-since developed writing).

Moreover, the generations following those around 300 BCE would master the use of writing in their own right, and write about their memory of immediate ancestors and recent history in their own words, preserving many tales and memories that could very well be historic.

Indeed, historical polities do seem to be described in ancient Korean texts (such as the Samguk sagi) which could potentially reflect the society of Korea during the proto-historic era.

The Dawn of Korean History

Korean History begins around c.400 CE (somewhere between the late 4th to the mid 5th century CE). [1] It was the transmission of Buddhism that spurred the Korean people to learn how to read and write, and become a fully literate nation. [1]

During the Korean Thee-Kingdoms period the Koreans modified the the characters of the Chinese writing system (as did the Japanese) adapting it to their language. During this period they produced the oldest written records in the Old Korean language.