...In the
latter Choson period, Korea could not keep up with the social
and economic developments of modernization and was invaded by
Japan, endangering Korea's rights as a
nation. Reform movements for modernization were
promoted by enlightened officials and the intelligentsia. But
these enlightenment movements were not smoothly carried out as
a result of opposition by conservative forces and intervention
by world powers. Furthermore, a peasant movement rose up in
resistance to aggressions by feudalistic and imperialistic
powers, but failed as a result of stern suppression by the
government and Japan. Although political and social
reforms on an institutional level were implemented very
slowly, Korea was not idle in accepting and utilizing modern
civilization. This soon set the framework for today's Korean
society, techniques and theories. |