5.+Southeast+Asia,+Korea


 * Southeast Asia and Korea

Summary ** Southeast Asia lies south of China and between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It includes the modern day countries Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines. Korea is located to China’s northeast and is currently divided into North Korea and South Korea. Throughout ancient history, many kingdoms, dynasties, and empires, rose and fell in Southeast Asia and Korea.


 * Dates of dynasty, significant leaders

Social Structure

Trade and Economy

Military and Warfare** After the fall and decline of the Han dynasty in China, three rival kingdoms emerged in modern day Korea and northeast China. Each kingdom developed effective military forces of cavalry and foot soldiers employing weapons that included iron swords and spears, as well as bows and arrows. Their militaries used a hierarchy system led by the king.

Military threats in the eastern part of Asia were mainly caused by the rivalry between the three kingdoms that occupied the land of modern day Korea and northeast China. There was almost constant fighting between the rival kingdoms and the borders shifted many times. In the south, Vietnam fell under Chinese domination around 100 B.C. The Koryu dynasty in Korea faced a major threat in 1231 when the Mongols swept through Korea. The harsh period of Mongol occupation lasted until the 1360’s when the Mongol Empire collapsed.
 * External Threats**

In Korea there were some feuds between the royal clans. In Cambodia natural disasters caused problems. Some believe that the city of Angkor Wat was abandoned because of a drought. During the Koryu dynasty in Korea it was customary for the newly wedded couple to live with the wives’ parents, leading some people to believe that the women had more equality. However in later dynasties women were treated like second class citizens. In Vietnam’s sociality, women were still second to men but had more rights than women in outer parts of East Asia.
 * Internal Threats**
 * Gender Roles**

In Korea Buddhism melded with Taoism and Shamanism. In Cambodia people originally practiced Hinduism but there was a gradual shift to Buddhism. In Vietnam they practiced Buddhism.
 * Religion/Belief Systems**
 * Map**
 * Vocabulary Terms **
 * Khmer Empire:** in modern Cambodia, started in the 800's, peak of power in the 1200's
 * Angkor Wat:** Hindu temple built in the 1100's and is the largest religious structure
 * Dai Viet:** became an independent kingdom in 939 after Vietnam managed to break away from the Chinese Tang dynasty
 * Koryu Dynasty:** A dynasty in Korea, lasted from 935 to 1392, established a civil service system and a lot of rich families got inherited jobs. The Mongols eventually took over.

[|www.classzone.com] [|www.eb.com] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [|http://www.cambodia-travel.com/khmer/lineage.htm] National Geographic July 2009 Vol. 216 No. 1
 * Sources**