Read the Source, See the Answer

“He who kills another shall be put to death at once. He who injures another shall pay compensation in grain. He who steals shall be made a slave; to be pardoned, he must pay 500,000 jeon per person.”

“Hwanung descended with three thousand followers to the foot of the sindansu (divine tree) on Mt. Taebaek and named the place Sinsi. Leading the masters of wind, rain, and clouds, he took charge of some 360 human affairs, including grain, lifespan, disease, punishment, and good and evil. … The bear became a woman, married Hwanung, and bore a son, who was called Dangun Wanggeom.”

“In the first month of the Yin calendar (the twelfth month), they sacrifice to Heaven; the people of the whole country gather in great numbers and for days on end drink, sing, and dance — this is called Yeonggo. At this time they judge criminal cases and release prisoners.”

“Because they believe in spirits, each capital settlement appoints one man to preside over the sacrifices to the Heavenly God; he is called the cheongun. Each state also has a separate town called a sodo, where they erect a great tree, hang bells and drums upon it, and serve the spirits. Anyone who flees into it is not sent back.”

“Your divine plans have plumbed the heavens; / your subtle reckoning has mastered the earth. / Your merit in victory is already high — / may you know contentment and cease.”

“First, serve the king with loyalty. Second, serve your parents with filial piety. Third, keep faith with your friends. Fourth, never retreat in battle. Fifth, be discriminating in the taking of life.”

“In the second month of the eighth year of Queen Jinseong (894), Choe Chiwon submitted ten-odd points on the affairs of the time; the queen received them favorably and made him an achan.”

“Muye (King Mu) respectfully declares: … Muye has presumed to preside over many states and command many peoples, recovering the old lands of Goguryeo and keeping the customs of Buyeo. We therefore send envoys to seek our neighbor and bind our friendship.”

“The great enterprise of our state owes itself to the protection of the many buddhas — therefore encourage Buddhism. … Seogyeong, whose water-virtue flows favorably, is the root of our land's geomantic veins; reside there more than a hundred days each year to secure tranquility. … Do not neglect the Yeondeunghoe (Lantern Festival) and the Palgwanhoe.”

“Practicing Buddhism is the root of cultivating oneself; practicing Confucianism is the source of governing the state. Cultivating oneself is for the life to come; governing the state is the urgent task of today. … Dispatch local officials to look after the people.”

“Xiao Sunning: 'Your country rose from Silla land, and the lands of Goguryeo belong to us — how dare you encroach upon them?' Seo Hui: 'No. Our country is the very successor of old Goguryeo. That is why it is named Goryeo and made its capital at Pyongyang. Both banks of the Yalu River lie within our territory, but the Jurchen now block the way — drive them out and open the road, and why would we not exchange envoys?'”

“Since the years Gyeongin and Gyesa, many risen from the lowborn have reached high office. How could generals and ministers be born of a special seed? When the time comes, anyone can do it. Let each of us kill his master and burn the slave registers.”

“The speech of our country differs from that of China and does not match the written characters, so among the unlettered people there are many who, though they have something to say, cannot in the end express their meaning. Taking pity on this, I have newly made twenty-eight letters, wishing only that every person may learn them with ease and use them daily with comfort.”

“In a dream a divine being appeared and said, 'I am Sun Xin, King Huai of Chu, slain by the Hegemon-King of Western Chu (Xiang Yu) and sunk in the Bin River,' and then vanished. Waking from the dream in astonishment, I reflected … and so composed this text of mourning.”

“Never has the harm of factions been worse than in our day. What began as disputes over right and wrong within Confucian learning has now come to branding the whole of one side as traitors. … To associate widely without taking sides is the fair mind of the gentleman; to take sides without associating widely is the selfish mind of the petty man.”

“When the Western barbarians invade, not to fight is to make peace with them, and to urge peace is to sell the country. We warn our descendants for ten thousand generations. Composed in the byeongin year, erected in the sinmi year.”

“Article 1: Joseon is an autonomous state and possesses equal rights with Japan. … Article 7: Japanese navigators are permitted to survey the coasts freely. … Article 10: When Japanese subjects commit crimes in Joseon ports, they shall all be tried by Japanese officials.”

“Corrupt officials shall be investigated and severely punished. Slave registers shall be burned. The treatment of the seven despised classes shall be improved, and the pyeongnyang hat worn by butchers shall be abolished. Young widows shall be permitted to remarry. Those who collude with the Japanese shall be severely punished. Land shall be divided equally for cultivation.”

“We hereby declare that Korea is an independent nation and that Koreans are a self-governing people. We proclaim this to all the nations of the world to make clear the great principle of human equality, and we enjoin it upon our descendants for ten thousand generations, that they may forever enjoy the rightful claim of our people to an independent existence.”

“Bandit Japan has abolished our national name, seized our sovereignty, and stripped away every condition necessary for our survival. … The masses are the headquarters of our revolution. Violence is the only weapon of our revolution. Let us go among the masses, join hands with them, and overthrow the rule of bandit Japan with unceasing violence — assassination, destruction, and uprising.”

“The ancients said that a nation may perish but its history cannot perish, for the nation is the body (hyeong) and history is the spirit (sin). Now the body of Korea has crumbled — can its spirit not remain, even alone?”

“Only when Korea exists can there be Koreans, and only when there are Koreans can there be democracy or communism. … Even if I should fall with the 38th parallel as my pillow while striving to build a unified homeland, I will not, for the cheap comfort of my own person, cooperate in establishing a separate government.”

“Article 39 (1): The President shall be elected by the National Conference for Unification by secret ballot without debate. Article 47: The President’s term of office shall be six years. Article 53 (1): When national security or public order faces, or is likely to face, a grave threat … the President may take emergency measures across the whole range of state affairs. Article 59 (1): The President may dissolve the National Assembly.”

“First, through agreement between the ruling and opposition parties, the Constitution should be speedily amended for direct presidential elections, and through an election under the new Constitution a peaceful transfer of government should be realized in February 1988. … The people are the masters of the country, and the people’s will comes before everything.”