The dynasty that followed suit called itself Goryeo or Koryo and saw itself as the successor or Goguryeo (Koguryo). Goryeo – the shortened form of Goguryeo – was first used during the Jangsu reign in the 5th century.<\/p>\n
As a result of the Silk Road trade routes, numerous merchants from Persia and the Arab world brought back with themselves knowledge about Silla and Goryeo to the rest of Asia. In addition, Marco Polo transliterated \u201cGoryeo\u201d into \u201cCauli\u201d (from the Chinese \u201cGaoli\u201d) when mentioning the country in his travel memoirs.<\/p>\n
Then, after a military coup in 1392, the name Joseon was revived (also referred to as Choson). The Chinese translation for this into English was \u201cmorning calm or sun\u201d, leading to the adoption of this as Korea\u2019s English nickname.<\/p>\n
A couple of centuries later in 1897, Korea was renamed Daehan Jeguk (\u201cGreat Han Empire\u201d or the Korean Empire), in order to emphasize the independence of Korea.<\/p>\n
20th century and beyond<\/h2>\n
![\"South](\"https:\/\/www.1stopasia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/South-Korea-300x200.jpg\")
In 1910, the Korean empire came under Japanese rule and the country\u2019s name changed back to Joseon, with many groups outside Korea fighting for independence. At the end of World War II in 1945, Korea was divided into North and South parts. In 1948, the South adopted the provisional government’s name of Daehan Minguk or the Republic of Korea, while the North became Chos\u014fn Minjuju\u016di Inmin Konghwaguk, or the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea.<\/p>\n
Modern times<\/h2>\n
The modern English name “Korea” is an exonym derived from the name Goryeo and is used by both North Korea and South Korea in international contexts. Currently, the two Koreas use different terms to refer to themselves with Chos\u014fn being used in North Korea and Hanguk in South Korea. Koreans living in China and Japan also use the term Chos\u014fn to refer to their homeland.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
With all this history, it is hoped that you now get some sense of the evolution of South Korea\u2019s name. The Korean language, although formed by a simplified and well-organized alphabet of characters, remains one of the most difficult to learn in the world today. However, if you\u2019re a Korean language learner, the information and history described above should give you a glimpse into the language\u2019s evolution, too and hopefully offer you some explanation of why some Koreans don\u2019t call their country Korea but rather refer to it as Hanguk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"