Neolithic period ( 7,000 BCE-2,000 BCE )

Both archaeological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Korean people originally spread into the Korean peninsula from Siberia by way of Manchuria. Prehistoric sites dating from the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods are found throughout the peninsula. Sporadic Chinese influence on Korean culture began in the late Neolithic Period, but the influence intensified with the establishment in 108 BCE of colonies of the Han empire in northwestern Korea. The best known of these was Nangnang (Chinese: Lelang), near Pyngyang. From this Chinese centre of culture, iron smelting and advanced techniques of pottery making, such as the use of a potters wheel and closed kiln, spread across the peninsula. Clearer evidence of culture emerges in the late Neolithic, known in Korea as the Jeulmun pottery period, with pottery similar to that found in the adjacent regions of China, decorated with Z-shaped patterns. The earliest Neolithic sites with pottery remains, for example Osan-ri, date to 60004500 BCE. This pottery is characterized by comb patterning, with the pot frequently having a pointed base.

Bronze Age ( 1,000 BCE-300 BCE ) and Iron Age ( 300 BCE-1 BCE )
In the ensuing Bronze Age (c. 1000300 BCE) and Early Iron Age (c. 3001 BCE) more types of pottery of improved quality appeared. Painted pieces derived from Chinese painted pottery were found in northern Korea, while wares devoid of surface decoration were used in other areas of the peninsula. Clay, bone, or stone figurines of seated or standing shamanistic deities were produced at such northeastern sites as Musan and Kulpo-ri, as were small clay pigs used as charms to ensure fertility and fortune. The pigs are realistically rendered, and some even have tiny holes that were used to hold real pig hairs. Between 2000 BCE and 300 BCE bronze items began to be imported and made in Korea. By the seventh century BCE, an indigenous bronze culture was established in Korea as evidenced by Korean bronze having a unique percentage of zinc. Items manufactured during this time were weapons such as swords, daggers, and spearheads. Also, ritual items such as mirrors, bells, and rattles were made. These items were buried in dolmens with the cultural elite. Additionally, iron-rich red pots began to be created around circa 6th century.

Three Kingdoms period ( 57 BCE-668 CE )

The first major period of Korean art during recorded history is the period of the Three Kingdoms (c. 57 BCE668 CE), when the peninsula of Korea was ruled by three monarchies. The Kogury kingdom (traditionally dated 37 BCE668 CE) was the northernmost of the three, both geographically and culturally. First established in southern Manchuria, the Kogury kingdom had a lifestyle based on the typically austere cultural patterns of northern Asia, evolved in a region characterized by its scarcity of arable land and severity of climate. The Paekche kingdom (traditionally dated 18 BCE660 CE) was centred in southwestern Korea, south of the present-day city of Seoul. This was a favourable geographic position for receiving foreign cultural influences. Paekche art, therefore, was open and receptive to Chinese influences. The kingdom of Silla (traditionally dated 57 BCE668 CE) was the oldest of the monarchies. It originated in the present city of Kyngju and eventually came to cover most of southeastern Korea east of the Naktong River. The original territory of the Silla kingdom, the modern Kyngsang-puk province, is a mountain-secluded triangle, a geographic factor that is sometimes offered as an explanation for the distinctiveness and conservatism of its art. The introduction of Buddhism into Kogury from China (372 CE) brought a sudden efflorescence of the arts. The Kogury kings started the building of temples and pagodas, and sculpture, in the form of Buddha images, made its appearance. By the 6th century, the Silla and Paekche kings had also become converts to the new faith, and from then until the 15th century, Buddhism formed one of the most important subjects of Korean art. During the Three Kingdoms period there were three political and cultural centres: Pyngyang, the capital of Kogury, in the northwest; the Kongju-Puy region, the Paekche heartland, in the southwest; and Kyngju, the capital of Silla, in the southeast. Silla and Paekche, along with the minor state of Kaya (Japanese: Mimana) in the south-central region, maintained close cultural contacts with Japan, and it was at this time that the significant Korean influence on Japanese art began. The Paekche kingdom first introduced Buddhism and Chinese writing to Japan. South Korean immigrants to Japan founded important centres of learning and the arts. The Sue pottery of the Tumulus, or Kofun, period (also known as the Great Burial Period) was the Japanese version of the Silla gray stoneware pottery of Korea. Even the famed wall paintings of the Hry Temple in Nara, Japan, have been attributed to a northern Korean painter, Tamjing, from the Kogury kingdom.

Unified or Great Silla period ( 668-935 )

In 660 and 668, respectively, the Paekche and Kogury kingdoms fell to the allied armies of the Silla king and the Tang Chinese emperor, creating a new political and cultural era referred to as the Unified Silla period. This was the golden age of ancient Korean art. Buddhism enjoyed a renewed prosperity, and great temples sprang up one after another in the Kyngsang province region. Monks and scholars traveled to Tang China to partake of its brilliant cosmopolitan culture. The capital city of Kyngju (like the contemporary Japanese capital of Heian-kyo, later Kyto) was modeled after the Tang capital of Changan, with broad, straight avenues laid out on a rectangular grid pattern. From this time on, southern Korea, particularly the southeast, became the centre of Korean artistic development. Northern Korea, where once an energetic Kogury art had flourished, diminished in importance.

Goryeo/ Kory period (9181392)

The Goryeo Dynasty lasted from 918 CE to 1392. The most famous art produced by Goryeo artisans was Korean celadon pottery which was produced from circa 1050 CE to 1250 CE. While celadon originated in China, Korean potters created their own unique style of pottery that was so valued that the Chinese considered it first under heaven and one of the twelve best things in the world. In 935 the Unified Silla monarchy was supplanted by the newly risen Kory dynasty (9181392). Buddhism once again prospered under royal patronage. Korys close cultural ties with China during the Song period (9601279) resulted in direct influences from the advanced Chinese urban culture, and highly refined lifestyles prevailed among the aristocrats, the more important court officials, and the high-ranking Buddhist priests.

Chosn period ( 13921910 )

In 1388 General Yi Sng-gye dethroned the pro-Mongol King Wu. Four years later, in 1392, General Yi proclaimed himself founder of the new Chosn dynasty (13921910) and moved the capital from Kaesng (Songdo) to Seoul. His policy was to maintain close political and cultural ties with Ming China (13681644). Buddhism, by then thoroughly corrupt, was displaced as the state religion by a puritanic Neo-Confucianism, then also on the ascendant in Ming China. Confucianism became the dominant influence on Korean thought, morals, and aesthetic standards. Soon after the establishment of the new dynasty, a massive construction project was launched in the capital, then called Hanyang, to build palaces and royal ancestral shrines. Paintings depicting scenic spots of the new capital were royally commissioned. In 1592 the Japanese general Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea. For many years the entire peninsula was a battlefield, and a tremendous amount of art was destroyed. The Japanese even carried off many Korean potters, who later managed to settle in the northern part of the island of Kyushu and become the founders of the Japanese porcelain industry. The Japanese invasion was soon followed by the Manchu, a Manchurian people, who later conquered China and established theQing dynasty (16441911/12). The two invasions left the Chosn government in a critically weakened condition, but they also inspired the rise of a strong nationalist sentiment among the Korean people. Concern focused on solving domestic social problems and on reviving and restoring confidence in Korean culture and identity.

Modern period ( 1910-now )

In 1911 the former Korean imperial family set up an academy of painting to foster the traditional style, and, though it dissolved in 1919, a number of important painters had been trained by that time. By the 1930s the pattern of Korean painting had begun to change under the impact of both Japanese and European influences. In 1922 the Japanese had inaugurated an annual exhibition for Korean artists, designed to promote a new academic style. After World War II traditional painting began to assume a modern mode of expression. Most of the changes occurred during the period of Japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945, the modern art introduced in Korea was refracted through Japan. Ultimately modern painting developed in two directions: Western-style painting as practiced by Japanese-trained artists, such as Ko Hi-dong, Lee In-sng, and Kim Hwan-ki; and Easternstyle painting, as practiced by artists such as Lee Sang-bom and Kim Eun-ho, who used either traditional ink or coloured ink. In the mid-1950s a group of young artists formed a movement called Informel, which expressed an affinity for the spontaneity and subjective expression of contemporary Western abstract art. The Monochrome Art of the 1970s was an attempt to create a truly Korean art, taking the flat surface of the canvas as the ultimate ground for expressing passive, calm, and meditative harmony. During the 1980s the painters of the Minjung Misul (Peoples Art) began to explore social themes and were linked to the political protests of that decade. Modern arts are improved by modernize technologies. K-pop (Korean: , ) (an abbreviation of Korean pop or Korean popular music ) is a musical genre consisting of dance, electronic, electropop, hip hop, and R&B music originating in South Korea. In addition to music, K-pop has grown into a popular subculture among teenagers and young adults around the world, resulting in widespread interest in the fashion and style of Korean idol groups and singers.

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