After almost 100 years of occupation and oppression from Japan, during which time Koreans were not allowed to speak or write in their own language, Koreans now, both culturally and individually, place emphasis on identifying with the history that they were forced to forget and on protecting it above all else. This history is seen as a treasure to receive guidance from. From how someone is expected to greet one another, to the convention of calling those that are older than you oppa or eonni, to the food, and the writing system, and to the fashions on the street, history is everywhere in Korea! You just have to know what you're looking at.
The history of Korea is vast and interesting. I wish I had the time to tell you everything there is to know about it-- about the King who locked his son in a rice chest for eight days, for example, or the Cinderella competition to become queen that involved math, social studies, and not sitting on your parents! There is the story of the King who was so worried about the media following him all of the time that when he fell off his horse while hunting, his first thought wasn’t for his own safety or injury but instead he ordered his guards not to tell "the reporters''!
