Joseon
|
|
Joseon (Cháoxiǎn (朝鲜) in Chinese; Chōsen (朝鮮) in Japanese) is a name for Korea, as used in the following cases:
- As part of the name of several ancient kingdoms (including Gojoseon, Gija Joseon, and Wiman Joseon);
- During most of the Joseon Dynasty, when the country's full official name was Daejoseonguk (대조선국; 大朝鮮國; "Great Joseon Nation"), a name that is almost never used today;
- During the Japanese Colonial Period; and
- Today in North Korea.
See Names of Korea for more details on the changing use of the name.
The Sino-Korean characters (Hanja) that make up the name (朝鮮) are often translated into English as "morning calm," hence Korea's English nickname, "The Land of the Morning Calm." However, this translation does not necessarily convey the correct meaning of the name, for the character 朝 can mean both "morning" (read as zhāo in Chinese) or "dynasty" (read as cháo in Chinese), while the meaning of character 鮮 may translate to "fresh" or "savory," often used to describe rarity. Another explanation interprets the name as "the land where the fresh morning comes," indicating the country's location to the east of China. Japan, of which name translates to "the land where the sun originates" is situated further east to Korea, but it was not until centuries later than the foundation of Gojoseon that Japan got its recognition as a nation.
It is also the name of two prominent newspapers: the South Korean Chosun Ilbo and the pro-North Choson Sinbo of Japan.