Heard of the Great Wall of China (만리장성, 萬里長城), where Chinese dynasties from, from the Han in B.C.E. 233 (Or the Jin in B.C.E. 770-443, the historians argue about this), where it stretches thousands of kilometers from East to Central China? Well, how about the Great Wall of Korea?
To fully understand the Great Wall of Korea(s), you must understand the Great Wall of China.
The Chinese Great Wall was made in order to stop tribes of the North (such as Mongolians and the Manchurian peoples) from invading China. The literal Chinese translated name for the Great Wall of China is the 10,000-li long castle. Li (or ri) is a form of Ancient East Asian measurement where 1 li roughly equals to 0.4 km. And since, in one point of history, the Great Wall of China was 4000 km long, so the name is quite reasonable.
Red: The Goguryeo Great Wall Blue: The Goryeo Great Wall |
The Second Great Wall of Korea's literal translation did almost exactly fit its description; it was about 400 km long. This Great Wall, built in the early days of Goryeo Dynasty (Called themselves the descendants of Goguryeo), is inside the borders of North Korea, and was the border of Goryeo Dynasty and a bunch of other Chinese Dynasties (and later the Mongolian Empire).
All the Korean Great Walls fit a similar purpose with the Chinese Great Wall; to protect themselves from the enemies of the North. If Korea never was divided or they still had territory up to the red line of the map, the Korean Great Walls would be better known today. However, with the Old Great Wall being in China (which has a longer Great Wall) and the New Great Wall being in the mysterious nation called the "Democratic" People's Republic of Korea, it is very unknown to many around the globe.
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