| Korea is a mountainous peninsula on the far east of the Asian continent bordering both China and Russia to its north. Its closest neighbor to its southeast is Japan. This geographical position has facilitated Korea's dynamic cultural interaction with China and Japan, and has sometimes resulted in political adversities. Although Korea's prehistoric past extends well into the Neolithic period (ca. 7000-ca. 10th century B.C.E.), some of the most relevant and prevailing foundations for modern Korea's social and cultural traditions -- including Neo-Confucianism and the Korean alphabet -- can be traced to the Choson dynasty (1392-1910). Ten of the eleven objects from Korea in the Asia Society collection are ceramics, perhaps the best-known medium of Korean art in the West. |
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