1392-1637 CE
From 1392 to 1637 CE, the Koreans built their most enduring dynasty on Confucian foundations — the Joseon kings replacing Buddhist influence with scholarly orthodoxy, Sejong creating hangul so commoners could read, their ceramic masters perfecting white porcelain that Ming emperors coveted. Then Hideyoshi's armies burned Seoul, and the Manchus forced humiliating submission at Namhan, yet Joseon endured, its civilization deepened by suffering.