The communal societies of prehistoric times
Walled-town states and confederated kingdoms
Aristocratic societies under monarchical rule
The fashioning of an authoritarian monarchy
The age of powerful gentry families
The hereditary aristocratic order of Koryŏ
Emergence of the literati
The creation of a Yangban society
The rise of the neo-Confucian literati
The emergence of landed farmers and wholesale merchants
Instability of the Yangban status system and the outbreak of popular uprisings
Growth of the forces of enlightenment
Nationalist stirrings and imperialist aggression
Development of the nationalist movement
The beginnings of democracy.