Table Part II-1. Scripts and Literacy in Korean Kingdoms and Republics

Kingdom/Republic	Year	Script and Literacy
Wiman Choson	194­108 BC	A few Chinese characters arrive
Han commanderies	108­AD 313	More characters arrive
Three kingdoms		Characters begin to be used
Koguryo	37 BC­AD 668	A stele bearing characters erected
Paekche	18 BC­AD 660	Characters transmitted to Japan
Silla	57 BC­AD 668	Chinese words adopted
Unified Silla	668­935	Many Chinese words adopted
Koryoe	918­1392	Civil service examination; printing; surviving history books
Choson	1392­1910	Phonetic script Han'gul invented; heavy use of characters persists
(Japanese rule)	1910­1945	Use of Korean and Han'gul suppressed
Republic of Korea	1948­present	Universal primary education; high rate of literacy; limited use of characters
DPRK (N. Korea)	1948­present	Universal primary education; high rate of literacy; characters taught but not used