<P> "Korea" is the modern spelling of "Corea" (고려), a name attested in English as early as 1614 . Korea was transliterated as Cauli in The Travels of Marco Polo, based on the kingdom of Goryeo (Koryŏ), which ruled most of the Korean peninsula during Marco Polo's time . Korea's introduction to the West resulted from trade and contact with merchants from Arabic lands, with some records dating back as far as the 9th century . Goryeo's name was a continuation of Goguryeo (Koguryŏ) the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, which was officially known as Goryeo beginning in the 5th century . The original name was a combination of the adjective go ("high, lofty") with the name of a local Yemaek tribe, whose original name is thought to have been either * Guru (溝 樓, "walled city," inferred from some toponyms in Chinese historical documents) or * Gauri (가우리, "center"). With expanding British and American trade following the opening of Korea in the late 19th century, the spelling "Korea" appeared and gradually grew in popularity; its use in transcribing East Asian languages avoids the issues caused by the separate hard and soft Cs existing in English vocabulary derived from the Romance languages . The name Korea is now commonly used in English contexts by both North and South Korea . </P> <P> In South Korea, Korea as a whole is referred to as Hanguk (한국, (haːnɡuk), lit . "country of the Han"). The name references the Samhan--Ma, Jin, and Byeon--who preceded the Three Kingdoms in the southern and central end of the peninsula during the 1st centuries BC and AD . Although written in Hanja as 韓, 幹, or 刊, this Han has no relation to the Chinese place names or peoples who used those characters but was a phonetic transcription (OC: * Gar, MC Han or Gan) of a native Korean word that seems to have had the meaning "big" or "great", particularly in reference to leaders . It has been tentatively linked with the title khan used by the nomads of Manchuria and Central Asia . </P> <P> In North Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, and Chinese and Vietnamese - speaking areas, Korea as a whole is referred to as Chosŏn (조선, Joseon, (tɕoshʌn),, (朝鲜), Cháoxiǎn, (朝鮮), Chōsen, Triều Tiên (朝鮮) lit . "(land of the) Morning Calm"). "Great Joseon" was the name of the kingdom ruled by the Joseon dynasty from 1393 until their declaration of the short - lived Great Korean Empire in 1897 . King Taejo had named them for the earlier Kojoseon (고조선), who ruled northern Korea from its legendary prehistory until their conquest in 108 BC by China's Han Empire . This go is the Hanja 古 and simply means "ancient" or "old"; it is a modern usage to distinguish the ancient Joseon from the later dynasty . Joseon itself is the modern Korean pronunciation of the Hanja 朝鮮 but it is unclear whether this was a transcription of a native Korean name (OC * T (r) awser, MC Trjewsjen) or a partial translation into Chinese of the Korean capital Asadal (아사달), whose meaning has been reconstructed as "Morning Land" or "Mountain". </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Part of a series on the </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> History of Korea </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Prehistory </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Jeulmun </Li> <Li> Mumun </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Ancient </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Table> <Tr> <Td> Gojoseon </Td> <Td>?--108 BC </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Jin state </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> </Table> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Proto--Three Kingdoms </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Buyeo </Li> <Li> Goguryeo </Li> <Li> Okjeo </Li> <Li> Dongye </Li> <Li> Samhan <Ul> <Li> Ma </Li> <Li> Byeon </Li> <Li> Jin </Li> </Ul> </Li> </Ul> <Ul> <Li> Han Commanderies </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Three Kingdoms </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Table> <Tr> <Td> Goguryeo </Td> <Td> 37 BC--668 AD </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Baekje </Td> <Td> 18 BC--660 AD </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Silla </Td> <Td> 57 BC--935 AD </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Gaya confederacy </Td> <Td> 42--562 </Td> </Tr> </Table> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> North--South States </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Table> <Tr> <Td> Later Silla (Unified Silla) </Td> <Td> 668--935 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Balhae </Td> <Td> 698--926 </Td> </Tr> </Table> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Later Three Kingdoms </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Table> <Tr> <Td> Later Baekje </Td> <Td> 892--936 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Taebong (Later Goguryeo) </Td> <Td> 901--918 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Later Silla </Td> <Td> 668--935 </Td> </Tr> </Table> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Unitary dynastic period </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Table> <Tr> <Td> Goryeo </Td> <Td> 918--1392 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Joseon </Td> <Td> 1392--1897 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Korean Empire </Td> <Td> 1897--1910 </Td> </Tr> </Table> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Colonial period </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Table> <Tr> <Td> Japanese rule </Td> <Td> 1910--1945 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Provisional Government </Td> <Td> 1919--1948 </Td> </Tr> </Table> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Division of Korea </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Table> <Tr> <Td> Military Governments </Td> <Td> 1945--1948 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> North Korea </Td> <Td> 1948--present </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> South Korea </Td> <Td> 1948--present </Td> </Tr> </Table> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> By topic </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Art </Li> <Li> Language </Li> <Li> Military (Goguryeo) </Li> <Li> Monarchs </Li> <Li> Naval </Li> <Li> Science and technology </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Timeline </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Korea portal </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Which nation is know as land of morning calm