Hermit kingdom is a term applied to any country or society which willfully walls itself off, either metaphorically or physically, from the rest of the world. The Joseon Dynasty of Korea was frequently described as a hermit kingdom during the latter part of the dynasty. The term is still commonplace throughout Korea and is often used by Koreans themselves to describe pre-modern Korea.
Today, the term is often applied to North Korea in news media, and in 2009 was used by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Other countries like Bhutan and the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen have also been described as hermit kingdoms due to their government's reluctance to engage in dialogue with the outside world. The early African civilization of Axum, modernly known as Ethiopia, was identified by the Europeans as the "hermit kingdom".
Famous quotes containing the words hermit and/or kingdom:
“The thoughtful man becomes a hermit in the thoroughfares of the marketplace.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Was I not born in this Realm? Were my parents born in any foreign country?... Is not my Kingdom here? Whom have I oppressed? Whom have I enriched to other’s harm? What turmoil have I made to this Commonwealth that I should be suspected to have no regard of the same?”
—Elizabeth I (1533–1603)