Gojoseon

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Gojoseon was the first Korean kingdom. Go-, which distinguishes it from the later Joseon Dynasty, is sometimes translated as "Old" or "Ancient". Joseon is also romanized as "Choson". See also: Names of Korea.

According to legend, Gojoseon was founded in 2333 BC by Dangun in the basins of the Liao and Taedong Rivers, ruling over northern Korean peninsula and southern Manchuria, until its fall in 108 BC.

Gojoseon refers to this continuous entity then called Joseon, but the early legendary years are sometimes called Dangun Joseon.

People

The people of Gojoseon belonged to the Tungusic family and were linguistically affiliated with the Altaic. They propagated in Manchuria, far eastern China, north of the Yangtze River, and the Korean Peninsula. Gojoseon eventually consolidated in lower Manchuria and the northern Korean Peninsula.

The people of Gojeoson were recorded as Dongyi (東夷) in Chinese, meaning ""eastern barbarians". The expression is also interpreted as "eastern bowmen", because 夷 consists of "弓" (bow) and "人" (man).

Location

Depending on interpretations of ancient place names and archeological evidence, some believe Gojoseon was centered around the present-day Pyongyang region, while others advocate the Liao River region, just north of the present-day border between North Korea and China.

The most accepted theory is that Gojoseon began in the basins of the Liao and Taedong rivers, just southeast of present-day Manchuria, but after attacks by the Yan, moved its capital to Pyongyang, sometime before 4th century BC. [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/eak/ht04eak.htm

Founding legend and historical formation of Ancient Joseon

Dangun Wanggeom is the legendary founder of Korea. The oldest existing record of this founding myth appears in the Samguk Yusa, a 13th-century collection of legends and stories. A similar account is found in Jewang Ungi.

The Lord of Heaven Hwanin (환인; 桓因, a name which also appears in Indian Buddhist texts), had a son Hwanung who yearned to live on the earth among the people. Hwanin relented, and Hwanung descended to Mount Taebaek with 3,000 helpers, where he founded a city he named Sinsi (신시; 神市, "City of God" or "Holy City"). Along with his ministers of clouds, rain, and wind, he instituted laws and moral codes and taught the people various arts, medicine, and agriculture.

A tiger and a bear living in a cave prayed to Hwanung that they may become human. Upon hearing their prayers, Hwanung gave them 20 cloves of garlic and a bundle of mugwort, instructing them to eat only this sacred food and remain out of the sunlight for 100 days. The tiger shortly gave up and left the cave, but the bear remained and after 21 days was transformed into a woman.

The bear-woman (Ungnyeo, 웅녀, 熊女) was very grateful and made offerings to Hwanung. She lacked a husband, however, and soon became sad and prayed beneath a sandalwood tree to be blessed with a child. Hwanung, moved by her prayers, took her for his wife and soon she gave birth to a son, Dangun Wanggeom (단군 왕검; 檀君王儉).

Dangun ascended to the throne in the 50th year of the reign of the Emperor Yao (one of the legendary Chinese emperors). He then moved his capital to Asadal on Mount Baegak (or Mount Gunghol). 1,500 years later, in the year Kimyo, King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty enfeoffed Jizi to Joseon, and Dangun moved his capital to Jangdangyeong. Finally, he returned to Asadal and became a mountain god at the age of 1,908.

Gojoseon is said to have been established in 2333 BC, based on the description of the Dongguk Tonggam (1485). The date differs among historical sources, although all of them put it during Yao's reign (traditional dates: 2357 BC-2256 BC). Samguk Yusa says Dangun ascended to the throne in the 50th year of Yao's reign, Sejong Sillok says the first year, and Dongguk Tonggam says the 25th year.

Gojoseon is first found in contemporaneous historical records of early 7th century BC, as located around Bohai Bay and trading with Qi (齊) of China. At this point, it was identified as a distinct polity, but there is little archeological evidence of a fully functioning state. ^*

Some historians argue that "Dangun" may have been the title of Gojoseon's early leaders.

By the 4th century BC, other states with defined political structures arose developed in the areas of the earlier bronze age sometimes called "walled-town states". Gojoseon was the most advanced of them in the peninsular region. ^* The leaders of the city-state expanded the influence and power of the city-state by incorporating other neighboring city-states either by alliance, or by military conquest. Thus, a vast confederation of various political entities between the Taedong and Liao rivers was formed. As the frontiers and the very nature of the Gojoseon civilization evolved, so did the title and function of the leader, who came to be designated as "king" (王 Wáng), in the tradition of the Zhou Dynasty, around the same time as the Yan (燕) leaderRecords of that time mention the hostility between the feudal state in Northern China and the "confederated" kingdom of Gojoseon, and notably, a plan to attack the Yan/Yen beyond the Liao River frontier. The confrontation will lead to the decline and eventual downfall of Gojoseon, described in Yan records as "arrogant" and cruel". But the ancient kingdom also (and perhaps first and foremost) appears as a prosperous bronze culture civilization, with a complex social structure, including a "class" of horse-riding warriors who certainly contribued to the development of Ancient Joseon and particularly the northern expansion [http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/c/cumings-korea.html?_r=1&oref=slogin, which annexed most of the Liaotung basin. The controversial 3rd century BC Chinese records of Jizi refer to laws (Beomgeum Paljo, 범금팔조, 犯禁八條) that evidence a hierarchical society and legal protection of private property. ^*

Around 300 BC, Gojoseon lost significant western territory after a war with the Yan state, but this indicates Gojoseon was already a large enough state that could wage war against Yan and survive the loss of 2000 li of territory. Gojoseon is thought to have relocated its capital to the Pyongyang region around this time. [http://100.naver.com/100.php?id=14543

Gija controversy

It is only written in chinese history book, and none of the history book of korea and japan describe Gija.

Culture

Around 2000 BC, a new pottery culture of painted and chiseled design is found. These people practiced agriculture in a settled communal life, probably organized into familial clans. Rectangular huts and increasingly larger dolmen burial sites are found throughout the peninsula. Bronze daggers and mirrors have been excavated, and there is archeological evidence of small walled-town states in this period. [http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-9500.html

Mumun pottery

In the Mumun Pottery Period (1500 - 300 BC), plain coarse pottery replaced earlier comb-pattern wares, possibly as a result of the influence of new populations migrating to Korea from Manchuria and Siberia. This type of pottery typically has thicker walls and displays a wider variety of shapes, indicating improvements in kiln technology. ^* This period is sometimes called the Korean bronze age, but bronze artifacts are relatively rare and regionalized until the 7th century BC.

Rice cultivation

Sometime around 1200 to 900 BC, rice cultivation was introduced to Korea, most likely from China by way of Manchuria. The people also farmed native grains such as millet and barley, and domesticated livestock. ^*

Bronze tools

The beginning of the Bronze Age on the peninsula is usually said to be 1000 BC, but estimates range from the 15th to 8th centuries BC. Although the Korean bronze age culture derives from the Liaoning and Manchuria, it exhibits unique typology and styles, especially in ritual objects. ^*

By the 7th century BC, a Bronze Age material culture, with influences from northeastern China as well as Siberia and Scythian bronze styles, flourishes on the peninsula. Korean bronzes contain a higher percentage of zinc than those of the neighboring bronze cultures. Bronze artifacts, found most frequently in burial sites, consist mainly of swords, spears, daggers, small bells, and mirrors decorated with geometric patterns. [http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/korea/koreaonline/text42.html

Dolmen tombs

Around 900 BC, burial practices become more elaborate, a reflection of increasing social stratification. Dolmen tombs, formed of upright stones supporting a horizontal slab, are more numerous in Korea than in other parts of East Asia. Other new forms of burial are stone cists (underground burial chambers lined with stone) and earthenware jar coffins. The bronze objects, pottery, and jade ornaments recovered from dolmens and stone cists indicate that such tombs were reserved for the elite class. [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/977

Around the 6th century BC, burnished red wares, made of a fine iron-rich clay and characterized by a smooth, lustrous surface, appear in dolmen tombs, as well as in domestic bowls and cups. ^*

Iron culture

Around this time, Jin-guk occupied the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Very little is known about this state, except it was the apparent predecessor to the Samhan confederacies.

Around 300 BC, iron technology was introduced into Korea from China. Iron was produced locally in the southern part of the peninsula by the second century BC. According to Chinese accounts, iron from the lower Nakdong River valley in the southeast, was valued throughout the peninsula and Japan. ^*

Wiman

Among the Yan refugees, Wiman entered the service of Gojoseon as military commander with a base on the Amrokgang river. He led a rebellion against King Jun in 194 BC, usurping the throne.

In 109 BC, the Han emperor Wudi began a massive invasion of Gojoseon near the Liao River. Gojoseon fell after over a year of war, and four Chinese commanderies were set up in southern Manchuria and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula: Lelang or Luolang (樂浪; Korean: Nangnang), Xuantu (玄菟; Hyeondo), Zhenfan (真番; Jinbeon), and Lintun (臨屯; Imdun).

Proto-Three Kingdoms

Numerous small states and confederations arose from the remnants of Gojoseon, including Goguryeo, Buyeo, Okjeo, and Dongye. Three of the Chinese commanderies fell to local resistance within a few decades, but the last, Lelang, remained an important commercial and cultural outpost until it was destroyed by the expanding Goguryeo in 313.

King Jun of Gojoseon is said to have fled to the state of Jin in southern Korean peninsula. Jin developed into the Samhan confederacies, the beginnings of Baekje and Silla, continuing to absorb migration from the north. Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla gradually grew into the Three Kingdoms of Korea that dominated the entire peninsula by around the 4th century.