Editing History of Korea (section)

==Ancient Korea==
{{Main|Gojoseon|Jin (Korean state)|Four Commanderies of Han}}
[[File:History of Korea-108 BC.png|left|thumb|Korea in 108 BC]]
[[File:Korea-Neolithic.age-Sword-00.jpg|upright=0.8|thumb|Korean Bronze Age sword. Seoul, [[National Museum of Korea]]]]

===Gojoseon===
{{See also|Dangun|Gija Joseon|Wiman Joseon}}

[[Gojoseon]] was the first [[Korea]]n kingdom, located in the north of the peninsula and Manchuria, later alongside the state of [[Jin (Korean state)|Jin]] in the south of the peninsula.

The founding legend of Gojoseon, which is recorded in the ''[[Samguk yusa]]'' (1281) and other medieval Korean books,<ref>See also ''[[Jewang Ungi]]'' (1287) and ''[[Tongguk t'onggam]]'' (1485).</ref> states that the country was established in 2333 BC by [[Dangun]], said to be descended from heaven.{{sfn|Hwang|2010|p=2}} While no evidence has been found that supports whatever facts may lie beneath this,{{sfn|Connor|2002|p=10}}<ref name="Gojoseon">
*{{harvnb|Seth|2010|p=443}}: "An extreme manifestation of nationalism and the family cult was the revival of interest in Tangun, the mythical founder of the first Korean state... Most textbooks and professional historians, however, treat him as a myth."
*{{harvnb|Stark|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=z4_bT2SJ-HUC&pg=PA49 49]}}: "Although Kija may have truly existed as a historical figure, Tangun is more problematical."
*{{harvnb|Schmid|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lVgaAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA269 270]}}: "Most [Korean historians] treat the [Tangun] myth as a later creation."
*{{harvnb|Peterson|Margulies|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ByIo1D9RY40C&pg=PA5 5]}}: "The Tangun myth became more popular with groups that wanted Korea to be independent; the Kija myth was more useful to those who wanted to show that Korea had a strong affinity to China."
*{{harvnb|Hulbert|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=WdusAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA73 73]}}: "If a choice is to be made between them, one is faced with the fact that the Tangun, with his supernatural origin, is more clearly a mythological figure than Kija."</ref> the account has played an important role in developing Korean national identity.

In the 12th century BC, [[Jizi|Gija]], a prince from the [[Shang dynasty]] of China, purportedly founded [[Gija Joseon]]. In pre-modern Korea, Gija represented the authenticating presence of Chinese civilization, and until the 20th century, Koreans commonly believed that Dangun bestowed upon Korea its people and basic culture, while Gija gave Korea its high culture—and presumably, standing as a legitimate civilization.<ref>Kyung Moon hwang, "[[A History of Korea: An Episodic Narrative]]", 2010, p. 4</ref> However, due to contradicting historical and archaeological evidence, its existence was challenged in the 20th century, and today no longer forms the mainstream understanding of this period.

The historical Gojoseon kingdom was first mentioned in the Chinese record in a text called ''[[Guanzi (text)|Guanzi]]''.<ref name=han'guk/><ref name="naver1"/>{{sfn|Peterson|Margulies|2009|p=6}} By about the 4th century BC, Gojoseon had developed to the point where its existence was well known in China,{{sfn|Eckert|Lee|1990|p=11}}{{sfn|Lee, Ki-baik|1984|p=14}} and around this time, its capital moved to [[Pyongyang]].<ref>{{in lang|ko}} [http://enc.daum.net/dic100/contents.do?query1=b01g4157b001 Gojoseon territory] [[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]]</ref><ref>[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/eak/ht04eak.htm Timeline of Art and History, Korea, 1000 BC-1 AD] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207003037/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/eak/ht04eak.htm |date=2010-02-07 }}, Metropolitan Museum of Art</ref>

In 194 BC, the King of Gojoseon was overthrown by [[Wiman of Gojoseon|Wi Man]] (also known as Wei Man), a Korean-Chinese refugee from the [[Yan Kingdom (Han dynasty)|Han vassal state of Yan]]. Wi Man then established [[Wiman Joseon]].<ref>Academy of Korean Studies, ''The Review of Korean Studies'', vol. 10권,3–4, 2007, p. 222</ref><ref>Lee Injae, Owen Miller, Park Jinhoon, Yi Hyun-Hae, ''Korean History in Maps'', Cambridge University Press, 2014, p. 20</ref>

In 128 BC, Nan Lü (南閭), a leader of Ye who was receiving pressure from [[Wiman Joseon]], surrendered to the [[Han dynasty]] and became the [[Canghai Commandery]].<ref>[http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=562808&cid=46620&categoryId=46620 창해군] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231104553/https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=562808&cid=46620&categoryId=46620 |date=2022-12-31 }} [[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0011883|script-title=ko:남려|website=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]]}}</ref>

=== Chinese commanderies ===
In 108 BC, the Chinese [[Han dynasty]] defeated [[Wiman Joseon]] and installed [[Four Commanderies of Han|four commanderies]] in the northern Korean peninsula.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chandra |first1=Vipan |last2=Eckert |first2=Carter J. |last3=Lee |first3=Ki-baik |last4=Lew |first4=Young Ick |last5=Robinson |first5=Michael |last6=Wagner |first6=Edward W. |date=1993 |title=Korea Old and New: A History. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2759388 |journal=Pacific Affairs |volume=66 |issue=2 |pages=284 |doi=10.2307/2759388 |jstor=2759388 |issn=0030-851X}}</ref> Three of the commanderies fell or retreated westward within a few decades, but the [[Lelang Commandery]] remained as a center of cultural and economic exchange with successive Chinese dynasties for four centuries, until it was conquered by [[Goguryeo]] in 313 AD.

[[File:Hangunhyeon.PNG|left|thumb| The [[Four Commanderies of Han]], established in the former territory of [[Gojoseon]] after the fall of Wiman Joseon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Korea.html |title=Early Korea |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150625032709/http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Korea.html |archive-date=2015-06-25 }}</ref> The location of the commanderies has become a controversial topic in Korea in recent years.<ref>
*{{Cite book|date=2015-12-24 |script-title=ko:매국사학의 몸통들아, 공개토론장으로 나와라! |publisher=[[ngonews]] |url=http://www.ngo-news.co.kr/sub_read.html?uid=82015 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919142317/http://www.ngo-news.co.kr/sub_read.html?uid=82015 }}
*{{Cite book|date=2016-08-21 |script-title=ko:요서 vs 평양… 한무제가 세운 낙랑군 위치 놓고 열띤 토론 |publisher=[[Segye Ilbo]] |url=http://www.segye.com/content/html/2016/08/21/20160821001406.html |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170413160938/http://www.segye.com/content/html/2016/08/21/20160821001406.html |archive-date=2017-04-13 }}
*{{Cite book|date=2016-08-22 |script-title=ko:"갈석산 동쪽 요서도 고조선 땅" vs "고고학 증거와 불일치" |publisher=[[The Dong-A Ilbo]] |url=http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=001&oid=020&aid=0002997608 |access-date=2017-04-14 }}</ref> However, the location of the commanderies is not controversial outside of Korea.<ref group=note>
*{{cite book|last=United States Congress |title=North Korea: A Country Study |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ybmFuqReAqUC&pg=PA6 |year=2016 |publisher=Nova Science Publishers |isbn=978-1-59033-443-0 |page=6 }}
:"Han Chinese built four commanderies, or local military units, to rule the peninsula as far south as the Han River, with a core area at Lolang (Nangnang in Korean), near present-day P'yongyang. It is illustrative of the relentlessly different historiography practiced in North Korea and South Korea, as well as both countries' dubious projection backward of Korean nationalism, that North Korean historians denied that the Lolang district was centered in Korea and placed it northwest of the peninsula, possibly near Beijing."
*{{cite book|last=Connor|first=Edgar V.|title=Korea: Current Issues and Historical Background|year=2003|publisher=Nova Science Publishers|isbn=978-1-59033-443-0|page=112}}
:"They place it northwest of the peninsula, possibly near Beijing, in order to de-emphasize China's influence on ancient Korean history."
*{{harvnb|Kim, Jinwung|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&pg=PA18 18]}}
:"Immediately after destroying Wiman Chosŏn, the Han empire established administrative units to rule large territories in the northern Korean peninsula and southern Manchuria."
*{{cite book|last=Hyung |first=Hyung Il |title=Constructing "Korean" Origins |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QxztLeLoVkQC&pg=PA129 |year=2000 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-00244-9 |page=129 }}
:"When material evidence from the Han commandery site excavated during the colonial period began to be reinterpreted by Korean nationalist historians as the first full-fledged "foreign" occupation in Korean history, Lelang's location in the heart of the Korean peninsula became particularly irksome because the finds seemed to verify Japanese colonial theories concerning the dependency of Korean civilization on China."
*{{cite book|last=Hyung |first=Hyung Il |title=Constructing "Korean" Origins |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QxztLeLoVkQC&pg=PA128 |year=2000 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-00244-9 |page=128 }}
:"At present, the site of Lelang and surrounding ancient Han Chinese remains are situated in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. Although North Korean scholars have continued to excavate Han dynasty tombs in the postwar period, they have interpreted them as manifestations of the Kochoson or the Koguryo kingdom."
*{{cite book|last=Xu |first=Stella Yingzi |title=That glorious ancient history of our nation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YFYVwaS8N58C&pg=PA223 |year=2007 |publisher=University of California, Los Angeles |isbn=978-0-549-44036-9 |page=223 }}
:"Lelang Commandery was crucial to understanding the early history of Korea, which lasted from 108 BCE to 313 CE around the Pyongyang area. However, because of its nature as a Han colony and the exceptional attention paid to it by Japanese colonial scholars for making claims of the innate heteronomy of Koreans, post 1945 Korean scholars intentionally avoided the issue of Lelang."
*{{cite book|last=Lee |first=Peter H. |title=Sourcebook of Korean Civilization: Volume 2: From the Seventeenth Century to the Modern |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N66XyMJ_sNsC&pg=PA227 |year=1996 |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-07912-9 |page=227}}
:"But when Emperor Wu conquered Choson, all the small barbarian tribes in the northeastern region were incorporated into the established Han commanderies because of the overwhelming military might of Han China."
</ref>]]

===Jin State===
Around 300 BC, a state called [[Jin (Korean state)|Jin]] arose in the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Very little is known about Jin, but it established relations with Han China and exported artifacts to the [[Yayoi period|Yayoi]] of [[Japan]].<ref>[http://www.bookrags.com/history/worldhistory/yayoi-period-ema-06/ Yayoi Period History Summary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726001937/http://www.bookrags.com/history/worldhistory/yayoi-period-ema-06/ |date=2008-07-26 }}, BookRags.com</ref><ref>[http://www2.gol.com/users/hsmr/Content/East%20Asia/Japan/History/roots.html Japanese Roots] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120525105448/http://www2.gol.com/users/hsmr/Content/East%20Asia/Japan/History/roots.html |date=2012-05-25 }}, Jared Diamond, ''Discover'' 19:6 (June 1998)</ref><ref>[http://www2.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/japanorigin.htm The Genetic Origins of the Japanese] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209135625/http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/japanorigin.htm |date=2016-02-09 }}, Thayer Watkins</ref> Around 100 BC, Jin evolved into the [[Samhan]] confederacies.{{sfn|Lee|Park|Yoon|2005|pp= 92–95}}

Many smaller states sprang from the former territory of Gojoseon such as [[Buyeo]], [[Okjeo]], [[Eastern Ye|Dongye]], [[Goguryeo]], and [[Baekje]]. The [[Three Kingdoms of Korea|Three Kingdoms]] refer to [[Goguryeo]], [[Baekje]], and [[Silla]], although Buyeo and the [[Gaya confederacy]] existed into the 5th and 6th centuries respectively.

===Proto–Three Kingdoms===
{{Main|Proto–Three Kingdoms of Korea}}

[[File:History of Korea-001.png|thumb|Proto–Three Kingdoms, c. AD 1]]
[[File:평양 석암리 금제교구.jpg|thumb|Gold buckle of the [[Proto–Three Kingdoms period]]]]

The Proto-Three Kingdoms period, sometimes called the Several States Period (열국시대,列國時代),<ref>{{in lang|ko}} [https://archive.today/20120708123533/http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=120316 Proto-Three Kingdoms period] at [[Doosan Encyclopedia]]</ref> is the time before the rise of the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]], which included [[Goguryeo]], [[Silla]], and [[Baekje]], and occurred after the fall of [[Gojoseon]]. This time period consisted of numerous states that sprang up from the former territories of Gojoseon. Among these states, the largest and most influential were [[Eastern Buyeo]] and [[Buyeo|Northern Buyeo]].

====Northern states====
{{Main|Buyeo|Okjeo|Eastern Ye}}

After the fall of [[Gojoseon]], [[Buyeo]] arose in today's North Korea and southern [[Manchuria]], from about the 2nd century BC to 494 AD. Its remnants were absorbed by [[Goguryeo]] in 494, and both Goguryeo and [[Baekje]], two of the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]], considered themselves its successor.{{sfn|Lee|Park|Yoon|2005|pp= 109–116}}

Although records are sparse and contradictory, it is thought that in 86 BC, [[Eastern Buyeo|Dongbuyeo]] (Eastern Buyeo) branched out, after which the original Buyeo is sometimes referred to as [[Buyeo|Bukbuyeo]] (Northern Buyeo). [[Holbon|Jolbon Buyeo]] was the predecessor to [[Goguryeo]], and in 538, Baekje renamed itself ''Nambuyeo'' (Southern Buyeo).<ref>{{in lang|ko}} [http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=254242&v=43 Buyeo] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120701173656/http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=254242&v=43 |date=2012-07-01 }} [[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]]</ref>

[[Okjeo]] was a tribal-state that was located in the northern [[Korea|Korean Peninsula]], and was established after the fall of Gojoseon. Okjeo had been a part of [[Gojoseon]] before its fall. It never became a fully developed kingdom due to the intervention of its neighboring kingdoms. Okjeo became a tributary of Goguryeo, and was eventually annexed into Goguryeo by [[Gwanggaeto the Great]] in the 5th century.{{sfn|Lee|Park|Yoon|2005|pp= 128–130}}

[[Eastern Ye|Dongye]] (Eastern Ye) was another small kingdom that was situated in the northern [[Korea|Korean Peninsula]]. Dongye bordered [[Okjeo]], and the two kingdoms faced the same fate of becoming tributaries of the growing empire of [[Goguryeo]]. Dongye was also a former part of [[Gojoseon]] before its fall.{{sfn|Lee|Park|Yoon|2005|pp= 130–131}}

====Southern states====
{{Main|Samhan|Mahan confederacy|Jinhan confederacy|Byeonhan confederacy}}

Sam-han ({{Korean|hangul=삼한|hanja=三韓|labels=no}}) refers to the three confederacies of [[Mahan confederacy|Mahan]], [[Jinhan confederacy|Jinhan]], and [[Byeonhan confederacy|Byeonhan]]. The Samhan were located in the southern region of the [[Korea|Korean Peninsula]].<ref>{{in lang|ko}} [https://archive.today/20120707011814/http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=86824 Samhan] at [[Doosan Encyclopedia]]</ref> The Samhan countries were strictly governed by law, with religion playing an important role. Mahan was the largest, consisting of 54 states, and assumed political, economic, and cultural dominance. Byeonhan and Jinhan both consisted of 12 states, bringing a total of 78 states within the Samhan. The Samhan were eventually conquered by [[Baekje]], [[Silla]], and [[Gaya confederacy|Gaya]] in the 4th century.{{sfn|Lee|Park|Yoon|2005|pp= 135–141}}