Gochoson (Old Choson)
2333 BC: Gochoson (Old Choson)
Gochoson (or Gojoseon) was the first Korean kingdom. According to medieval-era records, Gochoson was founded in by the legendary ruler Tangun (sometimes spelled Dangun), on the principle of 'Hongik Ingan' - 'to live for the benefit of all mankind'[1]. People began living on the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding areas from some 700,000 years ago. The Neolithic Age began some 8,000 years ago. Relics from that period can be found in areas throughout the Korean Peninsula, mostly in coastal areas and in areas near big rivers[2]. The Bronze Age began around 1,500 to 2,000 B.C. in present-day Mongolia and on the peninsula. As this civilization began to form, numerous tribes appeared in the Lioaning region of Manchuria and in northwestern Korea. These tribes were ruled by leaders, whom Dangun, the legendary founder of the Korean people, later united to establish Gojoseon (2333 B.C.). The founding date is a testament to the longevity of Korea's history. This heritage is also a source of pride that provides Koreans the strength to persevere in times of adversity[3].
The people of Gojoseon or the oldest kingdom of Korea are recorded as Dongi, "eastern bowmen" or "eastern barbarians." They propagated in Manchuria, the eastern littoral of China, areas north of the Yangtze River, and the Korean Peninsula. The eastern bowmen had a myth in which the legendary founder Dangun was born of a father of heavenly descent and a woman from a bear-totem tribe. He is said to have started to rule in 2333 B.C., and his descendants reigned in Gojoseon, the "Land of Morning Calm", for more than a millenium[4].
When the Zhou people pushed the Yin, the eastern bowmen moved toward Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula for better climatic conditions. They seem to have maintaned unity, as China's great sages, Confucius and Mencius, praised their consanguineous order and the decorum of their society[5].
The eastern bowmen on the western coast of the Yellow Sea clashed with the Zhou people during China's period of warring states (475 B.C.-221 B.C.). This led them to move toward southern Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula[6]. There were other tribes of eastern bowmen, the Yemaek in the Manchurian area and the Han on the Korean Peninsula, all of whom belonged to the Tungusic family and linguistically affiliated with the Altaic. When Yin collapsed, Gija, a subject of the Yin state, entered Dangun's domain and introduced the culture of Yin around the 11th century B.C[7]. Then came the invasion of Yen in the northwastern sector of China, and Gojoseon lost the territories west of the Liao River in the third century B.C. By this time, iron culture was developing and the warring states pushed the refugees eastward[8].
Among the immigrants, Wiman entered the service of Gojoseon as military commander with a base on the Amnokgang (Yalu) river. He drove King Jun to the south and unsurped power. But in 109 B.C. the Han emperor Wu-ti dispatched a massive invasion by land and sea to Gojoseon in the estuary of the Liao river. Gojoseon was defeated after two years and four Chinese provincial commands were set up in southern Manchuria and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Not long after the establishment of the four commanderies, however, the Korean attacks became fierce and the last of the commanderies, Lolang (Korean: Nangnang) was destroyed by Goguryeo in 313[9].
[1] Brief Summary of Korean History, online journal is available <http://www.kscpp.net/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=rTE6VQ2GHSc%3D&tabid=108&mid=564>
[2] ESLSouthKorea.net, History of South Korea, <http://www.eslsouthkorea.net/history-of-south-korea.html>, accessed on June 16th 2012
[3] Ibid
[4] History of Korea, <http://www.koreaaward.com/kor/108>, accessed on June 16th 2012
[5] Ibid
[6] Ibid
[7] Ibid
[8] Ibid
[9] Ibid