Main Points of Contention in Terms of the Studies on Tan'gun and Kojosŏn
Journal Title: International Journal of Korean History - Year 2005, Vol 8, Issue 1
Abstract
Kojosŏn(古朝鮮) is widely understood to be the first political body in the history of Korea. Within the paradigm of Korean history, Kojosŏn is perceived as having been composed of three political bodies with different characteristics: ‘Tan΄gun(檀君),’ ‘Kija(箕子)’, and ‘Wiman(衞滿)’. While references to the founding myth of Kojosŏn and to its mythological founder Tan΄gun first appear in the <Samguk yusa(三國遺事, Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea)>, and the <Jewang Ungi(帝王韻紀 Songs of Emperors and Kings>, the state of Kojosŏn’s relations with China are dealt with in the <Wiryak(魏略)>’, a work often cited in the <Sanguo zhi(三國志, Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms>. The archaeological and cultural evidence uncovered to date would seem to indicate that Kojosŏn spanned from the Bronze Age, which is characterized by lute-shaped bronze daggers, dolmens, and stone tombs, to the Iron Age. Evidence of Kojosŏn culture, which is unlike anything produced during the Chinese Bronze Age, has been found on the Liaodong Peninsula, in Northeast Manchuria, and on the Korean peninsula itself. In particular, Kojosŏn is known to have established extensive relations with Chinese political groups, who referred to it as Chosŏn, during the Warring States period, as well as during the transition between Qin(秦) and Han(漢). By the onset of the Wiman Chosŏn era, Kojosŏn had forged diplomatic ties with horse-riding nomads such as the Xiongnu(匈奴).
Authors and Affiliations
Bup Jong Cho
Keywords
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