Korean History › Gojoseon
Gojoseon
attested c. 7th century BC – 108 BC· Empire, kingdom or state· Rulers & states
Mostly agreedGood evidence; some details, dates or numbers uncertain.
Korea's first recorded state, centered in Liaoning and northwest Korea, until Han China conquered it in 108 BC.
See it on the Korean History map →What happened
Gojoseon (고조선, 'Old Joseon') appears in Chinese texts from roughly the 7th–4th centuries BC as Joseon, a fur-trading land northeast of the state of Yan; 'Go' was added later to distinguish it from the 1392 dynasty. Its rulers called themselves king by the 4th century BC. After Yan attacked around 300 BC, its center seems to have shifted to the Daedong River near Pyongyang. Three of its eight laws survive: death for murder, grain for injury, enslavement for theft.
Why it matters
As the first state it anchors Korean identity: both Koreas trace their history to it, and North Korea still calls itself Joseon.
How we know
Chinese sources such as the Guanzi and Sima Qian's Shiji (about 100 BC); bronze daggers, dolmens and other archaeology; Korean accounts written much later.
Still debated
Its founding date, borders and capital are disputed: Liaoning or Pyongyang, with South Korean, North Korean and Chinese scholars often taking different positions.
Inside this (6)
Connections (6)
▸Dangun founding myth is the traditional origin of GojoseonLegend & tradition
The connection
Korean tradition holds that Dangun Wanggeom founded Joseon, later called Gojoseon, at Asadal in 2333 BC and ruled for 1,500 years. Historians treat the myth as later memory-making: Gojoseon was real, but Dangun appears in no contemporary record.
When and how
Set at Asadal, a site never firmly located, in 2333 BC; recorded by the monk Iryeon in the Samguk yusa, about 1281.
How sure are we?
Only the myth itself, written down some 3,600 years after its stated date; Chinese texts mention Joseon from about the 7th century BC but never Dangun.
Debates and open questions
Whether the myth preserves memory of a real ruling clan, or of a priest-king title ('Dangun'), is debated.
▸Gija Joseon tradition is a disputed tradition about GojoseonLegend & tradition
The connection
Chinese texts claim that Gija, a Shang noble, ruled Joseon from about 1100 BC, which would make Gojoseon a Chinese-founded state. Joseon-era Confucians accepted this, but most modern historians reject it, finding no archaeological or contemporary evidence that Gija ever reached Korea.
When and how
Claimed for about 1100 BC; first recorded in Chinese texts of the 2nd–1st centuries BC, such as the Shangshu dazhuan and Sima Qian's Shiji.
How sure are we?
The earliest records come some 900 years after the claimed events, and Gojoseon's bronze culture differs clearly from Shang China's.
Debates and open questions
Some see real Shang-era migrations into Liaoning behind the story; others see a later invention that suited Chinese claims to the region.
▸Mumun (plain pottery) period underlay the rise of GojoseonMostly agreed
The connection
Bronze Age farming created the surpluses, ranks and chiefdoms from which states grow. In Liaoning and northwest Korea, related Bronze Age cultures, with mandolin daggers and table dolmens, became Gojoseon's base. Mumun, strictly a term for the peninsula's center and south, shows the same process under way.
When and how
Liaoning and the Korean Peninsula, about 1000–300 BC; Joseon appears in Chinese records from roughly the 7th–4th centuries BC.
How sure are we?
Archaeology shows growing villages, elite burials and bronze weapons in the same centuries Chinese texts begin naming Joseon.
Debates and open questions
How directly southern Mumun communities were tied to Gojoseon, politically or culturally, is unclear.
▸Mandolin-shaped (Liaoning-style) bronze dagger marks the culture of GojoseonMostly agreed
The connection
Historians map Gojoseon's sphere largely by where mandolin daggers, table-style dolmens and Misong-ri-type pottery occur together, from Liaoning into northwest Korea. The dagger is a cultural fingerprint, though it shows shared elite fashion more surely than political borders.
When and how
Liaoning, Jilin and the Korean Peninsula, about the 10th–4th centuries BC.
How sure are we?
Distribution maps of excavated daggers overlap the regions Chinese texts assign to Joseon; the link is inferred, not written down.
Debates and open questions
Chinese archaeologists often attribute Liaoning daggers to other peoples, such as the Donghu or Shanrong, so the Gojoseon link is contested.
▸Korean dolmens are linked to early chiefdoms like GojoseonDebated
The connection
Many Korean historians treat table-style dolmens in Liaoning and northwest Korea as Gojoseon monuments, using them with bronze daggers to sketch its territory. Dolmens show chiefdoms able to command labor, the kind of polities Gojoseon grew from or ruled.
When and how
Liaoning and northern Korea, about 1000–300 BC; the link is argued mainly by South and North Korean scholars.
How sure are we?
Overlap in distribution and date; but dolmens also cover southern Korea, far beyond any likely Gojoseon border, so the link is suggestive, not proven.
Debates and open questions
Whether dolmen builders were one people or many, and whether dolmens mark Gojoseon at all, are debated.
▸Wiman Joseon began when Wiman usurped the throne of GojoseonWell documented
The connection
Wiman, a Yan refugee given a border command by King Jun, gathered other refugees and in 194 BC marched on the capital, claiming to defend it against Han, then took the throne. The state kept the name Joseon; historians call this last phase Wiman Joseon.
When and how
Wanggeom-seong, Gojoseon's capital, 194 BC; Wiman versus King Jun.
How we know
Recorded in Sima Qian's Shiji, about 100 BC, and in the Weilüe, quoted in the Records of the Three Kingdoms.
Debates and open questions
Whether the coup was a foreign takeover or a change of dynasty within Joseon depends on Wiman's disputed origins.