Ancient States of Korea and Japan: Map & History

The first extant Korean text to mention Kija (the Korean pronunciation of Jizi) was Kim Pusik's Samguk sagi (completed in 1145), which claimed that Kija had been enfeoffed in Haedong (海東: Korea) by the Zhou court, but commented that this account was uncertain because of the brevity of the sources. Only in the thirteenth century did Korean texts start to integrate Kija more fully into Korean history. The Samguk yusa (1281) explained that after being enfeoffed by King Wu of Zhou, Kija replaced Dangun's descendants as the ruler of Old Chosŏn, whereas Jewang Ungi (1287) identified Tan'gun and Kija as the first rulers of former and latter Joseon respectively. Most premodern Korean historians after that accepted that Kija had replaced another indigenous power (represented by Tan'gun) in Old Joseon.

From Wikipedia: Old Chosŏn · Founding myths: Controversies (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The beginning of the Bronze Age on the peninsula is usually said to be 1000 BCE, but estimates range from the 13th to 8th centuries BCE. Although the Korean Bronze Age culture derives from the Liaoning and Manchuria, it exhibits unique typology and styles, especially in ritual objects.

From Wikipedia: Old Chosŏn · Culture: Bronze tools (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Alexander Vovin, among others, suggests that Japonic languages, which he classifies as Peninsular Japonic, were spoken in large parts of southern Korea and Jeju before they were replaced by proto-Koreanic languages. While it is believed that Koreanic/proto-Koreanic and Japonic/proto-Japonic (i.e. Peninsular Japonic) co-existed in the southern Korean Peninsula for an extended period of time, the establishment of Koreanic speakers and their assimilation of Japonic speakers may have played a role in a Yayoi migration to the Japanese archipelago, believed to have occurred between 1,000 BCE–300 CE, which overlaps with the period in which Jin is attested.

From Wikipedia: Jin (Korean state) · Language (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Jin was succeeded by the Samhan: Mahan, Jinhan and Byeonhan. Chinese historical text, Records of the Three Kingdoms says that Jinhan is the successor of the Jin state, while the Book of the Later Han writes that Mahan, Jinhan and Byeonhan were all part of the former Jin state as well as 78 other tribes.

From Wikipedia: Jin (Korean state) · Legacy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Byeonhan may have simply been a political description for decentralized polities south and west of the Nakdong river valley that were not formal members of the Jinhan confederacy.

From Wikipedia: Byeonhan confederacy · Politics and trade (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Dongyi ("Eastern Barbarian") in the Book of Wei section of the Chinese book, Records of the Three Kingdoms states that the culture of Byeonhan was similar to that of Jinhan (言語法俗相似) and that their populations lived "intermingled together" (弁辰與辰韓雑居), while having similar language and customs.

From Wikipedia: Byeonhan confederacy · Culture and language (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Ye people considered themselves to be the same people as the people of Goguryeo, and shared their language and ethnic origins with the people of Okjeo and Goguryeo. This may indicate that Dongye also shared a common origin with Buyeo and Gojoseon. The population was recorded to be 20,000 households.

From Wikipedia: Eastern Ye · People and culture (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The language of Jinhan is thought to be the predecessor of the language of Silla, which in turn was the supposed ancestor of the modern Korean language.

From Wikipedia: Jinhan confederacy · Language (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Its relation to the earlier state of Jin is not clear, although the contemporary Chinese chronicle Records of the Three Kingdoms alleges that Jinhan was identical with Jin (while another record describes Jin as the predecessor of the Samhan as a whole). Jinhan and Byeonhan shared essentially the same culture, with varying religious customs, and apparently were not separated by a clear boundary.

From Wikipedia: Jinhan confederacy · Culture (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Kings of Mahan occasionally called themselves "King of Jin," referring to the earlier Jin state and asserting nominal sovereignty over all of Samhan. A wealth of bronze artifacts and production facilities indicate that Mahan was probably the earliest developed of the three Hans. At its height, Mahan covered much of the Han River Basin and the modern-day provinces of Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Jeolla, although political unity was strongest led by Mokji state (목지국, 目支國) in Cheonan, Chungcheong.

From Wikipedia: Mahan confederacy · Politics (CC BY-SA 4.0)

"There are three stocks: the first is called Mahan, the second Jinhan, and the third Byeonhan, which is the ancient state of Jin. Mahan is to the west of it. Its people are settled on the land and both sow and plant... Scattered between the mountains and the sea, their settlements have no inner or outer walls... By custom they have few rules and regulations. Their national town has a dominant leader, but the people's settlements are scattered, and they are not readily subject to regulation and control. They do not have the ceremony of kneeling to make obeisance. For their dwellings they make grass-roofed earth-chambers shaped like tumuli; the door is on the top, and a whole family lives together inside, with no distinction as to old or young, male or female... They do not know about riding oxen and horses, their oxen and horses being used exclusively for accompanying the dead...

From Wikipedia: Mahan confederacy · Culture (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Goryeo historians identified Mahan with Goguryeo, which was supported by their works like Samguk sagi, Samguk yusa and Chewang un'gi. That historical view was previously given by Ch'oe Ch'iwŏn, a noted Confucian scholar and historian in the late Silla period. Apart from the geographical location of Mahan, the Chinese historical record History of Song defines the ethnical origin of the Chŏngan kingdom, a successor state of Parhae, as Mahan.

From Wikipedia: Mahan confederacy · Legacy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Okjeo was a presumed ancient language that was a part of the Puyŏ languages and existed from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. In Peter H. Lee's book, he stated that although there are some small differences between Okjeo and Goguryeo, the two languages have many similarities that Okjeo did not have with the other Puyŏ languages. However, Christopher I. Beckwith considers Okjeo to have been a dialect of Goguryeo.

From Wikipedia: Okjeo · Language (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Eastern Okjeo is located to the east of the great mountains of Gaema in Goguryeo; its people make their settlements on the shore of the great sea. In shape their land is narrow in the northeast and long in the southwest, where it is perhaps a thousand li. It is contiguous on the north with Yilou and Buyeo, and on the south with Yemaek. Its households number five thousand. They have no supreme Ruler, each village having its own hereditary chief. Their language has broad similarity with that of Goguryeo, though at times there are small differences... Their land is fair and fertile, facing the sea with its back to the mountains. It is well suited to the cultivation of the five grains, and they are good at tilling and planting. The people are simple and direct, strong and brave. Having few oxen and horses, they are adept at fighting on foot, wielding spears.

From Wikipedia: Okjeo · Culture (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The earliest record of the name of Goguryeo can be traced to geographic monographs in the Book of Han and is first attested as the name of one of the subdivisions of the Xuantu Commandery, established along the trade routes within the Amnok river basin following the destruction of Gojoseon in 113 BC. The American historian Christopher Beckwith offers the alternative proposal that the Guguryeo people were first located in or around Liaoxi (western Liaoning and parts of Inner Mongolia) and later migrated eastward, pointing to another account in the Book of Han. The early Goguryeo tribes from whom the administrative name is derived were located close to or within the area of control of the Xuantu Commandery. Its tribal leaders also appeared to have held the ruler title of "marquis" over said nominal Gaogouli/Goguryeo county.

From Wikipedia: Goguryeo · History: Origins (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Early Goguryeo was a federation of five tribes(called Obu in korean). The names of the five tribes were Yeonno, Jeolno, Soonno, Gwanno, and Gyeroo. The tribe that held kingship,which had the honorable title of Gochooka, was the Yeonno tribe, but the Gyeroo tribe later held the title. The five tribes later turned into five districts. As the autonomy of these five tribal collectives waned, regional officers were appointed with valley as a unit.As Goguryeo progressed into the 4th century, a regional administration unit arose that centred around fortresses that were built in the newly enlarged areas.

From Wikipedia: Goguryeo · Government (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In the winter of 642, King Yeongnyu was apprehensive about Yŏn Kaesomun, one of the great nobles of Goguryeo, and plotted with other officials to kill him. However, Yŏn Kaesomun caught news of the plot and killed Yeongnyu and 100 officials, initiating a coup d'état. He proceeded to enthrone Yeongnyu's nephew, Go Jang, as King Bojang while wielding de facto control of Goguryeo himself as the Dae Magniji (대막리지; 大莫離支; a position equivalent to a modern era dual office of prime minister and generalissimo). At the outset of his rule, Yŏn Kaesomun took a brief conciliatory stance toward Tang China. For instance, he supported Taoism at the expense of Buddhism, and to this effect in 643, sent emissaries to the Tang court requesting Taoist sages, eight of whom were brought to Goguryeo.

From Wikipedia: Goguryeo · History: Goguryeo–Silla War, Goguryeo-Tang War and the Silla–Tang alliance (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The culture of Goguryeo was shaped by its climate, religion, and the tense society that people dealt with due to the numerous wars Goguryeo waged.

From Wikipedia: Goguryeo · Culture (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In the summer of 666, Yŏn Kaesomun died of a natural cause and Goguryeo was thrown into chaos and weakened by a succession struggle among his sons and younger brother. He was initially succeeded as Dae Mangniji, the highest position newly made under the ruling period of Yŏn Kaesomun, by his oldest son Yŏn Namsaeng. As Yŏn Namsaeng subsequently carried out a tour of Goguryeo territory, however, rumors began to spread both that Yŏn Namsaeng was going to kill his younger brothers Yŏn Namgŏn and Yŏn Namsan, whom he had left in charge at Pyongyang, and that Yŏn Namgŏn and Yŏn Namsan were planning to rebel against Yŏn Namsaeng. When Yŏn Namsaeng subsequently sent officials close to him back to Pyongyang to try to spy on the situation, Yŏn Namgŏn arrested them and declared himself Dae Mangniji, attacking his brother.

From Wikipedia: Goguryeo · History: Fall (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Remains of walled towns, fortresses, palaces, tombs, and artifacts have been found in North Korea and Manchuria, including ancient paintings in a Goguryeo tomb complex in Pyongyang. Some ruins are also still visible in present-day China, for example at Wunü Mountain, suspected to be the site of Jolbon fortress, near Huanren in Liaoning province on the present border with North Korea. Ji'an is also home to a large collection of Goguryeo era tombs, including what Chinese scholars consider to be the tombs of Gwanggaeto and his son Jangsu, as well as perhaps the best-known Goguryeo artifact, the Gwanggaeto Stele, which is one of the primary sources for pre-5th-century Goguryeo history.

From Wikipedia: Goguryeo · Legacy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Tamna language might have been Japonic in origin, later being replaced by a Koreanic language. Alexander Vovin compares certain glosses of Jeju Japonic to words of other Japonic languages.

From Wikipedia: Tamna · Language (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Paekche was mainly composed of the indigenous populations of the previous Mahan confederacy and the Koreanic Yemaek people from Goguryeo and Buyeo. In addition, smaller migrations happened via the inhabitants of the Jin state and the Lelang Commandery through trade and conquest, who were also admitted into the polities of Paekche.

From Wikipedia: Paekche · History: Founding (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The establishment of a centralized state in Paekche is usually traced to the reign of King Goi, who may have first established patrilineal succession. Like most monarchies, a great deal of power was held by the aristocracy. King Seong, for example, strengthened royal power, but after he was slain in a disastrous campaign against Silla, the nobles took much of that power away from his son.

From Wikipedia: Paekche · Social and political structure (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The town leaders and its subjects participated in the military of Paekche on a local level, and loot and captives were distributed among them. The subjects usually worked in the supply division. The position of Jwajang led the military. Geunchogo established the division of central military and local militaries. The people of Paekche usually served in the military for three years. As Paekche entered the Sabi period, the military was divided into the royal private guard, the capital central military and the local military. The royal private guard handled matters such as protecting the palace. The weapons available to the soldiers were diverse.

From Wikipedia: Paekche · Military (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Paekche was established by immigrants from Goguryeo who spoke what could be a Buyeo language, a hypothetical group linking the languages of Old Chosŏn, Buyeo, Goguryeo, and Paekche. In a case of diglossia, the indigenous Samhan people, having migrated in an earlier wave from the same region, probably spoke a variety of the same language. Kōno Rokurō has argued that the kingdom of Paekche was bilingual, with the gentry speaking a Buyeo language and the common people a Han language. A view was proposed by Alexander Vovin, who noted that Japonic languages were spoken in the Tamna Kingdom on modern-day Jeju before the arrival of Koreanic, noting the presence of a Japonic substratum in the Jeju language.

From Wikipedia: Paekche · Language and culture (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 660, the coalition troops of Silla and Tang China attacked Paekche, which was then allied with Goguryeo. A heavily outmanned army led by General Gyebaek was defeated in the Battle of Hwangsanbeol near Nonsan. The capital Sabi fell almost immediately thereafter, resulting in the annexation of Paekche by Tang China. Tang government set up Ungjin Commandery for the purpose of governing the Paekche area. King Uija and his son Buyeo Yung were sent into exile in China while at least some of the ruling class fled to Japan. The fall of Sabi resulted in one of the infamous episodes in Korean history, as countless Paekche court ladies, concubines and women of the nobility committed suicide by jumping off a cliff near Sabi rather than be captured by the Silla-Tang Alliance.

From Wikipedia: Paekche · History: Fall and restoration movement (CC BY-SA 4.0)

To confront the military pressure of Goguryeo to its north and Silla to its east, Paekche (Kudara in Japanese) established close relations with Japan. According to the Korean chronicle Samguk sagi, Paekche and Silla sent some princes to the Japanese court as hostages. Whether the princes sent to Japan should be interpreted as diplomats as part of an embassy or literal hostages is debated. Due to the confusion on the exact nature of this relationship (the question of whether the Paekche Koreans were family or at least close to the Japanese Imperial line or whether they were hostages) and the fact that the Nihon Shoki, a primary source of material for this relationship, is a compilation of myth, makes it difficult to evaluate.

From Wikipedia: Paekche · Foreign relations: Cultural impact and military assistance (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In its early days, Silla started off as a city-state by the name of Saro (사로국; 斯盧國), initially founded by Yemaek refugees from Gojoseon. It also accepted dispersed people fleeing from the Lelang Commandery after Goguryeo's invasion, while later on incorporating native Jin people in the vicinity and Ye people to the North.

From Wikipedia: Silla · History: Early period (CC BY-SA 4.0)

From at least the 6th century, when Silla acquired a detailed system of law and governance, social status and official advancement were dictated by the bone rank system. This rigid lineage-based system also dictated clothing, house size, and the permitted range of marriage.

From Wikipedia: Silla · Society and politics (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The early Silla military was built around a small number of Silla royal guards designed to protect royalty and nobility and in times of war served as the primary military force if needed. Due to the frequency of conflicts between Paekche and Goguryeo as well as Yamato Japan, Silla created six local garrisons one for each district. The royal guards eventually morphed into "sworn banner" or Sodang units. In 625 another group of Sodang was created. Garrison soldiers were responsible for local defense and also served as a police force.

From Wikipedia: Silla · Military (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Centuries after Buddhism emerged in India, the strand called Mahayana Buddhism spread out of Central Asia, modern-day Afghanistan, and arrived in Silla the very last out of Goguryeo and Paekche due to its geographic isolation. In Korea, it was adopted as the state religion of 3 constituent polities of the Three Kingdoms Period, first by Goguryeo in 372 CE, by Silla in 528 CE, and by Paekche in 552 CE. Buddhism was introduced much more reluctantly compared to the two others to Silla in 528. Silla had been exposed to the religion for over a century during which the faith had certainly made inroads into the native populace and mixed with the native Shamanist and Animist folk religion to form the Korean specific form of Buddhism. The Buddhist monk Ado introduced Silla to Buddhism when he arrived to proselytize in the mid 5th century.

From Wikipedia: Silla · Culture: Buddhism (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The final century and a half of the Silla state was one of nearly constant upheaval and civil war as the king was reduced to little more than a figurehead and powerful aristocratic families rose to actual dominance outside the capital and royal court.

From Wikipedia: Silla · History: Decline and fall (CC BY-SA 4.0)