Nakrang Kingdom (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 낙랑국,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 樂浪國) was a kingdom located in the northwestern part of the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

according to ''Samguk Sagi''. The kingdom's independence, however, is debated. According to the ancient Korean record of ''Samguk Sagi'', the King of Nakrang named Choi Ri (

: 최리,

: 崔理) met the

Prince Hodong of Goguryeo Prince Hodong (; d. 11st months 32 AD (Lunar calendar)) was a Goguryeo Royal Prince as the son of King Daemusin, from Lady Hae. Outline When Hodong, a child of Daemusin of Goguryeo, the third king of Goguryeo went Okjeo for hunting, he met ...

and let him marry his daughter, the

Princess of Nakrang According to the ancient Korean record of Samguk Sagi, the Princess of Nakrang (; ? – 32) was a daughter of Choi Ri () who was the king of Nakrang Kingdom. However, the kingdom's sovereignty is often disputed, which is often viewed as an indepe ...

. When Prince Hodong asked the princess to break drums and horns in the Nakrang's armory to prevent the kingdom's guards from alerting the attack by

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled mos ...

, the princess followed Hodong's instructions, leading to Nakrang being conquered by Goguryeo.

Dispute regarding independence

The view regarding Nakrang's independence is disputed. While Chinese and Japanese scholars claim that the name Nakrang actually refers to the

Lelang Commandery The Lelang Commandery was a commandery of the Han dynasty established after it had conquered Wiman Joseon in 108 BC and lasted until Goguryeo conquered it in 313. The Lelang Commandery extended the rule of the Four Commanderies of Han as far so ...

of China's

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

and Choi Ri was Lelang's governor rather than a King, Korean scholars often view Nakrang as an independent kingdom.

Korean perspective

Korean scholars tend to view Nakrang as an independent kingdom given that the ancient Korean record ''Samguk Sagi'' referred to Nakrang as a kingdom and Choi Ri as Nakrang's King (樂浪王). They also point out the lack of Chinese record mentioning Choi Ri as the official of Lelang. It is also noted that Goguryeo must had attacked Lelang Commandry during the time period mentioned in ''Samguk Sagi'' if the name Nakrang indeed referred to Lelang. However, there is no record of such war between Goguryeo and Lelang at the mentioned time, suggesting that Nakrang was possibly a different state than Lelang. Because the record of ''Samguk Sagi'' also suggested that Choi Ri and Hodong met near modern-day Hamhung, some South Korean scholars speculate Nakrang to be a kingdom centered around Hamhung, possibly related to the several states that briefly evolved and lived after the abolishment of Lelang Commandery, before being absorbed by Goguryeo. North Korean academia fully assert that Nakrang was an independent country that existed in modern-day Pyongyang and composed

Mahan confederacy Mahan () was a loose confederacy of statelets that existed from around the 1st century BC to 5th century AD in the southern Korean peninsula in the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces. Gina Lee Barnes, 《State Formation in Korea: Historical and A ...

, arguing Lelang Commandery to be actually located near Liao River of

Liaodong Peninsula The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River ...

. The North Korean academia also speculate the Chinese-style ruins and relics found in Pyongyang to be either the war bounties, introduced through

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

, or even forged. They also emphasize that the Korean characteristics found in the ruins and relics should not be negated.

Chinese and Japanese perspective

The Chinese and Japanese scholars state that the Nakrang Kingdom was just another name used to refer to the Lelang Commandery of the Chinese

. This perspective claims that it was referred to with the name of a

kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

because the residents were

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

but were ultimately controlled by the Chinese commandery. The King of Nakrang was also interpreted to be the same title as the governor of the commandery. Kenji Takahisa (Professor of

Korean history The Lower Paleolithic era in the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria began roughly half a million years ago. Christopher J. Norton, "The Current State of Korean Paleoanthropology", (2000), ''Journal of Human Evolution'', 38: 803–825. The earliest ...

Senshu University is a private university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Campuses * Kanda Campus (Main campus): 3-8 Kandajimbo-cho, Chiyoda, Tokyo 101-8425 :The Kanda Campus is situated in Jimbocho, a college community in central Tokyo. This urban campus consists ...

) mentions “In that theory, there were Nakrang Kingdom which founded by old Korean ethnic group in Pyongyang, not Lelang Commandery of Han. However, it is difficult to prove this theory because there are many tombs influenced by Han culture found in Pyongyang, while there were not related archaeological and historical resources related to Lelang Commandery in Liaoning area.” Shouei Mishina criticized the claim that Nakrang Kingdom was different from the Lelang Commandery and said that it ignored the situation of Lelang Commandery of the Eastern Han dynasty.

References

{{reflist Former countries in East Asia Former countries in Chinese history Former countries in Korean history History of North Korea