The three Gojoseon kingdoms are states thought to have existed according to ''

Joseon Sangosa ''Joseon Sanggosa'' (literally ''Ancient history of Korea'') is a book written in 1931 by Shin Chaeho, and which describes the ancient history of Korea. It covers the history of Korea from Gojoseon to the destruction of Baekje. It was published s ...

'' (1924–25). The concept gained a following among several fringe historians, although it is not completely accepted by mainstream scholars. In popular Korean history, drawing on the Korean founding myth,

Gojoseon Gojoseon () also called Joseon (), was the first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula. According to Korean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary founder named Dangun. Gojoseon possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean P ...

(고조선, 古朝鮮, 2333 BC – 239 BC) was an early state that was established around Liaoning, southern

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

, and the northern

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 ...

. It was anciently known simply as ''Joseon'', but is now referred to as ''Gojoseon'', i.e. "Ancient Joseon" to distinguish it from the much later (14th century) Kingdom of

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

. According to some sources, Gojoseon was a kingdom formed by the union of three confederacies, or '' Samhan'': Makjoseon (막조선, 莫朝鮮), Jinjoseon (진조선, 真朝鮮) and Beonjoseon (번조선, 番朝鮮). These three confederacies are said to be also known as Mahan, Byeonhan, and

Jinhan Jinhan () was a loose confederacy of chiefdoms that existed from around the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD in the southern Korean Peninsula, to the east of the Nakdong River valley, Gyeongsang Province. Jinhan was one of the Samhan (or "T ...

. In conventional Korean history, these three confederacies appeared following Gojoseon's break-up, in the central and southern Korean Peninsula, until they were fully absorbed into the

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

around the 4th century CE. Therefore, these later Samhan must be distinguished from the "former Samhan", or ''Samjoseon''.

Government structure

According to ''

'', written in 1924–25 by

Sin Chaeho Sin Chaeho, or Shin Chae-ho (; November 7, 1880 – February 21, 1936), was a Korean independence activist, historian, anarchist, nationalist, and a founder of Korean nationalist historiography (민족 사학, ''minjok sahak''; sometimes shorte ...

, Gojoseon had an organizational system of three states and 5 ministries. The three states consisted of Jinjoseon, Makjoseon and Beonjoseon. Jinjoseon was said to be ruled by the Supreme

Dangun Dangun (; ) or Dangun Wanggeom (; ) was the legendary founder and god-king of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, around present-day Liaoning province in Northeast China and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. He is said to be the "gran ...

. Beonjoseon and Makjoseon were said to be ruled by two Vice-Danguns. The Five Ministries, or '' Ohga'', included ''Dotga'' (pig), ''Gaeda'' (dog), ''Soga'' (cow), ''Malga'' (horse) and ''Shinga'' according to their areas of east, west, south, north and center. This ministry system using the name of animals was also claimed to be used by

Buyeo Buyeo or Puyŏ ( Korean: 부여; Korean pronunciation: u.jʌ or 扶餘 ''Fúyú''), also rendered as Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It is sometimes considered a Korea ...

, which is considered a successor state of Gojoseon by fringe historians (in real life its hard to say it is a successor state as buyeo was coexistent with gojoseon). In wartime, five military troops consisting of a central army, an advanced army, a left army and a right army were said to be organized, according to military commands, by the general of the central army. It is said that the traditional Korean game of '' Yut'' is patterned after these five military structures (the real origin was based on the system of sachooldo). Generally, the succession system of the Supreme Dangun and the Vice-Dangun was said to be determined by heredity, and sometimes the ruler said to be succeeded by one of the ''Ohga'', suggesting that the sovereign's power was not absolute.

Territory of Three Confederacies

Gojoseon was developed in the time of bronze wares, and continued to the Iron Age. The territory of the three Gojoseons is recognizable by the occurrence of their unique style of bronze sword, i.e., the mandolin-shaped dagger (비파형동검, 琵琶形銅劍). Their mandolin-shaped dagger is found around Liaoning,

, 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 ...

and even

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

. The shape of the mandolin-shape daggers of Gojoseon is very different from that of those found in China. Moreover, the composition of Gojoseon's bronze contains much more tin than that of China.

Jinjoseon (2333 BC – 239 BC)

It is usually said that the prefixes Ma, Jin and Beon were borrowed from

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the Written Chinese, writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are k ...

s to represent the

Korean language Korean ( South Korean: , ''hangugeo''; North Korean: , ''chosŏnmal'') is the native language for about 80 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the official and national language of both North Korea and South Korea (geographic ...

. ''Jin'' (or ''Shin'') represents the meanings of "whole" or "general"; thus ''Jinjoseon'' refers to the central confederacy of Gojoseon.

Asadal In Korean mythology and history, Asadal () was the capital city of the kingdom of Gojoseon (, meaning "Older Joseon"), the first Korean kingdom and notably founded by the legendary god-king Dangun. It is thought that Asadal was located in Manch ...

(아사달) was the capital city of Jinjoseon governed by

, and the other two Joseons were governed by the

vice Dangun This is a list of monarchs of Korea, arranged by dynasty. Names are romanized according to the South Korean Revised Romanization of Korean. McCune–Reischauer romanizations may be found at the articles about the individual monarchs. Gojoseon G ...

s. ''Joseon Sangosa'' says that Asadal corresponds to the current

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

. In history books, Jinjoseon was usually called ''Jin.'' In 425 BC, the name of Ancient Joseon was changed to Great Buyeo, and the capital city was moved to Jangdang. At this time, Jinjoseon did not have enough power to control Beonjoseon and Makjoseon, and gradually Gojoseon began to disintegrate. In 239 BC, Jinjoseon was conquered by Hae Mosu Dangun, and the state name was changed to

Beonjoseon (2333 BC – 108 BC)

''Beon'' or sometimes ''Byun'' means a plain or a field. Because Beonjoseon was a neighbor to the Chinese states, Chinese history usually referred to Beonjoseon as ''Gojoseon'' or simply ''Joseon.'' According to Shin,

Gija Joseon Gija Joseon (1120–194 BC) was a dynasty of Gojoseon allegedly founded by the sage Jizi (Gija), a member of the Shang dynasty royal house. Concrete evidence for Jizi's role in the history of Gojoseon is lacking, and the narrative has been c ...

and

Wiman Joseon Wiman Joseon (194–108 BC) was a dynasty of Gojoseon. It began with Wiman's (Wei Man) seizure of the throne from Gija Joseon's King Jun and ended with the death of King Ugeo who was a grandson of Wiman. Apart from archaeological data, the ...

were usurpations of Beonjoseon, and the Danguns allowed Gija and Wiman to rule over Beonjoseon because they were of the

Dongyi The Dongyi or Eastern Yi () was a collective term for ancient peoples found in Chinese records. The definition of Dongyi varied across the ages, but in most cases referred to inhabitants of eastern China, then later, the Korean peninsula, and Ja ...

race. Chinese usually referred to the ancestral Korean race as ''Dong-yi'', meaning eastern barbarians. Dangun had assigned Chidunam (치두남, 蚩頭男) as a vice Dangun of Beonjoseon. Its capital city was "Heomdok" (험독현, 險瀆縣), also called

Wanggeom-seong Wanggeom-seong ( ko, 왕검성) was the capital city of Gojoseon from 194 to 108 BC. It is also known as ''Wangheom-seong'' (; 王險城). Conflicting opinions about its location One theory suggests the capital was around the modern city of Pyon ...

(왕검성, 王儉城). Chidunam was a descendant of

Chiyou Chiyou (蚩尤, ) is a mythological being that appears in East Asian mythology. Individual According to the Song dynasty history book '' Lushi'', Chiyou's surname was Jiang (), and he was a descendant of flame. According to legend, Chiyou had a ...

(치우, 蚩尤) of the Baedal royalty. Hyeomdokhyeon is currently located in Changli (昌黎) County of

Province in the modern People's Republic of China. Shihchi jijie(史記集解), Chapter 115 Records of Joseon
/ref> According to ''Joseon Sangosa'', the ''Gi'' family became the kings of Beonjoseon in 323 BC, and the central authority of the Vice-Dangun became very powerful. Beonjoseon of the Gi family was usurped by Wiman in 193 BC; it was called Wiman Joseon henceforth. The last Vice-Dangun, Gijun, fled with his nobles and a large number of people into the Korean peninsula. There, he conquered Makjoseon, and established Mahan.

Makjoseon (2333 BC – ?)

''Ma'' is generally used to represent "south", and Makjoseon was located to the south of Jinjoseon. Dangun assigned Ungbaekda (웅백다, 熊伯多) as Vice Dangun of Makjoseon. Its capital city was

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

. It is uncertain how long Makjoseon endured, but it is thought to have been conquered by Gijun when he fled from

Wiman Wi Man (in Korean) or Wei Man (in Chinese) was originally a military leader of the Chinese Kingdom of Yan. * :"The term was used again by a refugee from the Han dynasty named Wiman, who about 200 B.C.E. set up a kingdom in Korea called Wiman ...

, and then changed the name of the state to Mahan — one of the confederacies of the later Samhan. It seems that Mahan continued until it was conquered by

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

Disintegration of Three Gojoseon

According to ''Joseon Sangosa'', the disintegration of the three Gojoseon started around 400 BC, when Yan attacked Gojoseon, and Gihu became the king of Beonjoseon. At this time, it seems that Gihu did not fall under the jurisdiction of Jinjoseon, and Beonjoseon under the Gi family became independent of Jinjoseon. Thereafter, the influence of Jinjoseon over Beonjoseon and Makjoseon being greatly weakened, the disintegration of Gojoseon became inevitable.

Interpretation

Misreading

Some Korean scholars point out that the basis of the story is from Shin's interpretation of the following line in the chapter "Treatise on Chosun" (朝鮮列傳) section of the ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

'' that Shin introduced in his book ''Chǒnhu Samhan Ko'' ("A Study of the Three Hans in Sequence", or "An Inquiry into the Former and Latter Three Han States"; 前後三韓考): 自始全燕時嘗略屬眞番朝鮮. "

Zhenfan Commandery The Zhenfan Commandery was one of the Four Commanderies of the Chinese Han dynasty located on the Korean Peninsula. It existed between 108 BC and 82 BC. History In 108 BC, the Zhenfan Commandery was established under Youzhou by the Han dynasty. ...

and Joseon were already invaded and subjugated in the high days of the

Yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...

." Since the characters 眞番朝鮮 can be read as Jinbeon and Joseon or Jinjoseon and Beonjoseon, this is thought to be the source of the confusion.

Support for the interpretation of Shin's original opinion

On the collected annotations (集解) of the same section, Guang Xu (徐廣) who was a historian of

Eastern Jin Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

, illustrates that Jinbeon is also called Jinmak (眞莫). In the Biographies of the Wuhuan,

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the ...

, and

in the '' Book of Wei'' in the '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'', a following detailed paragraph appears that differentiates Jin (辰) and Beon (蕃) which suggests the two entities were separate. 初, 右渠未破時, 朝鮮相歷谿卿以諫右渠不用, 東之辰國, 時民隨出居者二千餘戶, 亦與朝鮮貢蕃不相往來. "At earlier times before King Ugeo was demolished, a Joseon official called Yeokgyeyung (歷谿卿) expostulated to the king but after his expostulation was refused he went east to the state of Jin (辰國). At that time there were 2000 houses of people who followed his journey, and they never traded with Beon (蕃) which was a tributary of Joseon."

Trivia

{{Unreferenced section, date=December 2020 A classification of Three Joseons existed before in the geography section of the Veritable Records of Sejong of the

Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty The ''Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty'' (also known as the ''Annals of the Joseon Dynasty'' or the ''True Record of the Joseon Dynasty''; ko, 조선왕조실록 and ) are the annual records of Joseon, the last royal house to rule K ...

where it illustrates the history of

Pyongan Province Pyeong-an Province (, ) was one of Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Pyeong'an was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Pyeongyang (now Pyongyang, North Korea). History Pyeong'an Province was formed in ...

. But the classification was of

Dangun Joseon Gojoseon () also called Joseon (), was the first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula. According to Korean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary founder named Dangun. Gojoseon possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean Pe ...