Editing Gojoseon (section)

==Founding myths==
{{main|Korean mythology#Founding myth}}

There are three different main founding myths concerning Gojoseon, which revolve around Dangun, Gija, or Wi Man.<ref name=bar0-10>{{cite book|last1=Barnes|first1=Gina|title= State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives |date=2000|publisher=Curzon| location=Richmond|isbn=9780700713233|page=10}}</ref>

===Dangun myth===
[[File:Baitou Mountain Tianchi.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Heaven Lake]] of [[Baekdu Mountain]], where Dangun's father is said to have descended from heaven|alt=]]

The myths revolving around Dangun were recorded in the later Korean work ''[[Samguk yusa]]'' of the 13th century.<ref name=bar0-11>{{cite book|last1=Barnes|first1=Gina|title=State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives|date=2000|publisher=Curzon|location=Richmond|isbn=9780700713233|page=11}}</ref> This work states that [[Dangun]], the offspring of a heavenly prince and a bear-woman, founded Gojoseon in 2333 BCE, and was succeeded by Gija (Qizi) after King Wu of Zhou had placed him onto the throne in 1122 BCE.<ref name=bar0-11/> A similar account is found in ''[[Jewang Ungi]]''. According to the legend, the Lord of Heaven, [[Hwanin]] had a son, [[Hwanung]], who descended to [[Baekdu Mountain]] and founded the city of Shinsi. Then a bear and a tiger came to Hwanung and said that they wanted to become people. Hwanung said to them that if they went in a cave and lived there for 100 days while only eating [[mugwort]] and garlic he would change them into human beings. However, about halfway through the 100 days the tiger gave up and ran out of the cave. The bear, in contrast, successfully restrained herself and became a beautiful woman named [[Ungnyeo]]. Hwanung later married Ungnyeo, and she gave birth to [[Dangun]].<ref>Samguk yusa《삼국유사》(三國遺事)</ref>

While the Dangun story is considered to be a myth,<ref name="Gojoseon">
*{{cite book|last=Seth|first=Michael J.|title=A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WJtMGXyGlUEC&pg=PA443|year=2010 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-0-7425-6717-7|page=443}}
:"An extreme manifestation of nationalism and the family cult was the revival of interest in Tangun, the mythical founder of the first Korean state... Most textbooks and professional historians, however, treat him as a myth."

*{{cite book|last=Stark|first=Miriam T.|title=Archaeology of Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4_bT2SJ-HUC&pg=PA49|year=2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-5303-4|page=49}}
:"Although Kija may have truly existed as a historical figure, Tangun is more problematical."

*{{cite book|last=Schmid|first=Andre|title=Korea Between Empires|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVgaAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA269|year=2013|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-50630-4|page=270}}
:"Most [Korean historians] treat the [Tangun] myth as a later creation."

*{{cite book|last=Peterson|first=Mark|title=Brief History of Korea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ByIo1D9RY40C&pg=PA5|year=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-2738-5|page=5}}
:"The Tangun myth became more popular with groups that wanted Korea to be independent; the Kija myth was more useful to those who wanted to show that Korea had a strong affinity to China."

*{{cite book|last=Hulbert|first=H. B.|title=The History of Korea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WdusAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA73|year=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-84941-4|page=73}}
:"If a choice is to be made between them, one is faced with the fact that the Tangun, with his supernatural origin, is more clearly a mythological figure than Kija."</ref> it is believed it is a mythical synthesis of a series of historical events relating to the founding of Gojoseon.<ref name="enc.daum.net">{{cite encyclopedia |url = http://enc.daum.net/dic100/viewContents.do?&m=all&articleID=b01g4157b |script-title = ko:고조선(古朝鮮) |encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica( Korean) |language = ko |access-date = 2006-02-10 |archive-date = 2007-06-30 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070630054223/http://enc.daum.net/dic100/viewContents.do |url-status = dead }}</ref> There are various theories on the origin of this myth.{{sfn|Barnes|2001|pp=9–14}} Seo and Kang (2002) believe the Dangun myth is based on integration of two different tribes, an invasive sky-worshipping Bronze Age tribe and a native bear-worshipping neolithic tribe, that led to the foundation of Gojoseon.{{sfn|서강|2002}} Lee K. B. (1984) believes 'Dangun-wanggeom' was a title borne by successive leaders of Gojoseon.{{sfn|Lee|1984}}

Dangun is said to have founded Gojoseon around 2333 BCE, based on the descriptions of the ''[[Samguk yusa]]'', ''[[Jewang Ungi]]'', ''[[Tongguk t'onggam]]'' and the ''[[Annals of the Joseon Dynasty]]''.<ref name="동국통감단기산정">[http://www.kookhakwon.org/KookhakStudy/ForumView.aspx?contIdx=1246 국학원 제24회 학술회의 – 단기 연호 어떻게 볼 것인가] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101075056/http://www.kookhakwon.org/KookhakStudy/ForumView.aspx?contIdx=1246 |date=2014-11-01 }} – 단기가 최초로 산정된 것은 《[[동국통감]]》으로 요임금 즉위 25년 무진년을 기준으로 삼았다. [http://dbscthumb.phinf.naver.net/0733_000_1/20110922155115622_NA6A0Y5XA.jpg/DONG1-006A.jpg?type=m4500_4500_fst_n&wm=Y 《동국통감》〈외기〉] 의 주석에는 다음과 같은 해석이 실려있다. – 古記云, 檀君與堯竝立於戊辰, 虞夏至商武丁八年乙未, 入阿斯達山爲神, 享壽千四百十八年. 此說可疑今按, 堯之立在上元甲子甲辰之歲, 而檀君之立在後二十五年戊辰, 則曰與堯竝立者非也. 이에 대한 한글 해석은 [http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=889959&categoryId=49614&cid=49614 네이버 지식백과 국역 동국통감(국역:세종대왕기념사업회)] 에서 확인할 수 있다.</ref> The date differs among historical sources, although all of them put it during the mythical [[Emperor Yao]]'s reign (traditional dates: 2357 BCE? – 2256 BCE?). ''Samguk yusa'' says Dangun ascended to the throne in the 50th year of the legendary Yao's reign, ''Annals of the King Sejong'' says the first year, and ''Tongguk t'onggam'' says the 25th year.<ref>Yoon, N.-H. (윤내현), The Location and Transfer of Go-Chosun's Capital (고조선의 도읍 위치와 그 이동), ''단군학연구'', '''7''', 207–38 (2002)</ref>

In the 7th century BCE, the [[Yan (state)|Yan]] pioneered the Northeast regions. According to ''The Growth of Yan'' and ''The Context of Guanzi'',<ref>[[Guanzi (text)|Guanzi]](管子) > 桓公問管子曰 吾聞 海內玉幣有七筴 可 得以聞乎 管子對曰 陰山之礌礝 一筴也 燕之紫山白金 筴也 發朝鮮之文皮 筴也 : Records of trade between Gojoseon and Qi</ref> it can be presumed that Gojoseon grew through trade in this era. It is estimated that Gojoseon developed so far as to be able to wage [[Gojoseon–Yan War|war against the Yan]] in the 4th century BCE.

===Gija myth===
{{Main|Gija Joseon}}

[[Jizi|Gija]], a man from the period of the [[Shang dynasty]], allegedly fled to the Korean peninsula in 1122 BCE during the fall of the Shang to the [[Zhou dynasty]] and founded [[Gija Joseon]].{{sfn|Barnes|2001|pp=9–10}} Gija Joseon is recognized and mentioned in the earliest surviving Chinese record, ''[[Records of the Three Kingdoms]]''. Gija's story was further developed in later Korean texts such as ''[[Samguk yusa]]'' and ''Jewang ungi''. By the middle of [[Goryeo]] dynasty, a state cult had developed around Gija.<ref name="Shim 2002"/> The ''[[Dongsa Gangmok]]'' of 1778 described Gija's activities and contributions in Gojoseon. The records of Gija refer to [[Eight Prohibitions]] ({{korean|hangul=범금팔조|hanja=犯禁八條|labels=no}}), that are recorded by the ''[[Book of Han]]'' and evidence a hierarchical society with legal protections of private property.<ref name = "daum" />

In pre-modern Korea, Gija represented the authenticating presence of Chinese civilization. Until the 12th century CE, Koreans commonly believed that Dangun bestowed upon Korea its people and basic culture, while Gija gave Korea its high culture, and presumably, standing as a legitimate civilisation.<ref name="Korea 2010, pp. 4">Kyung Moon hwang, "[[A History of Korea: An Episodic Narrative]]", 2010, p. 4</ref>

Many modern experts have denied Gija Joseon's existence for various reasons, mainly due to contradicting archaeological evidence and anachronistic historical evidence.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE00657710|title=古朝鮮과 琵琶形銅劍의 問題|date=June 16, 2005|journal=단군학연구|issue=12|pages=5–30|via=www.dbpia.co.kr}}</ref><ref name="Shim 2002"/> They point to the ''[[Bamboo Annals]]'' and the ''[[Analects]]'' of Confucius, which were among the first works to mention Gija, but do not mention his migration to Gojoseon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?cid=40942&docId=1071411&categoryId=33373|script-title=ko:기자조선|website=terms.naver.com}}</ref> Gija Joseon might have just existed as a symbol of the pre-[[Qin dynasty]] migrants who escaped the chaos of the [[Warring States period]].<ref>Immigrants provided Gojoseon with the opportunity to learn and incorporate advanced technologies, but it is believed that they were only a minor influence (e.g. because the [[Koreanic languages|Proto-koreanic language]] was still used in Gojoseon). It is presumed that later Koreans claimed to be "Gija" for their relations with China and for their desire to be a part of Chinese civilization.</ref>

===Wi Man===
[[Wi Man]] was a military officer of the [[Principality of Yan|Yan]] of northeastern China who fled to the northern Korean peninsula in 195 BCE from the encroaching [[Han dynasty]].<ref name=bar0-11/> He founded a principality with [[Wanggeom-seong]] as its capital, which is thought to be in the region of present-day Pyongyang.<ref name=bar0-11/> The 3rd-century Chinese text ''[[Weilüe]]'' of the ''[[Sanguozhi]]'' recorded that Wi Man usurped [[Jun of Gojoseon|King Jun]] and thus took over the kingship of Gojoseon.<ref name=bar0-11/><ref>This may explain why the [[Jinhan confederacy|Jinhan]] people claim that they are descendants of the [[Qin dynasty]].</ref>

===Academic perspectives===
{{POV|date=January 2023}}
Gojoseon mythology and history can be divided into three phases, Dangun, Gija Joseon, and Wi Man Joseon.<ref name=c-bar0-12/>

# Kang & Macmillan (1980), Sohn et al. (1970), Kim J.B. (1980), Han W.K. (1970), Yun N. H. (1985), Lee K.B. (1984), Lee J.B. (1987) viewed the Dangun myth as a native product of proto-Koreans, although it is not always associated with Gojoseon.<ref name="c-bar0-12" /> Kim J.B. (1987) rejected the Dangun myth's association with Gojoseon and pushes it further back to the Neolithic period. Sohn et al. (1970) suggested that the Dangun myth is associated with the [[Dongyi]], whom they viewed as the ancestors of Koreans. Kim C. (1948) suggested the Dangun myth had a Chinese origin, tracing it to a Han dynasty tomb in the [[Shandong peninsula]].
# Gardiner (1969), Henderson (1959), McCune (1962) considered the Gija myth to be a later conflation. Sohn et al. (1970) dismissed the Gija story as a Chinese fabrication. On the other hand, Hatada (1969), gave Gojoseon a Chinese identity, exclusively ascribed it to the Gija myth, and moved it to the 3rd century BCE.<ref name="c-bar0-12" /> Shim Jae-Hoon (2002) accepted the eastward migration of Gija, but denied the relationship between Gija and Joseon, suggesting that the existence of Gojoseon could not be extended to the second millennium BCE.<ref name="Shim 2002">{{cite journal|last1=Shim|first1=Jae-Hoon|title=A new understanding of Kija Chosŏn as a historical anachronism|journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies|date=2002|volume=62|issue=2|pages=271–305|doi=10.2307/4126600|jstor=4126600}}</ref>
# Kim C.W. (1966), Han W.K. (1970), Choi M.L. (1983, 1984, 1985, 1992), Han W.K. (1984), Kim J.B. (1987), Lee K.B. (1984) accepted Wi Man as a historical figure.<ref name="c-bar0-12" /> Gardiner (1969) questioned authenticity of the Wi Man myth, although he mentioned there were interactions between Gojoseon and the Han dynasty and social unrest in the area during that time period.<ref name="c-bar0-12">Cited in {{cite book|last1=Barnes|first1=Gina|title= State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives |date=2014| publisher=Routledge| location=New York| isbn=9780700713233|pages=10–13}}</ref>

====Controversies====
Around the mid-[[Joseon dynasty]], the established view among historians traced Korean origins to Chinese refugees, considering Korean history that of a long series of kingdoms connected with China. As such, the [[Gija Joseon]] and [[Silla]] states were valorized, while the Gojoseon and [[Goguryeo]] states were not considered as important.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Northern Territories and the Historical Understanding of Territory in Late Chosŏn |first=Anders |last=Karlsson|date=December 2009 |page=3 |series=Working Papers in Korean Studies|publisher=School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London}}</ref> According to this view, the first state in Korea, [[Gija Joseon]], was founded by [[Jizi]] in 1122 BCE, who was a disgruntled Chinese advisor to the [[Shang dynasty]]. The story of how he brought poetry, music, medicine, trade, and a political system to the Korean peninsula was conceived similarly to the proposed [[Founding of Rome]] by the [[Trojan War|Trojan]] refugee [[Aeneas]].<ref name="Simons70">{{Cite book|title=Korea: The Search for Sovereignty|first=G. L.|last=Simons|publisher=Palgrave MacMillan|year=1999 |page=70}}</ref> But by the 1930s, under the influence of [[Shin Chaeho]]'s histories, the Jizi Korean founding story became less popular than that of [[Dangun]], the son of a tiger and a bear – the latter being common in [[Japanese folklore]] – who brought civilization to the Korean peninsula.<ref name="Simons70"/> Shin and the other historians who promulgated this myth had been influenced by [[Daejonggyo]], a [[new religious movement]] which worshipped Dangun,<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Parliament of Histories: New Religions, Collective Historiography, and the Nation|first=Boudewijn|last=Walraven|journal=Korean Studies|volume=25|issue=2 |year=2001|page=158 |doi=10.1353/ks.2001.0024|s2cid=145784087}}</ref> but attacked pre-annexation textbook narratives of Dangun which portrayed him as the brother of the Japanese god [[Susanoo]].<ref>{{Cite journal|first=Young-woo|last=Han|year=1992|title=The Establishment and Development of Nationalist History|journal=Seoul Journal of Korean Studies|volume=5|pages=69–70}}</ref> To Shin, Dangun was both the founder of the Korean ''minjok'' and the first Korean state (''kuk''), and thus the necessary starting point for Korean history.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Centering the Periphery: Manchurian Exile(s) and the North Korean State|first=Charles K.|last=Armstrong|journal=Korean Studies|volume=19|year=1995|pages=3|doi=10.1353/ks.1995.0017|s2cid=154659765|url=http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/download/fedora_content/download/ac:168680/CONTENT/19.armstrong.pdf}}</ref> In response to a challenge by the Japanese scholars [[Shiratori Kurakichi]] and [[:ja:今西龍|Imanishi Ryū]] of Dangun as a fabrication by the author of the ''[[Samguk yusa]]'', nationalist historian [[Choe Nam-seon]] attacked [[Japanese mythology]] as being built upon fabrications.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Northeast Asia Centered Around Korea: Ch'oe Namsŏn's View of History|first=Chizuko T.|last=Allen|volume=49|issue=4|date=November 1990|pages=793–795|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|doi=10.2307/2058236|jstor=2058236|s2cid=162622386 }}</ref>

By focusing on a mythological god which founded a "sacred race" (''shinsŏng chongjok''), Korean nationalist historiography aims to portray ancient Korea as a golden age of "gods and heroes" where Korea's cultural achievements rivaled those of China and Japan.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Constructing "Korean" Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Racial Myth in Korean State Formation Theories|first=Hyung Il|last=Pai|publisher=Harvard University Asia Center|year=2000 |page=2}}</ref> Accordingly, Shin Chaeho elevated Dangun to play a similar role as did the [[Yellow Emperor]] in China and which [[Amaterasu]] does in Japan.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Rediscovering Manchuria: Sin Ch'aeho and the Politics of Territorial History in Korea|journal=Journal of Asian Studies|volume=56|number=1|page=32|year=1997|first=Andre|last=Schmid|doi=10.2307/2646342|jstor=2646342|s2cid=162879663 |doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Choe Nam-seon]], according to his {{ill|Purham culture theory|ko|불함문화론}}, places Dangun even above the Chinese and Japanese emperors, because those rulers were supposedly [[Shamanism|Shamanistic]] rulers of the ancient Korean "Părk" tradition.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Northeast Asia Centered Around Korea: Ch'oe Namsŏn's View of History|first=Chizuko T.|last=Allen|volume=49|issue=4|date=November 1990|page=800|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|doi=10.2307/2058236|jstor=2058236|s2cid=162622386 }}</ref> The Dangun story also lends credence to claims that Korean heritage is over 5000 years old. According to Hyung Il Pai, the popularity of Dangun studies can be said to "reflect the progressively ultra-nationalistic trend in Korean historical and archaeological scholarship today".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Constructing "Korean" Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Racial Myth in Korean State Formation Theories|first=Hyung Il|last=Pai|publisher=Harvard University Asia Center|year=2000 |pages=95–96}}</ref> Shin Chaeho named [[Mount Paektu]] in the [[Changbai Mountains]] on the Sino-Korean border as a part of Korean heritage, by virtue of connection with the mythical Dangun. The mountain, however, was also claimed by the [[Manchu people|Manchus]] of the [[Qing dynasty]] as part of their origin myth at least since the 17th century,<ref name="Pai254"/><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Ginseng and Border Trespassing Between Qing China and Chosŏn Korea|first=Seonmin|last=Kim|journal=Late Imperial China|volume=28|number=1|date=June 2007|pages=42–43|doi=10.1353/late.2007.0009|s2cid=143779357}}</ref> and the mountain range is considered sacred in [[Han Chinese]] culture as well.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Centering the Periphery: Manchurian Exile(s) and the North Korean State|first=Charles K.|last=Armstrong|journal=Korean Studies|volume=19|year=1995|page=2|doi=10.1353/ks.1995.0017|s2cid=154659765|url=http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/download/fedora_content/download/ac:168680/CONTENT/19.armstrong.pdf}}</ref> This nationalist identification of Baekdu with Koreans was cemented by the operation of [[Korean independence movement]] partisans operating from the Chinese border and legitimized with associations to the history of the Gojoseon and [[Balhae]] states.<ref name="Pai254">{{Cite book|title=Constructing "Korean" Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Racial Myth in Korean State Formation Theories|first=Hyung Il|last=Pai|publisher=Harvard University Asia Center|year=2000 |page=254}}</ref> The Chinese civilizational connection to ancient Korea continues to be attacked by North Korean historians, who allege that the history of [[Gija Joseon]] was "viciously distorted by the feudal ruling class, the [[sadaejuui]] followers, and the big-power chauvinists".<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Reinterpreting Traditional History in North Korea|first=Yŏng-ho|last=Ch'oe|volume=40|issue=3|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|date=May 1981|pages=503–505|doi=10.2307/2054553|jstor=2054553|s2cid=145140808 }}</ref>