We all love K-pop and K-drama, they are both appealing and exciting. Also, you might be currently learning the Korean language or planning to visit Korea soon, because we know that just like us at Hamkke, your love for all things related to Korea is second to none.

However, we don’t think it should only end with that because it will be the icing on the cake and an addition to your Korean collections to know the foundational history of the lovely Republic of Korea. And here at Hamkkechingu, we’ve got you covered. Let’s go on a journey to the foundational history of the Korean peninsula, the Gojoseon period, the Samhan period, the Samguk-sidae period, and how it came to become what it is today.

When talking about the foundational history of the Korean people, it is important to talk about their origin, after all no country of the world came to stand without an origin. What we can’t say for sure is whether the Korean people were immigrants to the Korean peninsula or if they were natives of the peninsula. Different studies like linguistic studies, archaeological studies, genetic studies, and more were used to determine the actual origin of the Korean people. While some studies suggested that they were descendants of a group of people from Manchuria, Japan, and South Siberia, some studies believed the Korean people were natives of the Korean peninsula.

The settling of the Korean people in the Korean peninsula led to the Gojosean dynasty (ancient Joseon)

고조선 (Gojoseon dynasty) ancient Joseon

고조선 (Gojoseon) was the first kingdom founded on the Korean peninsula. Its capital was called Wanggeom City which is modern-day 평양 직할시(Pyongyang) in North Korea. It was established by a historical mythological figure called 단군왕검(Dangun). The main practice of the Gojoseon people was Agriculture. They also adapted certain cultures like poetry, iron culture, tomb culture, etc. They used a monarchical system of government with Dangun emerging as the first king, he was succeeded by the likes of 기자 (Gija), 부(Bu) , 준 (Jun), 위만 (Wi man) and 위우거(WI ugeo) respectively. History had it that the kingdom was succeeded/overthrown by Gija who named it Gija Joseon, but that cannot be called a fact because there have been quite several controversies on the existence of the Gija Joseon kingdom and overthrowing the Gojoseon kingdom by Gija Joseon. It was believed that Gija who was a member of the Shang dynasty royal house overthrew the Gojosean Kingdom and founded the Gija Joseon Kingdom but this has remained a challenged theory over the years because some historians believed that Gija Joseon was established in the Northern part of the Korean peninsula and didn’t overthrow Gojoseon.

삼한 ( Samhan ) The Three Hans period

The Samhan period is also referred to as the proto-three kingdom period. This is the period between the end and fall of the Gojosean kingdom and the beginning of the three-kingdom period of Korea. The Gojosean kingdom was said to have fallen to the attack of the Han dynasty of China. After the fall, the Korean people spread into different minor states like 부여(Buyeo), 고구려 (Goguryeo), 예 (Dongyeo), 옥저 (Okjeo) and others in the Northern region of the peninsula while the southern region held loose confederacy like 변한 (Byeonhan), 진한 (Jinhan) and 마한 (Mahan) that derived the name “Sam han” or “Three Hans”. These minor states in the northern region and the Samhan in the southern region birthed the existence of the three Kingdoms of Korea.

삼국시대 (Samguk-sidae) The Three Kingdoms period

The other minor states in the Northern region were conquered and absorbed by 고구려 (Goguryeo) which was the first of the three kingdoms after the Chinese commanders were resisted and destroyed. 백제 (Baekja), the second of the three kingdoms was a state that was founded in 18BC in Mahan territory, it also absorbed Mahan at the time. The third of the three kingdoms was 신라 (Silla) which was founded by the unification of six chiefdoms in the Jinhan territory. Although the third of the Han states ‘Byeonhan’ evolved into the Gaya confederacy, it was later associated with the Silla kingdom. The three kingdoms period of Korea was from 57 BC to 668AD. It consisted of three states which were 고구려 (Goguryeo) , 백제 (Baekja) and 신라 (Silla). And these three kingdoms later came to comprise the modern Korean people. The modern name ‘Korea’ was adapted from ‘Goguryeo’ romanized as ‘Koryo’ and ‘Seoul’ was adapted from ‘Silla’. The Three Kingdoms period of Korea was also referred to as Samhan or samguk-sidae since the three Hans of the proto-three kingdom period emerged into the three kingdoms of Korea. The division of the Korean people for over 700 years ended in the 7th century when the kingdom of Silla joined China to overthrow the other kingdoms. This ended the reign of the three-kingdom period of Korea and upheld a single kingdom called the “Unified Silla Dynasty or later silla dynasty”.

Note:

●The religions of the Korean people during all these periods were Buddhism and Confucianism. (Check our article on Korean religion to find out more)

●There were no records of currencies until The Goryeo dynasty (Check our article on History of Korea currency for more insight)

●The spoken languages of the people are referred to as the old Korean language because of the difference in language.

Away from all K-drama and K-pop entertainment, the history of how Korea came to become what it is today is sure interesting. Follow us in our next article to know more about the Unified Silla Dynasty and its involvement and development in and into Korea today.