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Gojoseon / Choson (2333 - 108 BC)

According to legend, the mythical figure Dan-gun founded Gojoseon, the first Korean Kingdom, in 2333 BC. Subsequently, several tribes moved from the southern part of Manchuria to the Korean Peninsula. The Korean people trace their origins to the founding of the state of Choson. Choson rose on the banks of the Taedong River in the northwestern corner of the peninsula and prospered as a civilization possessing a code of law and a bronze culture. The Choson people gradually extended their influence not only over other tribes in the vicinity, but also to the north, conquering most of the Liaodong Basin.

Korean history goes back to thousands of years, and the first state in historical records is called Gojoseon, according to Samguk Yusa, a thousand year old history book. The earliest account of the Tangun myth appears in the Samguk Yusa (Memorabilia of Three Kingdoms), a compilation of tales and myths recorded by the Buddhist monk Iryon written in the thirteenth century.

Among serious historians of Korea - within Korea and outside of Korea - the traditional founding dates of Gojoseon at 2333 BC and the myth of Dan'gun is considered pure myth. There is no archeological evidence and very little textual evidence to support it.

Gae Cheon Jeol can be described as the National Foundation Day of Go Joseon, the first country of Korea. Go Joseon was founded by Dangun, who was said to be the grandson of God. Dangun founded Go Joseon and under the idea of Hongik Ingan, and ruled the country for 1500 years. According to legend, Korea was founded in 2333 BC by a mythical figure named Tan'gun / Dangun. Korea celebrates National Foundation Day, or Gaecheonjeol in Korean, which translates into the day the sky was opened. The story behind the holiday begins with Hwanung, the son of a god who lived in the heavens but wanted to live on Earth. He descended and ruled over the people with the noble aim of benefiting mankind.

Then two animals, a bear and a tiger, came and begged Hwanung to let them become human. Hwanung agreed to grant their wish, but only if they endured 100 days without exposure to sunlight, with only garlic and ssuk, a type of mugwort, as their diet. The tiger gave up halfway through, but the bear persevered and became a woman. She later bore Hwanung a son, who would be called Dangun. Even to this day, Emperor Dangun is considered to be the founder of this nation, and his mixed ancestry of a bear and deity has become a symbol for national identity.

According to Korea's traditional foundation story, the first "Korean" kingdom of Gochosun was established in the Mt. Baekdu area in 2333 BC. Mt. Baekdu, known in China as Mt. Changbai, is considered in Korea to be a sacred mountain, containing the legendary foundation of the nation. Chinese efforts to make the Chinese side of Mt. Baekdu an international cultural and tourist site were based on Chinese calculations to support historical claims to the area as an integral part of Chinese ancient history. This was seen as a provocation by Koreans -- both North and South -- who regarded Mt. Baekdu as the point of origin of the Korean ethnic lineage.

The earliest civilization in Korea was thought to have started between 1122 BC (Gija Joseon) and/or 108 AD (Wiman Joseon). Numerous small states and confederations arose from the supposed remnants of Gojoseon, including Goguryeo, Buyeo, JeonJoseon, Okjeo, and Dongye. Three of the Chinese commanderies fell to local resistance within a few decades, but the last, Nakrang, remained an important commercial and cultural outpost until it was destroyed by the expanding Goguryeo in 313.

The rising power of the feudal state of Yen in northern China (1122-225 BC) not only checked Choson's growth, but eventually pushed it back to the territory south of the Ch'ongch'on River, located midway between the Yalu and Taedong rivers. The Chinese had discovered iron by this time and used it extensively in farming and warfare; the Choson people were not able to match them. Yen became established in the territory vacated by Choson.

Meanwhile, much of what subsequently came to constitute China proper had been unified for the first time under Qin Shi Huangdi. Subsequently, Yen fell to the Qin state; the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC) was in turn replaced by a new dynasty, the Han (206 BC- AD 220). In 195 BC a former officer of Yen took over the throne of Choson by trickery, after which he and his descendants ruled the kingdom for eighty years; but in 109-108 BC China attacked Choson and destroyed it as a political entity. The Han Chinese then ruled the territory north of the Han River as the Four Eastern Districts; the original territory of Choson became Lolang (or Nangnang in Korean). North Korean historians have argued that the Lolang District was located more to the northwest of the Korean Peninsula, perhaps near Beijing. This theory, however, has not been universally accepted.

Until the Han period the Korean Peninsula had been a veritable Chinese colony. During some 400 years, Lolang, the core of the colony, had become a great center of Chinese art, philosophy, industry, and commerce. Many Chinese immigrated into the area; the influence of China extended beyond the territory it administered. The tribal states south of the Han River paid tribute to the Chinese and patterned much of their civilization and government after Chinese models.

The Dangun myth, which depicts the process of Korea's founding as a country, serves as the origin of the Korean people's national identity and collective self-esteem. The myth provides the basis for such Korean notions as being the descendents of Dangun and having a history of five millennia,

Dangun nationalism has a history much older than "Samgukyusa" (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms), compiled c. 1281 by the Buddhist monk Iryeon, and "Jewangungi" (Songs of Emperors and Kings), compiled c.1289 by Yi Seung-hyu, both of which provide early written accounts on the nation's foundation. Nationalism at this time was somewhat subdued by the flunkeyism that characterized Korean relations toward China during the medieval age.

The Dangun myth provided a foundation for Korea's cultural identity and political independence, especially during the Joseon period, when flunkeyism toward China prevailed. In the early Joseon dynasty, a dispute flared up over a proposal by some Confucian scholars to abolish Sogyeokseo, a government agency in charge of administering heavenly rites. The Confucian proponents argued that it was improper for Korea, as a vassal state of China, to directly conduct heavenly rites. Against this claim, opponents stressed that Korea was not a land enfeoffed by the Chinese emperor, but rather a state founded by Dangun with its own divine authority.

Nationalism was popularly restored in the 19th century to stimulate the Korean people's patriotism and national consciousness. During the period of Japanese colonial rule, it played a central role in arousing public sentiments to resist foreign encroachment and attain independence. Dangun nationalism was thus instrumental to keeping alive the Dangun myth to invigorate and unite the Korean people.