Kojoseon the first state in Korea

Kojoseon(古朝鮮),  the 10th century B.C - 108 B.C.

In the first milennium B.C. the ancestors of the Korean people who had gone through the process that conformed to the law governing primitive society set up three slave-owning kingdoms-Kochoson(Ancient Korea), Puyo and Chinguk.

Kochoson

The first ancient kingdom of Korea was Kochoson. According to the legend of state creation, more than 4,300 years ago, Hwanung, son of the Creator, came to earth, accompanied by 3,000 men. He assumed the helm of state affairs. Under him were officials dealing with affairs of the safety of lives, punishment, virtue and vice, disease and whatnot. When he learned that a bear and a tiger wanted to transform into a human being, he told them to eat wormwood and garlic and keep off sunrays for 100 days. The impatient tiger failed to become a human being because he violated his pledge. But the bear became a woman as he did as told by him. She was eager to get married. Hwanung breathed on her; she gave birth to Tangun, the legendary founder of Kochoson. It is said that in 2333 B.C. he made Asadal his capital and named his country Choson. He ruled over the country for 1,500 years and then became a mountain deity.
This legend tells that the creation of Kochoson goes back very long years and that native and neighbouring tribes bearing the name of animals, while fighting against or uniting with each other, founded the state. In the stage of military democracy the chief of the tribe, as the military commander performing the functions of judge and priest, was called Hwanung or Tangun. Hence this legend arose.
Kochoson covered a wide area comprising the northwestern part of the Korean peninsula and the Liaotung area of China. Its capital was Wanggumsong in the Liao River basin. According to historical documents, the name of the country "Choson" became widely known abroad already in the 7th century B.C. Through the archaeological excavation it was made clear that Kochoson was a developed slave-owning state in the 8th-7th centuries B.C. It can be said that the legend concernign Tangun reflects the course of formation of states much earlier than that period.
In Kochoson the king was the head of the state. He was assisted by such nobles as high aristocrats, ministers, generals, sxholarly men and a powerful regular army.
The population was divided into the ruling class that consisted of aristocrats or slave-owners, and homin or the well-to-do; and the ruled class comprising peasants who tilled their own land, landless haho who were the lower strata of the commoners, and slaves who were the lowest social strata. The supply of slaves was steadily supplemented by war captives and insolvent debtors.
The "eight-point law on crime prevention" was in force. The law was aimed at repressing slaves and commoners and protecting the interests of slave-owners. Today only three articles are made known. They provided:
1) Anyone who committed murder shall be put to death.
2) Anyone who injured someone shall compensate it with grain.
3) Anyone who stole someone's property shall be made the slave of the victims. If he does not want to become his slave, he shall pay 50,000 strings of cash.
The Kangshan tomb(8th-7th centuries B.C) and the Loushang tomb(7th-5th centuries B.C), tombs of Kochoson discovered in the southern tip of the present Liaotung peninsula, prove that a slave-owner had many slaves and that there existed a cruel system under which more than 100 slaves were buried alive around their master' grave.
The wide sue of iron stimulated prduction. The remains uncovered at Pomuigisok (Tiger Valley) in Musan county are considered to be iron culture which probably belongs in the period of the 7th-5th centuries B.C.
Found there were ruins of house and remains of different ages ranging from Neolithic to early Iron age. Exclusively iron articles such as ax, sickle, crescent-shaped adze, sword and fishhook came from some ruins of house.
The discovery at Musan, one of Korea's biggest ore mines, of iron objects used in the Iron Age has a special interest. These artifacts convincingly prove that the Iron Age in Korea was ahead of any other areas in East Asia.
The use of iron tools created conditions for growth of production in various domains including agriculture and handicraft. iron tools made it possible to reclaim and till a large tract of land, because their productivity was higher than that of stone or bronze implements. The use of iron objects rendered it possible to easily process bronze material, timber and stone and make knives, spears, arrowheads and other weapons better. The development of iron culture laid a beginning to the involvement of more slaves into farm work, which led to further progress of production based on slave labour. This also enabled slave-owners to accumulate large properties.
Gorgeous gold horse-furniture and decorations are to be found in the artifacts of the iron Age. This speaks of luxurious life of the slave-owners who amassed large wealth at the expense of slaves and common people.
As iron gradually came into wide use and agriculture and handicraft developed, commerce with China and other foreign countries increased. This is evidenced by the bulk of knife coins in the waring period in China(5th and 3rd centuries B.C.), which were discovered in northwestern Korea, that is, in the area north of the Chongchon-gang River and the Liaotung area of China, which formerly belonged to the land of Kochoson. According to documentary records, Kochoson shipped leater, clothes and fur goods to China in the 7th century B.C., and Chinese merchants frequented there for trade. The said knife coin made of metal was used for the enterprise of merchants in those days.
Until the 3rd century B.C. Kochoson was widely known abroad as a state with a developed economy and culture. Afterward, her national power became weak gradually owing to incessant strife for supremacy within the ruling circles and class contradictions.
In 194 B.C. an aristorcrat called Man drove out King Chun by effecting a coup d'etat and he himself became the king. In 128 B.C. an influential local aristocrat rose in arms against the Man's dynasty. Just around that time, more precisely in 109 B.C. han aggressors of 50,000 men made armed incursions into Kochoson. But they were defeated by its soldiers and people in the western border area. The enemy's naval force 7,000 strong also met the same fate. This enabled them to defend their capital. When encountered with reinvasion in greater force, the cowardly bureaucrats attempted to surender by killing King Ugo. The armymen and people, however, defended their capital for over one year under the command of Songgi, the then minister, giving massive casualties to the enemy. But in 108 B.C. some aristocratic bureaucrats murdered the minister and capitulated to the enemy. Eventually Kochoson was exinguished by the Han aggressors.

PUYO

The Puyo tribe, one of Koreas ancient tribes, founded a kingdom later than Kochoson around the 5th century B.C. Puyo convered a vast area of the upper reaches of the liao River and the basin of the Sungari River, Northeast China. A legend says that Haemosu, son of the creator, came to earth and founded the Northern Puyo and is son haeburu moved eastward and founded the Eastern Puyo at the order of and creator. As we see, this kingdom has its name in various spellings as are recorded in old records-Northern Puyo, eastern Puyo and Puyo. This is explained by the frequent shifting of her centre.
The area of Puyo was wide and fertile. From its early days agriculture and took forward steps. Toward the 2nd century B.C. Puyo structure and a state with a well-organized administrative structure and a high level of culture. she brougth a neighbour-ing tribe Upru under her control and expanded her territory step by step. Puyo with a developed stock-breeding had a ground force and powerful cavalry.
In those days a Chinese historian wrote that Puyo was a rich country and she was never defeated by other countries since her foundation. This was at-tributed to her developed economy and powerful military force.
All power was in the hands of aristocrats called "Ka" and homin, the upper strata of the common people. The commoners, haho or poor people, and slaves were the targets of their exploitation.
As in the case of Kochoson, there was a written law to defend the interests of slave-owners. This law provided that anyone who killed members wold became slaves as reflected the slave-owners' desire to system under which more than 100 slaves were buried alive around their masters grave.
The political system was based on the aristocratic democracy of slave-owners.
Important national affairs and curt days were decided upon at the aristocrats' coincil called "yonggo" which was convened in December every year. The matter pertaining to succession to the throne was also subjected to the approval of the In the early 1st century, there came a gradual decline in power due to increasing corruption in high places and peoples struggle against the rulers. This ied to th greater part of her territory being put under the control of Koguryo, a rising feudal state. Even after that Puyo was in existence as a state but in 494 she came under the compete control of Koguryo.

CHINGUK

The ancient tribes living in the area south of central Korea founded Chinguk, a slave-owning state, at about the same time as Puyo. The greater part of the area south of central Korea was under her dominia-tion.
On the territory of Chinguk there were more then 70 "small territory states". Even after her founding, Chinguk remained divided in tree regions-mahan, Pyonhan and Chinhan. in there regions aristocrats acted as lord and exercised domination over many inhabitants, forming an independent Political force. Posts such as sinji, Romchur and salhae. Side by side with a police force Chinguk had a powerful army. During the incursions of Han aggressors into her territory in the early 1st century Chinguk reduced some 1,500 war captives into slavery.
Chinguk was favoured by mild climate and fertile land. so, rice cultivation was practised. Silkworm and cattle and other domesticated animals were added to the economy. Around the 2nd century B.C. iron came into wide use, with the result that the economy deve-loped still further. Metal culture and rice cultivation were introduced in Japan by the Chinguk people.
Many people of Kochoson emigrated into Chinguk Chun of Kochoson who had been expelled through a coup detat came to Chinguk as an exile, accompanied by many people. Just before the downfall of Kochoson, that is, in 108 B.C. Ryok Gye Gyong, who once served asa minister, came to Chinguk, taking with him people of more then 2,000 family units.
In fact, Chinguk was becoming more "Kochoson" in the realm of culture as immigants flocked in large numbers. And the fusion of culture and kinship betwe-promrted. Around the period before and after the Christian era Chinguk gradually began to decline owing to the class struggle of the people and the advancement of local aristocratic forces and she was finally united by Paeje and Silla which made their ap-pearance as feudal kingdom.
The amcient tribes in Korea formed three different kingdom and lived separately. But their languages and customs were almost the same and their consan-guineous and cultual community grew strong day after day in the curse of their cultural interchange and barter and mutual visits.