Extraterrestrials Founded Korea Over 4,000 Years Ago

Gojoseon and Jin State

Gojoseon was the first Korean kingdom, located in the north of the peninsula followed by the state of Jin in the south of the peninsula.

The founding legend of Gojoseon, which is recorded in the Samguk Yusa (1281) and other medieval Korean books,^[21] states that the country was established in 2333 BC by Dangun, said to be descended from heaven.^[22] While no evidence has been found that supports whatever facts may lie beneath this, the account has played an important role in developing Korean national identity.^[23]

The first kingdom of Gojoseon with verifiable historical evidence isGija Joseon, which was founded in the 12th century BC by a descendant of the Chinese Shang Dynasty‘s royal family named Gija, and lasted until 194 BC. The relevant records can be found in Records of the Grand Historian in 91 BC, Book of Han in AD 111, Book of the Later Han in the 5th century and Records of the Three Kingdomsin the 3rd century. The existence (there is little archeological evidence pertaining to the issue) and the role of Gija in Korean history (whether Gija replaced the central government of an existing state, founded the first Korean state, or was ensconced in a peripheral region) became controversial in the 20th century.^[11]

The historical Gojoseon kingdom was first mentioned in Chinese records in the early 7th century BC,^[24][25] and by about the 4th century BC it had developed to the point where its existence was well known in China.^[26][27] Around 4th Century BC, its capital moved to Pyongyang.^[28][29]

In 194 BC, King Jun fled to Jin state after a coup by Wiman, who founded Wiman Joseon. Later the Han Dynasty defeated the Wiman Joseonand set up Four Commanderies of Han in 108 BC. There was a significant Chinese presence in northern parts of the Korean peninsula during the next century, and the Lelang Commandery persisted for about 400 years until it was conquered by Goguryeo. Around 300 BC, a state called Jin arose in the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Very little is known about Jin, but it established relations with Han China and exported artifacts to the Yayoi of Japan.^[30] Around 100 BC, Jin evolved into the Samhan confederacies.^[31]

Many smaller states sprang from the former territory of Gojoseon such as Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye, Goguryeo and Baekje. The Three Kingdomsrefer to Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla, although Buyeo and the Gaya confederacy existed into the 5th and 6th centuries respectively.

The Jin State, which was historically simultaneous, was located in the South of the Peninsula, but historic records are scarce, and it is not easy to figure out how much of a state this was.^{[citation needed]}

[edit]Metallurgy

The Bronze Age is often held to have begun around 900-800 BC in Korea,^[6] though the transition to the Bronze Age may have begun as far back as 2300 BC.^[7] Bronze daggers, mirrors, and weaponry have been found, as well as evidence of walled-town polities. Rice, red beans, soybeans and millet were cultivated, and rectangular pit-houses and increasingly larger dolmen burial sites are found throughout the peninsula.^[32] Contemporaneous records suggest that Gojoseon transitioned from a feudal federation of walled cities into a centralised kingdom at least before the 4th century BC.^[33] It is believed that by the 4th century BC, iron culture was developing in Korea as the warring states of China pushed refugees east and south.

[edit]Proto–Three Kingdoms

The Proto–Three Kingdoms period, sometimes called the Several States Period (열국시대),^[34] is the time before the rise of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, which included Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje, and occurred after the fall of Gojoseon. This time period consisted of numerous states that sprang up from the former territories of Gojoseon. Among these states, the largest and most influential wereDongbuyeo and Bukbuyeo.

[edit]Buyeo and other Northern states

After the fall of Gojoseon, Buyeo arose in today’s North Korea and southern Manchuria, from about the 2nd century BC to 494. Its remnants were absorbed by Goguryeo in 494, and both Goguryeo andBaekje, two of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, considered themselves its successor.^[35]

Although records are sparse and contradictory, it is thought that in 86 BC, Dongbuyeo (East Buyeo) branched out, after which the original Buyeo is sometimes referred to as Bukbuyeo (North Buyeo).Jolbon Buyeo was the predecessor to Goguryeo, and in 538, Baekje renamed itself Nambuyeo (South Buyeo).^[36]

Okjeo was a tribal state that was located in the northern Korean Peninsula, and was established after the fall of Gojoseon. Okjeo had been a part of Gojoseon before its fall. It never became a fully developed kingdom due to the intervention of its neighboring kingdoms. Okjeo became a tributary of Goguryeo, and was eventually annexed into Goguryeo by Gwanggaeto Taewang in the 5th century.^[37]

Dongye was another small kingdom that was situated in the northern Korean Peninsula. Dongye bordered Okjeo, and the two kingdoms faced the same fate of becoming tributaries of the growing empire of Goguryeo. Dongye was also a former part of Gojoseon before its fall.^[38]

[edit]Samhan

Sam han (삼한, 三韓) refers to the three confederacies of Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan. The Samhan were located in the southern region of the Korean Peninsula.^[39] The Samhan countries were strictly governed by law, with religion playing an important role. Mahan was the largest, consisting of 54 states, and assumed political, economic, and cultural dominance. Byeonhan and Jinhan both consisted of 12 states, bringing a total of 78 states within the Samhan. The Samhan were eventually conquered by Baekje, Silla, and Gaya in the 4th century.^[40]

[edit]Three Kingdoms Era

[edit]Goguryeo

Goguryeo was founded in 37 BC by Jumong (posthumously titled as Dongmyeongseong, a royal given title).^[41] Later, King Taejo centralized the government. Goguryeo was the first Korean kingdom to adopt Buddhism as the state religion in 372, in King Sosurim‘s reign.^[42][43]

Goguryeo reached its zenith in the 5th century, when King Gwanggaeto the Great and his son, King Jangsu, expanded the country into almost all of Manchuria and part of inner Mongolia, and took the present-day Seoul from Baekje. Gwanggaeto and Jangsu subdued Baekje and Silla during their times.^[43]

Goguryeo later fought and defeated massive Chinese invasions in the Goguryeo-Sui War of 598 – 614, which contributed to Sui‘s fall, and continued to repel the Tang dynasty under several generals includingYeon Gaesomun and Yang Manchun (see Goguryeo–Tang War).^[44][45]

However, numerous wars with China exhausted Goguryeo and it fell into a weak state. After internal power struggles, it was conquered by allied Silla-Tang forces in 668.^[46]

[edit]Baekje

Baekje‘s foundation by King Onjo in 18 BC^[47] as stated in the Samguk Sagi, followed those of Goguryeoand Silla.

The Sanguo Zhi mentions Baekje as a member of the Mahan confederacy in the Han River basin (near present-day Seoul). It expanded into the southwest (Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces) of the peninsula and became a significant political and military power. In the process, Baekje came into fierce confrontation with Goguryeo and the Chinese commanderies in the vicinity of its territorial ambitions.

At its peak in the 4th century in the reign of King Geunchogo, it had absorbed all of the Mahan states and subjugated most of the western Korean peninsula (including the modern provinces of Gyeonggi,Chungcheong, and Jeolla, as well as part of Hwanghae and Gangwon) to a centralized government. Baekje acquired Chinese culture and technology through contacts with the Southern Dynasties during the expansion of its territory.^[48]

Baekje played a fundamental role in transmitting cultural developments, such as Chinese characters,Buddhism, iron-making, advanced pottery, and ceremonial burial into ancient Japan.^[49] Other aspects of culture were also transmitted when the Baekje court retreated to Japan after Baekje was conquered. Baekje was defeated by a coalition of Silla and Tang Dynasty forces in 660.^[50]

[edit]Silla

According to legend, the kingdom Silla began with the unification of six chiefdoms of the Jinhan confederacy by Bak Hyeokgeose in 57 BC, in the southeastern area of Korea. Its territory included the present-day port city of Busan, and Silla later emerged as a sea power responsible for destroying Japanese pirates, especially during the Unified Silla period.^[51]

Silla artifacts, including unique gold metalwork, show influence from the northern nomadic steppes, with less Chinese influence than are shown by Goguryeo and Baekje.^[52] Silla expanded rapidly by occupying the Nakdong River basin and uniting the city-states.

By the 2nd century, Silla was a large state, occupying and influencing nearby city states. Silla gained further power when it annexed the Gaya confederacy in 562. Silla often faced pressure from Gougryeo, Baekje and Japan, and at various times allied and warred with Baekje and Goguryeo.

In 660, King Muyeol of Silla ordered his armies to attack Baekje. General Kim Yu-shin, aided by Tangforces, conquered Baekje. In 661, Silla and Tang moved on Goguryeo but were repelled. King Munmu, son of Muyeol and nephew of Kim, launched another campaign in 667 and Goguryeo fell in the following year.^[53]

[edit]Gaya

Gaya was a confederacy of small kingdoms in the Nakdong River valley of southern Korea, growing out of the Byeonhan confederacy of the Samhan period. Gaya’s plains were rich in iron, so export of iron tools was possible and agriculture flourished. In the early centuries, the Confederacy was led by Geumgwan Gaya in the Gimhae region. However, its leading power changed toDaegaya in the Goryeong region after the 5th century.

Constantly engaged in war with the three kingdoms surrounding it, Gaya was not developed to form a unified state, and was ultimately absorbed into Silla in 562.^[54]

[edit]North and South States

The term North-South States refers to Unified Silla and Balhae, during the time when Silla controlled the majority of the Korean peninsula while Balhae expanded into Manchuria. During this time, culture and technology significantly advanced, especially in Unified Silla. MOREHERE