Gojoseon: Map & History
Old Chosŏn, also known as Gojoseon and its contemporary name Joseon, was the first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula.
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Old Chosŏn, also known as Gojoseon and its contemporary name Joseon, was the first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula. According to Korean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary king Tan'gun. Old Chosŏn possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean Peninsula at the time and was an important marker in the progression towards the more centralized states of later periods. The addition of Go, meaning "old" or "ancient", is used in historiography to distinguish the kingdom from the Joseon, which was founded in 1392.
Modern Countries Once Part of Gojoseon
At its mapped extent, Gojoseon covered territory in 2 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Gojoseon's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Gojoseon in Depth
Culture
Around 2000 BCE, a new pottery culture of painted and chiseled design was developed. These people practiced agriculture in a settled communal life, probably organized into familial clans. Rectangular huts and increasingly larger dolmen burial sites were found throughout the peninsula. Bronze daggers and mirrors have been excavated, and there is archaeological evidence of small walled-town states in this period. Dolmens similar to the northern Korean type can be found in northeastern China and in Shandong, where they are less numerous but larger. A southern type of dolmens was later introduced from the Korean Peninsula to Kyushu, Japan.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Old Chosŏn (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Gojoseon: Key Facts
| Capital | Pyongyang |
|---|---|
| Form of government | monarchy |
| Founded | 2333 BCE |
| Dissolved | 108 BCE |
Facts from Wikidata Q28405 (CC0).
Gojoseon Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Gojoseon appears, with the other states of the time.
Gojoseon Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 81,320 km² in 101 BCE.
Gojoseon: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Gojoseon exist?
Gojoseon is dated to 197 BCE – 92 BCE, in the Classical Antiquity era.
What was the capital of Gojoseon?
The capital of Gojoseon was Wanggeom City.
How large was Gojoseon at its peak?
At its peak in 101 BC Gojoseon covered about 81,320 km².