Gojoseon

Gojoseon (Hangul: 고조선; Hanja: 古朝鮮, ) is said to have been an ancient Korean kingdom. The addition of Go (고, 古), meaning "ancient," distinguishes it from the Joseon Dynasty; Joseon, is also romanized as Chosŏn.

The first mentioning of this name however does not appear until the Samguk Yusa and other medieval-era records, Gojoseon is said to have been founded in 2333 BC by Dangun in the legend, who is said to be a Posterity of Heaven.

Archaeological evidence of a Gojoseon-era civilization is found in the transition from the Jeulmun pottery to the Mumun pottery around 1500 BC, when groups of semi-sedentary small-scale agriculturalists occupied most of the Korean Peninsula. Local bronze production began around the 8th century BC. Based on Chinese records, some modern historians believe it developed from a loose federation into a kingdom between the 8th and 4th centuries BC, although this theory is contested.

During its early phase, the capital of Gojoseon supposedly was located in Liaoning; around 400 BC, and was moved to Pyongyang, while in the south of the peninsula, the Jin state arose by the 3rd century BC.

The territory of Gojoseon was invaded by the Han Dynasty of China during the Gojoseon–Han War in 108 BC, which is said to have led to the collapse of the kingdom into many small states, until the Proto–Three Kingdoms emerged and marked an own period in Korean history.

The people of the Gojoseon-territory are referred to in Chinese records as Dongyi "eastern barbarians." Their language was probably a predecessor of the equally prehistoric Buyeo languages, and perhaps a form of Proto-Korean.