Dangun and the founding of Gojoseon
The year 2333 BCE was worked out by Joseon scholars in 1485; the story itself was written down by the monk Iryeon in the Samguk yusa.
As Bronze Age chiefs grew stronger, some of them brought neighbouring communities under their rule. The first of these powers to become a state, in Korean history, is Joseon. Historians call it Gojoseon, "old Joseon", to keep it apart from the Joseon dynasty founded in 1392. Its founding is told as a myth, the story of Dangun, and the way to read it is to ask two questions: what the story says, and what it may remember.
The story in the Samguk yusa
弘益人間 · hongik ingan · "broadly benefit the human world"
Where the date 2333 BCE comes from
The Samguk yusa, written by the monk Iryeon in the Goryeo period, quotes older books saying Dangun founded his state at the same time as Yao, a legendary ruler of ancient China. Later writers turned this into a year, and they did not agree. The year used in textbooks, 2333 BCE, follows the Dongguk tonggam, the first official history of the whole country, compiled by Seo Geo-jeong and others in 1485. Dangun's story also appears in other works, among them the Jewang ungi and the geography section of the Annals of King Sejong. Because the date was calculated from a legend, historians do not treat it as an archaeological date. The National Institute of Korean History notes the common view that Bronze Age culture strong enough to support a state cannot be placed earlier than about the 12th century BCE.
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What the myth may remember
Read as history, the story carries several clues. A son of heaven arriving with followers suggests a group that saw itself as chosen by heaven, perhaps newcomers with a more advanced culture. The Masters of Wind, Rain and Clouds point to a farming society that cared about weather. The bear and tiger may stand for groups that honoured those animals; the bear group joined the newcomers and the tiger group did not. The name Dangun Wanggeom joins two titles: dangun, a priest who led rites, and wanggeom, a political ruler. In other words, the first ruler was both priest and king.
Archaeology adds a map. Textbooks note that the area where Gojoseon's influence spread matches the area where mandolin-shaped daggers and a pottery style called Misong-ri ware are found: Liaoning in northeast China and the northwest of the peninsula. Gojoseon seems to have been centred in Liaoning at first and later in the Taedong River basin around Pyongyang, where its last capital, Wanggeom-seong, stood. Where exactly that capital was is still argued over.
| Gojoseon | The first Korean state, "old Joseon" |
| Dangun Wanggeom | Founder: priest (dangun) and ruler (wanggeom) |
| Hongik ingan | "Broadly benefit the human world" |
| Samguk yusa | Goryeo-period book by the monk Iryeon with the Dangun story |
| Dongguk tonggam | 1485 official history; source of 2333 BCE |
| Asadal | Dangun's capital in the story |
- Gojoseon is the first Korean state; the name separates it from the later Joseon dynasty.
- The Dangun story is in the Samguk yusa; 2333 BCE follows the Dongguk tonggam of 1485.
- The myth suggests newcomers, farming, animal-honouring groups and a priest-king.
- Mandolin daggers and Misong-ri pottery outline its area in Liaoning and the northwest.
- Why do historians call it Gojoseon?
- To tell it apart from the Joseon dynasty of 1392
- Because it was in the south
- Because it used iron
- It was its official name
- Which book tells the Dangun story and was written by the monk Iryeon?
- Samguk yusa
- Samguk sagi
- Dongguk tonggam
- Goryeosa
- According to the traditional date, Gojoseon was founded in which year BCE? (enter the number)
- In which year was the Dongguk tonggam compiled?
- In the story, how many days did the bear take to become a woman?
- 21
- 100
- 7
- 360
- What does the title Dangun Wanggeom suggest?
- The ruler was both priest and king
- There were two rulers
- The king was a bear
- The ruler came from China
- What do the Lord of Wind, Master of Rain and Master of Clouds suggest?
- A farming society that cared about weather
- A seafaring trade network
- An iron industry
- A Buddhist kingdom
- Which find is NOT used to outline Gojoseon's area?
- Comb-pattern pottery
- Mandolin-shaped daggers
- Misong-ri pottery
- How do historians treat the year 2333 BCE?
- As a traditional date worked out from a legend
- As a carbon-dated fact
- As a mistake to be ignored
- As the start of the Iron Age
- How many years separate 2333 BCE and the Dongguk tonggam (1485 CE)? (There is no year 0.)
Sources for this course (10)
- 국사편찬위원회 우리역사넷 (contents.history.go.kr): 중학교 국사 7차 「구석기 시대와 신석기 시대」, 중학교 국사 6차 「고조선의 성립과 발전」, 고등학교 국사 6차(상) 「고조선의 건국」「여러 나라의 성장」, 고등학교 국사 7차 「단군과 고조선」, 신편 한국사 3권 「청동기시대의 시기구분」, 한국사 연대기 「연천 전곡리 유적」「제주 고산리 유적」「비파형동검」「동국통감」, 한국문화사 27권 「신석기시대와 청동기시대의 농경」, 우리 역사 깊이 읽기 「『삼국유사』 단군 신화의 검토」「단군 신화를 이해하는 몇 가지 논점들」
- 한국민족문화대백과사전 (encykorea.aks.ac.kr): 연천 전곡리 유적, 서울 암사동 유적, 제주 고산리 유적, 철기시대
- 문화체육관광부·문화포털 「고창·화순·강화 고인돌유적」(mcst.go.kr, 세계유산 2000년 12월, 약 3만 기)
- 국립중앙박물관 (museum.go.kr) 소장 비파형동검·빗살무늬토기 (우리역사넷 이미지 출처 표기)
- World dates on the 3D timeline come from the edubun world-history courses (The Met, British Museum, Britannica)
- Where sources disagree: start of the Neolithic (textbook about 8000 BCE; Gosan-ri about 10,000 years ago)
- start of the Bronze Age (textbook 2000 to 1500 BCE; 신편 한국사 about 1000 BCE)
- start of the Iron Age (older textbooks 5th century BCE; 한국민족문화대백과 Early Iron Age about 300 BCE to the turn of the era, or to 100 BCE)
- the age of Jeongok-ri (300,000 to 200,000 years vs about 40,000 years)
- and the founding of Gojoseon (2333 BCE is the traditional date; 우리역사넷 notes a Bronze Age state cannot be placed before about the 12th century BCE).
Checked: 2026-10-17