Han Conquest of Gojoseon (108 BC): Fall of Korea's First State

The Han conquest of Gojoseon was the war of 109–108 BC in which Emperor Wu of Han destroyed Wiman Joseon, the earliest state in Korean history known from written sources. Han armies attacked by land from Liaodong and by sea across the Bohai Gulf, and after a year of fighting and internal betrayal the Joseon capital fell. The Han then set up four commanderies, including Lelang, which brought Chinese administration and culture into the Korean Peninsula for four centuries.

Background: Gojoseon and Wiman

“Gojoseon” (Old Joseon) is a modern name used to distinguish the ancient state from the later Joseon dynasty founded in 1392. Korean tradition places its foundation under the legendary Dangun in 2333 BC, but this date comes from 13th-century texts. Chinese sources from the 4th and 3rd centuries BC mention a Joseon in the region of Liaodong and north-western Korea, ruling a population of bronze- and iron-using farmers.

Around 195 BC, during the unrest that followed the founding of the Han dynasty, a man named Wiman (Wei Man in Chinese) fled from the kingdom of Yan with about a thousand followers. King Jun of Joseon received him and gave him a post guarding the frontier. Wiman then gathered refugees, seized the capital and made himself king, probably in about 194 BC.

Under Wiman and his successors Joseon became a strong regional power. It made a treaty with the Han governor of Liaodong, acting as a buffer on the frontier, and used Han weapons and goods to dominate neighbouring peoples. Its capital, Wanggeom (Wangxian), is generally placed near modern Pyongyang, although some historians argue for a site in Liaodong.

Chinese sources give a few glimpses of Joseon society. The Book of Han says the people of Joseon lived under a code of eight prohibitions, of which three are recorded: murder was punished by death, injury was compensated with grain, and thieves were enslaved by the household they robbed unless they paid a large ransom. Archaeology in the region shows bronze daggers of a distinctive local type, dolmen burials in earlier centuries and, by the 2nd century BC, growing use of iron tools and weapons.

Causes of the war

By the time of Wiman’s grandson, King Ugeo (Youqu), relations with Han had worsened. According to the Shiji, Joseon attracted growing numbers of fugitives from Han, never sent the king to pay respects at court, and prevented the state of Jin and other peoples to the south from sending envoys to the emperor.

Emperor Wu of Han, fresh from his victories over the Xiongnu at Mobei in 119 BC and his southern conquests, was pursuing an expansionist policy on every frontier. In 109 BC he sent an envoy, She He, to demand submission. Ugeo refused. On his way home She He had the Joseon official escorting him killed at the border river and claimed this as a success. The emperor rewarded him with a command in eastern Liaodong, but Joseon forces attacked and killed him. War followed.

The invasion

In the autumn of 109 BC Han sent two forces. Yang Pu, the “General of the Towered Ships”, sailed from the Shandong peninsula across the Bohai Gulf with a naval army of about 7,000 men from Qi. Xun Zhi, the “General of the Left”, marched overland from Liaodong with troops raised in the northern commanderies.

Both attacks went badly at first. Yang Pu landed before the land army had arrived, was defeated outside Wanggeom and fled into the hills, regrouping his scattered men over several days. Xun Zhi’s vanguard was defeated at the Pae River (often identified with the Chongchon or Taedong), and his advance stalled.

Siege, rivalry and betrayal

The Han armies eventually besieged Wanggeom, but the two generals quarrelled bitterly. Yang Pu, whose force had suffered heavy losses, favoured negotiation, while Xun Zhi pressed for assault, and each suspected the other of plotting with the enemy. Emperor Wu sent officials to settle the dispute; one envoy, Gongsun Sui, arrested Yang Pu and placed his troops under Xun Zhi, for which the emperor later had Gongsun Sui executed.

The pressure split the Joseon court. In 108 BC a group of high ministers, including Han Yin, Lu Ren and Nixi Xiang Can, decided to surrender. Nixi Xiang Can arranged the assassination of King Ugeo. Even then the minister Seonggi kept up resistance in the capital until he too was killed. In the summer of 108 BC Wanggeom fell.

The Four Commanderies

Han turned the conquered lands into commanderies (provinces governed by appointed officials):

• Lelang (Nangnang in Korean), centred on the former capital near Pyongyang, 108 BC.
• Zhenfan and Lintun, further south and east, 108 BC.
• Xuantu, in the north-east, 107 BC.

Han rule over the more distant areas proved costly. Zhenfan and Lintun were abolished in 82 BC and merged with other units, and Xuantu was moved westward into Manchuria. Lelang remained the core. The Book of Han records it around AD 2 with 25 counties and about 400,000 registered inhabitants.

Consequences

The war ended Korea’s first known state and began a long period of direct Chinese presence on the peninsula. Lelang became a centre of Chinese-style administration, writing, lacquerwork, iron technology and trade, linking Han China with the peoples of southern Korea and the Japanese islands. Tombs near Pyongyang have produced lacquer, bronze mirrors, seals and administrative documents.

For the Han commanders the victory brought little reward. The Shiji records that Xun Zhi was executed for his jealousy and misconduct, and Yang Pu escaped death only by paying a ransom and was reduced to commoner status. Several Joseon ministers who had surrendered were made Han marquises.

Legacy and debates

Over the following centuries, native states such as Goguryeo, Buyeo and later Baekje and Silla grew up around and against the commanderies. Goguryeo finally took Lelang in AD 313, ending Chinese commandery rule; the peninsula was later unified by Silla in 668.

The history of the commanderies is politically sensitive. Japanese colonial archaeologists in the early 20th century stressed Lelang to portray Korea as historically dependent, and some modern Korean scholars have challenged the location of Lelang. Most historians today accept the Pyongyang location, supported by excavated inscriptions, while emphasising the active role of local peoples.

By the numbers

Timeline

• c. 195–194 BC: Wiman flees from Yan and seizes the throne of Joseon.
• 109 BC: The Han envoy She He is killed by Joseon forces.
• 109 BC, autumn: Yang Pu sails across the Bohai Gulf and Xun Zhi invades from Liaodong.
• 108 BC, summer: King Ugeo is assassinated and Wanggeom falls.
• 108 BC: Lelang, Zhenfan and Lintun commanderies are created.
• 107 BC: Xuantu commandery is created.
• 82 BC: Zhenfan and Lintun are abolished.
• AD 313: Goguryeo conquers Lelang.

Why it matters

The fall of Gojoseon marks the start of written history in much of Korea and the first lasting Chinese political presence there. The Lelang commandery became a channel for writing, technology and trade that shaped the early Korean kingdoms, even as they grew strong enough to end Han rule.