Gojoseon (c.2333 - 108 BCE) was the first Korean kingdom. It is said to have been founded by Dangun in 2333 BCE, although the foundation year is disputed among historians.[1]Bronze age archaeological evidence of Gojoseon culture is found in northern Korea and southern Manchuria. By the 4th century BCE, various historical and archaeological evidence shows Gojoseon was a flourishing state and a self-declared kingdom.
The Annals of the kings are recorded in Gyuwon Sahwa (1675), which is described by its author as a collection of nationalistic legends. The Hwandan Gogi (1979), a controversial text whose authenticity is widely questioned, lists different years of reign.
Dangun Joseon was succeeded by Gija-Joseon.[2] Whether Gija Joseon actually existed is a matter of controversy. Korean scholars deny its existence for various reasons.
King Munseong of Gojoseon, Gija ???? (r. 1126 -1082 BCE)
Buyeo (c.239-494 CE) ruled in modern-day Manchuria. The rulers continued to use the titles of Dangun.[3] Some records refer to Bukbuyeo (North Buyeo) and Dongbuyeo (East Buyeo). It was absorbed into Goguryeo.
Notes:
[1] Some of Goguryeo's own records of individual kings, especially of the 19th (Gwanggaeto), use the title "Taewang" or "Hotaewang", roughly meaning Greatest King or Very Greatest King. Some argue that the title should be translated as "Emperor," equivalent of the Chinese title ??, but this is not widely accepted. The most complete and oldest existing Korean history text, the Samguk Sagi and the Samguk Yusa, written centuries after Goguryeo was defeated, uses the title "Wang", meaning King.
[2] The king names generally derive from the location of the king's burial, and do not necessarily correspond to the Chinese concept of ??.
[3] Goguryeo kings had the surname Go, except for the second (Yuri) through fifth (Mobon), whose surnames are recorded as Hae. All of the kings are recorded to belong to the same patrilineal bloodline. It is not clear whether the two surnames are different transcription of the same name, or evidence of a power struggle.
[4] The Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa, and sometimes other records mention "other names," "birth names," "childhood names," or "personal names."
[5] The Legendary line names and dates are from the Samguk Sagi. The Wei shu (History of the Wei dynasty) gives the following names: ?? Jumong, ?? Yeodal, ??? Shiryeohae, ?? Yeoyul, and ?? Mangnae. The legendary line had already been formed with some variants in the early 5th century when king Jangsu built a monument for his father and Goguryeo made contact with the Northern Wei. The inscription of that monument gives these names: ?? Chumo, ?? Yuryu, and ??? Daejuryu. The connections between those names are not clear.
Sources: http://kdaq.empas.com/koreandb/history/koreanking/html/person/koguryeo_king.html (The Academy of Korean Studies) and http://enc.daum.net/dic100//topView.do (Korea Britannica Corp.)
Bodeok
The Kingdom of Bodeok (668-683) was a Goguryeo revival movement led by General Geom Mojam, and Prince Anseung, who was a grandson of Bojang Taewang. This kingdom allied itself with Later Silla, and fought to remove all Tang armies and authority out of the Korean Peninsula. The Kingdom of Goguryeo fell when Anseung ordered the assassination of Geom Mojam. After this event, Anseung and the remainder of the revival movement fled down to Silla, where Anseung was married to a Silla princess and given land near Iksan. Bodeok was the name given to Anseung's small kingdom near Iksan after the fall of the Goguryeo revival movement of Geom Mojam.
After the fall of Baekje in 660, several loyal Baekje generals gathered like-minded people and began organizing revival movements of their country. The most prominent among these revival movement leaders were General Heukchi Sangji, and General Boksin. These two generals worked together, and later decided that the new kingdom would need a ruler, and brought Prince Buyeo Pung from the Yamato Kingdom. The revival movement resulted in failure due to mistrust and infighting.
Silla (57 BC - 935 CE) was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. In the early years, Silla was ruled by the Pak, Seok, and Kim families. Rulers of Silla had various titles, including Isageum, Maripgan, and Daewang. Like some Baekje kings, some declared themselves emperor.
Balhae (669-926) followed Goguryeo in the northern territories when Silla unified most of the Korean peninsula. The founder called the state Jin, claiming to be the successor to Goguryeo, but it became known as Balhae (Pohai in Chinese) after establishing relations with China.
Later Balhae (927 - 935?, 1003?, 1007?, 1114?), was the first of many major successor states of Balhae, founded by the Dae clan at Holhanseong, the former capital of Balhae. The Dae, Yeol, and Oh clans ruled Later Balhae. The Dae clan ruled the kingdom until records show that General Yeol Manhwa took control of the government, and changed the state-name to Jeong-an.
Dae clan (? - ?)
Jeong-an Kingdom
Jeong-an Kingdom (935? or 938? - 985?), was a successor state of Balhae, founded by Yeol Manhwa. Political revolts between the Oh and Yeol clans rose up. The Oh clan rose victorious and Oh Hyeon-Myeong became the ruler of the kingdom until its fall in 985 CE.
Heung-yo Kingdom (1029 - 1030) was brief successor-state of Balhae that was founded by Dae Yeon-rim. Dae Yeon-rim was a Liao general directly descended from Dae Joyeong, the founder of Balhae. Heung-yo rose from the western region of the former territories of Balhae, and fell when a general opened the gates to the invading Liao army in 1030.
The State of Je (765-819), also known as Chi-Chung, was founded by General Yi Jeonggi, a Tang general and son of a Goguryeo captive. Yi Jeonggi took advantage of the Tang Empire's pre-occupation with the An Lushan Rebellion, and established the kingdom of Chi-Chung, later called Je, claiming it a successor-state of Goguryeo. Chi-Chung took control of the Shandong Peninsula, and regions surrounding it. In this way, the kingdom posed a grave threat to the Tang Empire. After four generations, the Kingdom of Chi-Chung fell to a Tang-Silla alliance army. Before its destruction, Chi-Chung was said to have had a unique system of administration that combined both Goguryeo and Tang elements of government. It was also said to have had heavy influence in commerce and trading in East Asia.
Yi Jeonggi (Hangul : ??? Hanja/Hanzi :???/???) 765CE - 781CE
Yi Nab (Hangul : ?? Hanja/Hanzi :??) 781CE - 793 CE
Yi Sago (Hangul : ??? Hanja/Hanzi :???) 793CE - 807CE
Yi Sado (Hangul : ??? Hanja/Hanzi :???) 807CE - 819 CE
Later Baekje
Hubaekje (900-936) was founded by Gyeon Hwon, who was a general during Later Silla's period of decline. Gyeon Hwon was known among the people as a hero, and a patriot. When General Gyeon Hwon started a rebellion, many people followed, and assisted in his establishing of a new kingdom. Peace did not last as Gung-ye established Hugoguryeo in the north. Thus began the Later Three Kingdoms period. Hubaekje met its downfall at the hands of Gyeon Hwon himself, who later led the Goryeo armies alongside Emperor Wang Geon to capture Singeom, the prince of Hubaekje, who had betrayed Gyeon Hwon. Singeom was one of Gyeon Hwon's sons who had not been chosen as his successor. Accordingly, he had stood against his father, kidnapped him, and imprisoned him in a temple. Yet, Gyeon Hwon managed to escape and placed himself under Wang Geon. Even after all that conflicts between him and Gyeon Hwon, Wang Geon, who was younger than Gyeon Hwon, treated Gyeon Hwon well and considered him to be "Sangbu ??", which literally means "my revered father."
Later Goguryeo (901-918), also known as Ma-jin or Taebong, was established by Gung-ye, an outcast prince of Silla. Gung-Ye joined General Yang-Gil's rebellion, and rose through the ranks. He eventually assassinated Yang-Gil and established a new kingdom, naming it Later Goguryeo. Gung-Ye turned out to be a tyrant, and was overthrown by his generals, opening the way for General Wang Geon, who established Goryeo.
Goryeo (918-1392) was ruled by the Wang Dynasty. The first ruler had the temple nameTaejo, which means "great progenitor", and was applied to the first kings of both Goryeo and Joseon, as they were also the founders of the Wang and Yi Dynasties respectively. Starting with Gwangjong, rulers of Goryeo styled themselves emperors, with the first three rulers elevated to that title posthumously. With the Mongol conquest, however, the title of the ruler was demoted to a king, or "Wang."
The next twenty-three emperors (until Wonjong) are also referred to by their temple names, ending in jong. Beginning with Chungnyeol (the twenty-fifth king), all the remaining kings of Goryeo had the title Wang ("King") as part of their temple names. Era names are in bracket where available
Joseon (1392–1897) followed Goryeo. In 1897, when Joseon became the Korean Empire, some of the Joseon kings were posthumously raised to the rank of emperors.
Joseon monarchs had temple names ending in jo or jong.Jo was given to the first kings/emperors of new lines within the dynasty, with the first king/emperor having the special name (Taejo), which means "great progenitor" (see also Goryeo). Jong was given to all other kings/emperors.
Two kings, Yeonsangun and Gwanghaegun, were not given temple names after their reigns ended.
Each monarch had a posthumous name that included either the title Wang ("King"), Hwangje ("Emperor"), Daewang ("King X the Great"), or Daeje ("Emperor X the Great"). For the sake of consistency, the title "King/Emperor" has been added to each monarch's temple name in the list below.
The Korean Empire (1897-1910) was declared to indicate the end of the tributary relationship with China. Technically, the emperors should be referred to by their era names rather than their temple names, but the latter are commonly used.
↑ Cumings (1997, p. 25) only indicates that Gojoseon was among the small peninsular states which emerged "by the fourth century BC." Lee (1984, p. 13) also only mentions Gojoseon as having emerged in the Liao and Taedong valleys by the 4th century. Some, like Kim (1997) do regard "Dangun Joseon" as having possibly existed during the Neolithic period, i.e. before the 13th century BCE; however, by the same token they reject the possibility that Gojoseon can be regarded as a "state" or even "tribal confederation" in the modern sense. Professor Yoon says that the Gojoseon had become an ancient nation at 2333 BCE(Yoon, 2002), which is most recent research
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