Introduction

• • Gojoseon · Buyeo · Samhan
    : The First State, Gojoseon, and the States that Followed
  •  
  • These early states differed in terms of size and degree of development, and each had he development of Bronze Age farming and the growth of villages generated social differentiation. The most powerful among the local farming communities gradually incorporated their neighbors until eventually, several states emerged on and around the Korean Peninsula. The first state to have been established in Korean history is Gojoseon. After the 2nd century BCE, the states of Buyeo, Goguryeo, Okjeo, Dongye, and Samhan (Mahan, Jinhan, Byeonhan) appeared. Tits distinctive culture. The steady expansion of power by each state resulted in the incorporation and reorganization of surrounding regions. The smaller states of Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan, occupying the central and southern regions of the Korean Peninsula, developed by competing against each other and eventually grew into the respective kingdoms of Baekje, Silla, and Gaya.