History of P'yongyang

In 1955, archaeologists excavated evidence of prehistoric occupation in a large ancient village called Kŭmtan-ni, in the Pyongyang area, from the Chŭlmun and Mumun pottery periods. North Koreans associate Pyongyang with "Asadal, or Wanggomsŏng , the first capital (second millennium BC) of the Gojoseon kingdom according to Korean history books, notably Samguk Yusa. Many South Korean historians[who?] deny this claim, because other Korean history books[which?] place Asadal around the Liao River located in western Manchuria. Also, such may have been asserted by North Korea for the use of propaganda. Nevertheless, Pyongyang became a major city under Gojoseon.

History

Tomb of King Dongmyeong

It is likely that the area of Pyongyang belonged to Wiman Joseon, the longest-lasting part of Gojoseon, which fell in the Gojoseon-Han war in 108 BC. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered four commandries set up, with Lelang Commandery in the center, and its capital established as "Pingrang" or "Pyongyang".Several archaeological findings from the Later Eastern Han (25-220) periods in the Pyongyang area seems to suggest that Han forces later launched brief incursions around the area of Pyongyang.

The area around Pyongyang was called Nanglang during the early Three Kingdoms period. As the capital of Nanglang kingdom Pyongyang remained an important commercial and cultural outpost afterLelang was destroyed by an expanding Goguryeo in 313.

Goguryeo moved its capital here in 427. According to Christopher Beckwith, Pyongyang is the Sino-Korean reading of the name they gave it in their