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system led Koreans to adopt a “sitting culture.” The prevailing forms of burial at the time were earthen tombs, into which corpses were directly placed, and jar-coffin interments which utilized two large urns laid mouth to mouth to contain the body. A new type of pottery, a hard, iron-rich, and more highly fired Chinese-style gray stoneware, appeared, characterized by a smooth, lustrous surface.
    China’s deep influence on this new development of Iron culture in Korea is apparent, attested by the discovery of the Chinese coins
mingdaoqian,
or crescent knife coins, at many Iron Age excavation sites. But the transmission of Chinese Iron culture to Korea (Old Chos ŏ n) did not lead to the extension of Chinese political domination over the Korean people. 3 The introduction of Chinese Iron culture only contributed to the rapid development of the Korean nation.

    MAP 1.1. Old Chos ŏ n
Wiman Chos ŏ n
    In the fourth century BC Old Chos ŏ n was bordered on the west, far beyond the Liao River, by the northern Chinese dynasty of Yan. Thereafter, under heavy pressure from the Yan, it entered a period of gradual decline. In the early third century BC Old Chos ŏ n was invaded by Yan forces, commanded by their general Qinkai, and lost its territory in the Liao River basin to the Chinese kingdom. At the same time, Old Chos ŏ n may have transferred its capital to Pyongyang, called Wangg ŏ m-s ŏ ng at the time, in northern Korea.
    From the mid-third century BC Old Chos ŏ n experienced a long period of civil turbulence in neighboring China, having gone through the late Warring States Period. By the late third century BC China had become a unified empire under the Qin and Han dynasties. As opposing dynasties wrestled for supremacy in China, small bands of refugees periodically made their way into Old Chos ŏ n. Leading one of these refugee bands was a warrior known as Wiman, a native of Yan. Wiman and his followers, numbering more than 1,000, submitted themselves to King Chun of Old Chos ŏ n, who in turn assigned them to guard the state’s western frontier. But Wiman gathered additional refugees from China, armed them with weapons fashioned from iron, and, after marching to the capital under the pretext of protecting the king against Chinese invaders, seized the throne in 194 BC . At the time relations between Old Chos ŏ n and Han were strained because of a struggle for suzerainty over Korean states and populations. The dethroned king Chun is said to have taken a ship to the southern state of Chin to become its king (“Han King”).
    Although Wiman came from the former Chinese Yan dynasty, when he sought refuge in Old Chos ŏ n, he is said to have styled his hair in a topknot resembling that of the Old Chos ŏ n people and to have dressed in the Chos ŏ n style. He also continued to use “Chos ŏ n” for the name of his kingdom. These considerations suggest that Wiman might be a dongyi man.
    For the next 86 years (194–108 BC ), under Wiman and his heirs, Chos ŏ n enjoyed peace and prosperity. Wiman Chos ŏ n embraced the native elite of Old Chos ŏ n society, and some members of that elite were given the highest government position of “sang.” Possessed of highly advanced Iron culture, Wiman Chos ŏ n expanded its territory and subjugated its neighboring states to the north, east, and south. In about 190 BC Chinb ŏ n in today’s Hwanghae province and Imdun in present-day South Hamgy ŏ ng province, both now situated in North Korea, were forced to submit to Wiman Chos ŏ n. China’s Han empirewas concerned about the threat posed by a possible alliance between Wiman Chos ŏ n and the nomadic Xiongnu people, then rapidly expanding into Manchuria from their heartland in Mongolia. From early times the nomadic peoples beyond the Great Wall were a constant challenge to China, and several Korean states, including Wiman Chos ŏ n, forged close ties with these powerful nomads. At this point, in 128 BC , Namny ŏ , the ruler of