Original peoples
The original peoples are Tungusic ( from Manchuria / Siberia), and are Mongoloid like the Chinese & Japanese. There is a heavy Chinese influence in terms of vocabulary & language. There were close links with early Chinese & Japanese culture, but there were also initial confrontations between the Chinese & North Korean peoples.

Mythology
The son of Heaven, Hwanung, descended to Earth and married a bear - turned - girl who bore a son, TanGun ( Dan Gun), the founder of Choson. Thus Dan Gun was the grandson of Heaven.

The three kingdoms (approx 40 BC - 6th century AD)

Three ancient states - Koguryo, Paekche and Silla began existence around 40 BC. They were all at war with each other, and had centralised military and training systems. Each state had powerful kings, nobles and tribal chiefs. The ordinary people were taxed and had to provide labour. Buddhism, practised as a nationalistic religion, was introduced during this period. The culture was highly advanced. Defensive martial arts called Subak or Takkyeon existed, and developed as a way of training body and mind. In the kingdom of Koguryo, these arts were called Sunbae. Silla had a special military & educational organization called Hwarang, which was the means to survive territorial conflicts with Koguryo and Paekje.

Hwarang was also a social organization, developed together with martial arts. Members were selected by the King through a contest; after the selection, they indulged themselves in learning, and they also enjoyed various games such as Subak, fencing, horse-riding, Dukgyon, Kkaekumjil and Ssirum(Korean wrestling). They also learned poetry and music and lived together as a group. During peace time, they worked on emergency aids and construction of fortresses and roads. But during times of war, they were ready to sacrifice their lives on the battle field. With support from China, Silla conquered Paekche in 660 and Koguryo in 668. The Chinese were driven out in 676.

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