[History Lives On – Gojoseon Series] Episode 14: War with Han Dynasty – The Siege of Wanggeom Castle
“When dark clouds of war gather over the Korean Peninsula today, what echoes from history guide our response?”
In the autumn of 109 BCE, the mightiest empire in East Asia—Han Dynasty China with a population of 60 million—launched a massive invasion against Gojoseon, Korea’s first kingdom. An army of 50,000 troops by land and 7,000 by sea converged on Wanggeom Castle [pronunciation: wahng-guhm], the capital of a nation that had endured for 2,225 years. This was no ordinary border skirmish. It was a pivotal moment that would reshape the destiny of the Korean Peninsula for centuries to come.
To understand the magnitude of this conflict, imagine if ancient Rome—at the height of its Mediterranean dominance—had suddenly turned its full military might against a smaller but strategically vital kingdom on its borders. The Han invasion of Gojoseon was driven by imperial ambition, control of lucrative trade routes, fear of Gojoseon’s potential alliance with the nomadic Xiongnu [shyoong-noo] tribes, and internal fractures within Gojoseon itself. What unfolded was a year-long siege that tested the limits of human endurance, loyalty, and survival. This is the story of Wanggeom Castle’s final stand—a tale of initial triumph, prolonged suffering, and ultimate betrayal that still resonates in the 21st century.
◆ The Ancient Landscape
By the mid-2nd century BCE, Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che, reigned 141-87 BCE) had emerged as one of history’s most ambitious conquerors. Ascending the throne at age 16, he would rule for 53 years and expand Han territory to its greatest extent—rivaling the contemporary Roman Empire in scale and sophistication. His reign marked what historians call the “Golden Age” of the Han Dynasty, a period of unprecedented military expansion, cultural flourishing, and economic prosperity that would define Chinese imperial ambitions for millennia.
Emperor Wu’s conquests were methodical and multi-directional. To the north, beginning in 133 BCE, he waged a 43-year war against the Xiongnu nomadic confederation, pushing them beyond the Gobi Desert and securing the northern frontier. This was no small feat—the Xiongnu had been a constant threat to Chinese civilization for centuries, much like how Germanic tribes threatened Rome. To the south, in 111 BCE, he conquered the Kingdom of Nanyue (centered in modern Guangdong), establishing nine commanderies and extending Han control to the South China Sea. To the west, he seized the Hexi Corridor (literally “west of the Yellow River”), opening the gateway to Central Asia and what would later become known as the Silk Road.
Now, with north, south, and west secured, only the east remained—Gojoseon. This was not merely about territorial completion. Gojoseon controlled critical maritime and overland trade routes between China, the Korean Peninsula, and the Japanese archipelago. Its lucrative role as a trade intermediary meant enormous tariff revenues that Han China coveted. Moreover, there was a strategic concern: if Gojoseon allied with the Xiongnu remnants, Han’s northern security could be compromised. Emperor Wu, nearing the end of his reign, sought to complete his imperial vision by bringing the eastern frontier under Han control.
“The Emperor recruited criminals [as soldiers] to attack Joseon [Gojoseon]. That autumn, the Emperor ordered Louchuan General Yang Pu to cross the Bohai Sea from Qi. The army numbered 50,000 men. He ordered Left General Xun Zhi to advance from Liaodong to attack Ugeo [King Ugeo].”
– Source: Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), “Account of Joseon”
◆ Same Era, Different Worlds
🏛️ Han China
Emperor Wu at his zenith. Xiongnu pushed north of Gobi Desert. Nanyue conquered with 9 commanderies established. Population 60 million, GDP accounting for 26% of world economy
🗿 Mediterranean
Rome dominates after Carthage destruction (146 BCE). Marius military reforms (107 BCE) create professional army. Julius Caesar born 100 BCE—future dictator who would cross the Rubicon
🏺 Central Asia
Xiongnu decline after 43-year war with Han. Loss of Ordos and Hexi Corridor devastates nomadic economy. Silk Road emerging as transcontinental trade network
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[Image: The Siege of Wanggeom Castle – Han Dynasty army (land forces and naval fleet) launching two-pronged assault on the fortified capital. Gojoseon defenders on triple-layered walls resisting with bows and spears. Han siege equipment and military encampments surrounding the castle in a year-long blockade]
📜 Scene from That Day
“Summer night, 108 BCE. Inside Wanggeom Castle, the air was thick with heat and dread. For a full year, the siege had continued. Water and food supplies were dwindling to nothing. On the walls, a sentinel looked down at the Han encampments below—countless campfires encircling the city like a noose slowly tightening around a neck.”
“That night, screams pierced the quiet alleyways. By dawn, the gates opened. King Ugeo [oo-guh] was already dead. An assassin sent by Minister Ni Gyesang Sam had struck him down in the darkness. This was the moment when 2,225 years of history ended—not by foreign conquest, but by internal betrayal.”
◆ Uncovering Historical Truth
The war began with diplomatic humiliation. In 109 BCE, Emperor Wu dispatched an envoy named She He to Gojoseon, demanding submission as a Han vassal state. When King Ugeo refused, She He—in a calculated provocation—assassinated a Gojoseon border official (the Biwang [bee-wahng], or Deputy King) named Jang on his return journey and fled back to Han territory. Rather than punish this act of diplomatic murder, Emperor Wu rewarded She He by appointing him as Commandant of Eastern Liaodong. This was a deliberate act of war, a message that Han would no longer tolerate an independent Gojoseon.
Enraged by this provocation, Gojoseon forces attacked and killed She He. Emperor Wu seized upon this as his casus belli—his justification for full-scale invasion. In autumn 109 BCE, he launched a massive two-pronged assault. Louchuan General Yang Pu [yahng poo] led 7,000 marines across the Bohai Sea from Shandong Province, while Left General Xun Zhi [shyoon jih] commanded 50,000 infantry advancing overland from Liaodong. The total force of approximately 57,000 men represented one of the largest military operations in Han Dynasty history—comparable to Rome’s legions that conquered Gaul in the same era.
By comparison, Gojoseon could muster perhaps 20,000 troops—a 3-to-1 disadvantage in manpower. Yet numbers alone do not determine victory. In the war’s opening phase, the goddess of victory smiled upon the defenders. Yang Pu’s 7,000 Qi Province marines, likely inexperienced in amphibious operations, landed near Wanggeom Castle and immediately faced a devastating ambush by Gojoseon forces. The entire marine contingent was annihilated. Yang Pu himself barely escaped with his life, hiding in the mountains for ten days with only a handful of survivors. Meanwhile, Left General Xun Zhi’s main army reached the Paesoo River [pay-soo] (浿水, exact location disputed—possibly the Chongchon River in North Korea or the Liao River in Manchuria) but encountered fierce resistance. The mountainous terrain and determined Gojoseon defenders bogged down the supposedly invincible Han army.
Period
109-108 BCE, approximately 1 year duration
Key Figures
King Ugeo, Emperor Wu, Yang Pu, Xun Zhi, Seonggi, Ni Gyesang Sam
Forces
Han 57,000 (50k land + 7k naval) vs Gojoseon ~20,000
Outcome
Gojoseon falls, Han Four Commanderies established
Faced with military stalemate, Emperor Wu tried diplomacy. He sent envoy Wei Shan to propose peace terms. King Ugeo, exhausted by prolonged warfare and aware that time favored the resource-rich Han Empire, agreed to negotiate. He prepared to send Crown Prince as a hostage to demonstrate good faith. However, when the prince and his 10,000-man escort reached the Paesoo River, General Xun Zhi and Wei Shan demanded they disarm before crossing. Suspicious of a trap—and perhaps remembering She He’s treachery—the crown prince refused and returned to Wanggeom Castle. The peace talks collapsed, and war resumed with renewed fury.
Emperor Wu, frustrated by the prolonged campaign, dispatched Gongsun Sui as a special commissioner to assess the situation and coordinate the feuding generals. In a dramatic turn, General Xun Zhi accused Yang Pu of secretly negotiating with Gojoseon (likely to cover his own failures), arrested him, and seized control of his forces. With Gongsun Sui’s approval, command was unified under Xun Zhi. The consolidated Han army launched an all-out assault on Wanggeom Castle. For months, the siege continued—a brutal war of attrition where Han trebuchets hurled stones at the triple-layered walls while defenders poured boiling oil and shot arrows from the ramparts. Yet the fortress held, a testament to both its engineering and the defenders’ determination.
As the siege dragged into its second year, the structural flaw in Gojoseon’s political system became fatal. Wiman Joseon (the dynastic name for Gojoseon under Wiman’s descendants) was essentially a coalition government—an alliance between indigenous Gojoseon aristocracy and Chinese refugee elites who had fled the collapse of the Qin Dynasty and the chaos of the Chu-Han Contention a century earlier. This hybrid structure worked in peacetime but fractured under existential pressure. Minister Yeok Gyegyeong [yuhk gyeh-gyuhng], a peace advocate, proposed surrender but was rejected. Frustrated, he led 2,000 households south to the Jin confederacy (in southern Korea), abandoning the doomed capital. Ministers Noin, Sang Haneum, and General Wanghyeop also defected to Han, accepting offers of nobility in exchange for betrayal.
🔍 Academic Perspectives
Mainstream View
Most scholars locate Wanggeom Castle in the Pyongyang area of modern North Korea. Gojoseon fell due to internal division between indigenous and Chinese-descended factions. Han also suffered massive casualties—all generals were punished after the campaign
Alternative View
Some scholars place Wanggeom Castle in Liaodong (Manchuria). Wiman Joseon’s fall did not mean complete Gojoseon extinction—successor states emerged. The “Han conquest” was more limited than Chinese records suggest
◆ Speaking to Our Present
In the summer of 108 BCE, Minister Ni Gyesang Sam made an impossible choice. A peace advocate, he concluded that continued resistance would only bring more death and suffering. So he sent assassins to kill King Ugeo—his own sovereign. Was this the ultimate betrayal, or a painful act of pragmatic realism? How should history remember him? In 2025, we face similar moral dilemmas: when do we compromise for survival, and when do we fight to the last for principles?
Even after King Ugeo’s death, Minister Seonggi [suhng-gee] continued the resistance, rallying the people of Wanggeom Castle to fight on. He was eventually assassinated by Ugeo’s son Prince Janghang and Noin’s son Choe—yet another layer of betrayal upon betrayal. But Seonggi’s final stand poses an eternal question: what values are worth defending to the bitter end? As South Korea navigates between great powers in 2025—the United States, China, Japan, North Korea—the siege of Wanggeom Castle feels eerily contemporary. When is strategic flexibility wisdom, and when is it capitulation?
The fall of Gojoseon was ultimately caused not by Han military superiority but by internal division. The hybrid elite—indigenous Koreans and Chinese refugees—could not maintain unity under existential pressure. Today, South Korean society faces its own divisions: ideological (conservative vs progressive), generational (boomers vs millennials), regional (Honam vs Yeongnam), and socioeconomic (chaebol families vs common citizens). History whispers a warning: when external threats loom, internal cohesion becomes the difference between survival and extinction.
| Category | Gojoseon Era (109-108 BCE) | Present (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Great Power Relations | Han China: 60 million population vs Gojoseon ~1 million. Overwhelming power asymmetry. Han GDP ~26% of world | South Korea navigates between US, China, Japan, North Korea. Alliance vs autonomy balance. Middle power diplomacy |
| Internal Division | Indigenous vs Chinese-descended elite conflict. Hawks vs doves. Defections caused collapse | Ideological, regional, generational divides. Importance of national cohesion in crisis |
| Resistance vs Negotiation | Initial victories then protracted siege. Peace attempts failed. Last stand vs pragmatic surrender debates | When to fight, when to compromise? Principles vs pragmatism in foreign policy |
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[Image: Modern Connection – Present-day site of Wanggeom Castle (Pyongyang or Liaodong region) with archaeologists conducting research. Ancient battlefield transformed into peaceful contemporary landscape, symbolizing how history’s wounds eventually heal]
📚 Diving Deeper
- Despite victory, Emperor Wu punished all his generals: Xun Zhi was beheaded, Gongsun Sui executed, Yang Pu demoted to commoner after paying ransom (shuzui 贖罪). This reveals the campaign’s enormous costs and imperial dissatisfaction with a “Pyrrhic victory”
- Gojoseon collaborators who surrendered to Han were ennobled as marquises but most were later executed for various crimes. Ni Gyesang Sam, who killed King Ugeo, died in prison in 99 BCE for hiding Gojoseon prisoners of war
- Wanggeom Castle’s exact location remains scholarly contested. Pyongyang theory dominates but lacks conclusive archaeological evidence. Alternative theories place it in Liaodong or along the Yalu River. Excavations continue
The Voice of Living History
Korea’s first kingdom, which endured for 2,225 years, fell not to foreign invasion but to internal fracture. Yet Minister Seonggi’s last stand forces us to confront an eternal question: For what values should we fight to the bitter end? When must we resist, and when must we negotiate? These questions transcend time and geography.
“On the day Wanggeom Castle fell, Gojoseon ended—but its spirit did not. Join us next time as we explore the successors of Gojoseon: the rise of Buyeo and Goguryeo kingdoms.”
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Episode 13: Gojoseon and Jin – Relations with Southern Korea
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Episode 15: The Han Four Commanderies – Korea After Gojoseon
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This content is based on historical facts and presents various academic perspectives in a balanced manner.
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