Korean history timeline
This chart puts 15 Korean kingdoms and dynasties on one timeline in order, from Gojoseon (c. 700 to 108 BCE) to North Korea (1948 CE to the present). On these dates, Silla (Silla and Unified Silla together) lasted longest, about 991 years.
See it on the interactive chart
- Gojoseonc. 700 to 108 BCE
- Samhan confederaciesc. 100 BCE to 350 CE
- Sillac. 57 BCE to 668 CE
- Goguryeoc. 37 BCE to 668 CE
- Baekjec. 18 BCE to 660 CE
- Gaya confederacyc. 42 to 562 CE
- Unified Silla668 to 935 CE
- Balhae (Bohai)698 to 926 CE
- Later Baekje and Taebong892 to 936 CE
- Goryeo918 to 1392 CE
- Joseon1392 to 1897 CE
- Korean Empire1897 to 1910 CE
- Japanese Korea1910 to 1945 CE
- North Korea1948 CE to the present
- South Korea1948 CE to the present
- Koreanic
- Japonic
- People or culture without a state
In order
Gojoseon
The first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula. Legend, recorded in the Samguk yusa, has Dangun found it in 2333 BCE; its earliest mention, in the Chinese Guanzi, links it to trade in the 7th century BCE. Wiman seized its throne in 194 BCE, and the Han conquered it in 108 BCE.
Samhan confederacies
The Mahan, Jinhan and Byeonhan confederacies of walled-town states in central and southern Korea. Byeonhan exported iron to Lelang and Japan. By the 4th century Baekje had absorbed Mahan, Silla Jinhan, and Gaya grew out of Byeonhan.
Silla
A kingdom of southeastern Korea ruled through the bone-rank aristocracy, whose gold crowns came from its royal tombs. Allied with the Tang, it conquered Baekje and Goguryeo and then drove the Tang out.
Goguryeo
A kingdom of Manchuria and northern Korea, traditionally founded in 37 BCE. Gwanggaeto (r. 391 to 412) conquered widely, and it repelled Sui and Tang invasions before a Silla and Tang alliance destroyed it in 668. Its scantily attested language is debated.
Baekje
A kingdom of southwestern Korea that passed Buddhism, Chinese writing and craft skills to Japan. A Tang and Silla army took its capital in 660, and a Japanese relief fleet lost at Baekgang in 663. Its language is debated.
Gaya confederacy
A league of small polities in the Nakdong river basin that exported iron, armor and weapons to Baekje and the Wa of Japan. Silla conquered Geumgwan Gaya in 532 and the last holdout, Daegaya, in 562.
Unified Silla
Silla ruled most of the peninsula after 668 and built the Bulguksa temple and Seokguram grotto. Rebellions split it into the Later Three Kingdoms, and its last king surrendered to Goryeo in 935.
Balhae (Bohai)
Founded in 698 by Dae Jo-yeong, whose Goguryeo or Mohe origin is disputed, with Goguryeo and Mohe followers. It ruled much of Manchuria and northern Korea from a capital laid out like Chang'an, told Japan it was heir to Goguryeo, and fell to the Khitans in 926.
Later Baekje and Taebong
Rebel kingdoms of the Later Three Kingdoms period: Gyeon Hwon's Later Baekje in the southwest and Gung Ye's Taebong in the north. Taebong's general Wang Geon founded Goryeo and defeated Later Baekje in 936.
Goryeo
The dynasty that gave Korea its western name, famous for celadon ware, the Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks and the first metal movable type. It became a Mongol vassal after 1270, and the general Yi Seong-gye overthrew it.
Joseon
A Neo-Confucian kingdom of five centuries. King Sejong created the Hangul alphabet, Admiral Yi Sun-sin's fleet slowed the Japanese invasions of the 1590s, and the kingdom grew increasingly isolationist into the 19th century.
Korean Empire
King Gojong proclaimed an empire in 1897 to shore up Korea's independence after its break with Qing China, and began the Gwangmu reforms. Japan made it a protectorate in 1905 and annexed it in 1910.
Japanese Korea
Korea under a Japanese Governor-General in Keijo (Seoul). Japan violently suppressed the March 1st Movement of 1919, all but banned Korean names and language, and from 1939 mobilized about 5.4 million Koreans; many women were forced into sexual slavery.
North Korea
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, ruled by Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un. It invaded the south in 1950, suffered a famine in the 1990s and tested its first nuclear weapon in 2006.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea, which grew from war ruin into an industrial power under military rulers and became a democracy in 1987. President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration in 2024 led to his impeachment and removal.
Major events
- Buddhism reaches Korea. Former Qin sends the monk Sundo with Buddhist texts and images to the Goguryeo court. Baekje receives Buddhism in 384 and Silla adopts it in 527 or 528.
- Silla unifies Korea. With Tang help Silla destroys Goguryeo, then fights the Tang until 676 to take control of the peninsula south of the Taedong river.
- Hangul proclaimed. King Sejong publishes the Korean alphabet, designed so that ordinary people could learn to read and write their own language.
- Japanese invasion of Korea. Toyotomi Hideyoshi sends some 150,000 troops into Korea. Ming armies, Korean militias and Admiral Yi Sun-sin's fleet fight them to a stalemate, and Japan withdraws in 1598 after Hideyoshi dies.
- Russo-Japanese War. Russia and Japan fight over rival ambitions in Manchuria and Korea, with land battles on the Liaodong Peninsula and near Mukden and naval battles in the Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan. The Treaty of Portsmouth ends the war in September 1905.
- Korean Provisional Government founded in Shanghai. A government-in-exile formed in the Shanghai French Concession on 11 April 1919 after the March First Movement. It later settled in Chongqing and came to an end after Japan's surrender in 1945.
- Korea divided at the 38th parallel. The United States proposed the 38th parallel as the line between Soviet and US occupation zones in the last days of World War II. The division began on 2 September 1945 and continues today.
- Korean War. North Korea invades the south. UN forces led by the United States and Chinese armies fight to a stalemate, and the 1953 armistice leaves Korea divided.
Questions
What is the order of Korean kingdoms and dynasties?
By start date: Gojoseon, Samhan confederacies, Silla, Goguryeo, Baekje, Gaya confederacy, Unified Silla, Balhae (Bohai), Later Baekje and Taebong, Goryeo, Joseon, Korean Empire, Japanese Korea, North Korea and South Korea.
Which of the Korean kingdoms and dynasties lasted longest?
On this timeline, Silla (Silla and Unified Silla together), at about 991 years (c. 57 BCE to 935 CE).
How many Korean kingdoms and dynasties were there?
This timeline shows 15. Other lists count differently, depending on how they treat rival states and periods of division.
Which came first?
Gojoseon, c. 700 to 108 BCE, is the earliest on this timeline.
Where do these dates come from?
Each row's dates were checked against the sources listed on that row's own page, mostly English Wikipedia articles, which cite the underlying scholarship. Dates that are uncertain are marked c.