Jin state 진국 辰國
4th century BCE–2nd century BCE
Korea in 108 BCE
Capital	Not specified
Common languages	Unknown
Religion	Shamanism
Government	Tribal confederacy
Chief
Historical era	Ancient
• Establishment	4th century BCE
• Succeeded by Samhan	2nd century BCE
Succeeded by Mahan confederacy Byeonhan confederacy Jinhan confederacy
Today part of	South Korea North Korea

Jin
Hangul	진국
Hanja	辰國
Revised Romanization	Jin-guk
McCune–Reischauer	Chin'guk

Part of a series on the
History of Korea
Prehistoric period
Jeulmun Mumun
Ancient period
Gojoseon 2333 BC (?)–108 BC * Dangun * Gija * Wiman Jin 4th–2rd century BC
Proto–Three Kingdoms period
Buyeo Goguryeo Okjeo Dongye Samhan Ma Byeon Jin) Four Commanderies of Han
Three Kingdoms period
Goguryeo 37 BC–668 AD Baekje 18 BC–660 AD Silla 57 BC–935 AD Gaya confederacy 42–562
Northern and Southern States period
United Silla (Unified Silla) 668–935 Balhae 698–926
Later Three Kingdoms period
Later Baekje 892–936 Taebong (Later Goguryeo) 901–918 Unified Silla (Later Silla) 668–935
Dynastic period
Goryeo 918–1392 Joseon 1392–1897 Korean Empire 1897–1910
Colonial period
Japanese rule 1910–1945 Provisional Government 1919–1948
Modern period
Military governments 1945–1948 North-South division 1945–present * North 1948–present * South 1948–present
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The state of Jin (Korean pronunciation: [tɕin]) was a confederacy of statelets which occupied some portion of the southern Korean peninsula during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BCE, bordering Gojoseon to the north. Its capital was somewhere south of the Han River. It preceded the Samhan confederacies, each of which claimed to be the successor of the Jin state.^[1]

Name

"Jin" is the Revised Romanization of Korean 진, originally written 辰 in Korean Chinese characters (hanja). This character's Old Chinese pronunciation has been reconstructed as /*[d]ər/^[2] and originally referred to the 5th earthly branch of the Chinese and Korean zodiacs, a division of the orbit of Jupiter identified with the dragon. This was associated with a bearing of 120° (between ESE and SE) but also with the two-hour period between 7 and 9 am, leading it to be associated with dawn and the direction east.

A variant romanization is Chin.

History

It is not clear as to how well defined of an organized state Jin was. It seems likely that it was a federation of small states much like the subsequent Samhan. For the state to be able to contend with Wiman Joseon and send embassies to the court of the Western Han dynasty, there was probably some level of stable central authority. Korean historian Ki-baek Lee (1984, p. 24) also suggests that the kingdom's attempt to open direct contacts "suggests a strong desire on the part of Chin [Jin] to enjoy the benefits of Chinese metal culture." However, for the most part Wiman Joseon prevented direct contact between Jin and China.^[3]

King Jun of Gojoseon is reported to have fled to Jin after Wiman seized his throne and established Wiman Joseon. Some believe that Chinese mentions of Gaeguk or Gaemaguk (蓋馬國, Kingdom of armored horses) refers to Jin.^{[citation needed]} Goguryeo is said to have conquered "Gaemaguk" in 26 AD, but this may refer to a different tribe in northern Korea.

Records are somewhat contradictory on Jin's demise: it either became the later Jinhan, or diverged into the Samhan as a whole. Archeological records of Jin have been found centered in territory that later became Mahan.^[1]

Language

Alexander Vovin suggests that Japonic languages were spoken in large parts of southern Korea and Jeju before they were replaced by proto-Koreanic speakers.^[4] This replacement caused the Yayoi migration, dated 1,000 BC – 300 AD.^[5]

Archeology

Archaeologically, Jin is commonly identified with the Korean bronze dagger culture, which succeeded the Liaoning bronze dagger culture in the late first millennium BCE.^[1] The most abundant finds from this culture have been in southwestern Korea's Chungcheong and Jeolla regions. This suggests that Jin was based in the same area, which roughly coincides with the fragmentary historical evidence.^{[citation needed]}

Artifacts of the culture also show some similarities to the Yayoi people of Kyūshū, Japan.^[6]

Legacy

Jin was succeeded by the Samhan: Mahan, Jinhan and Byeonhan. Chinese historical text, Records of the Three Kingdoms says that Jinhan is the successor of the Jin state,^[7] while the Book of the Later Han writes that Mahan, Jinhan and Byeonhan were all part of the former Jin state as well as 78 other tribes.^[8]

The name of Jin continued to be used in the name of the Jinhan confederacy and in the name "Byeonjin," an alternate term for Byeonhan. In addition, for some time the leader of Mahan continued to call himself the "Jin king," asserting nominal overlordship over all of the Samhan tribes.