Feature
Iron Culture of Ancient Korea
By Kim Sang-min
Iron served as a primary driving force for social, political, and economic changes in ancient societies, one clear illustration of which was the formation of states. An ample body of research testifies to the robust relationship between iron and the appearance of ancient states on the Korean Peninsula. Here, iron provided a critical element in the transition between the prehistoric and historic eras, and iron culture witnessed exponential development into the historic period.
The Iron Culture of Samhan
Examples of early iron implements in Korea
(from the Yongyeon-dong site in Wiwon)
It is generally accepted that iron objects were first transmitted onto the Korean Peninsula in the third century B.C. from the Chinese state of Yan. It was through Mahan, one of the three ancient polities that formed in the central and southern regions of the Korean Peninsula (known collectively along with Jinhan and Byeonhan as Samhan or Three Han), that iron tools of Chinese origin arrived on what is today Korean soil. The first iron objects introduced were cast iron agricultural implements from Yan. With the establishment of the Chinese commandery of Lolang by Han China in 108 B.C., Han iron culture focused on forged iron became widespread. It is believed to have influenced the development of iron culture in the Samhan region.
Examples of early iron implements in Korea
(from the Yongyeon-dong site in Wiwon)
Iron finds from the Gal-dong and Sinpung-ri archaeological sites in Wanju and the Namyang-ri site in Jangsu in the southwestern section of Korea previously occupied by Mahan include axes and sickles in the Yan style. The southeastern region that housed the Jinhan and Byeonhan states, however, has produced a more diverse range of iron objects, from cast iron axes to weaponry such as daggers, spears, and arrowheads. These were forged, but do not show the typical characteristics of Han iron culture. The diverse types and forms of iron finds from the Jinhan and Mahan region defies any clear association with Mahan iron culture heavily influenced by Yan, or with the Han tradition of predominantly producing wrought iron weapons.
Examples of early iron implements in Korea(from the Yongyeon-dong site in Wiwon)
I believe that the iron tools and weapons from Jinhan and Byeonhan provide eloquent evidence of an independent iron culture existing in Samhan. The archaeological sites at Hwangseong-dong in Gyeongju, Neukdo Island in Sacheon, and Dalcheon in Ulsan from the Jinhan and Byeonhan period have revealed remnants of iron production and iron mines. This suggests that Jinhan and Byeonhan might have outpaced other Korean polities in developing independent iron production technologies and brought a unique iron culture into bloom.
Origins of Korean Iron Production
Although it was only in the last three centuries B.C. that iron objects were introduced to Samhan from China and developed into a creative form of culture on local soil, archaeological evidence attesting to Korean iron production technology is not found at sites until the fourth century A.D. onwards when the Three Kingdoms (57 B.C.–A.D. 668) had already firmly established themselves by absorbing previous Korean polities, including Samhan. The above-mentioned sites associated with iron production in the Jinhan and Byeonhan states have never produced evidence of iron smelting furnaces. The archaeological finds discovered up to now do not support any hypothesis that Korea possessed the necessary technologies for iron smelting prior to the fourthcentury A.D.
There exists a strong sense of suspicion in academic circles regarding the temporal gap between the use of iron objects and the production of iron. The dominant opinion, however, still supports the notion of a later appearance of iron production technology. Scholars consider that although objects made from iron were disseminated in Korea from early on, China was able to retain control of iron smelting technology and it therefore required several centuries before the relevant technology could be adopted and fully take root in Korea.
Concerning this supposition, several questions arise: Whether Samhan actually lacked iron technology before the fourth century; whether they would have been willing to wait a full four centuries for the introduction of the technology from China; and how the continuous advancement of iron culture in the ancient kingdoms of Silla (57 B.C.–A.D. 668) and Gaya (A.D. 42–A.D. 562), which took control of the territory of Jinhan and Byeonhan, can be explained.
Although I cannot put forward any clear answer to these inquiries, I would like to suggest a hypothesis in this regard. Given that the technology for bronze production had already reached a high level of development, it should have been fully possible for iron production techniques to have been independently developed based on existing bronze skills. In fact, this was likely what took place in China, where it is widely believed that iron technology was introduced through a relentless process of trial and error based on existing bronze technology. I think that this would also have been the case in Korea.
A distribution chart of iron production sites from the Three Kingdoms period (after the fourth century)
The Iron Industry in Ancient Korea
Next, I would like to take a brief look at the iron industry in ancient Korea. With the appearance of iron on the Korean Peninsula and a growing awareness of its benefits, people in Samhan must surely have sought the production of strongest possible iron in the greatest available quantities. They may have possessed a thorough understanding of the production process, given the excavation of relevant burial goods from sites dating to before the Three Kingdoms era. These include finds of iron ore, iron-making tools such as hammers and pincers, and even slag, the stony waste left over from the process of smelting iron ore.
The Dongyizhuan (Accounts of the Eastern Barbarians) of the Chinese history Sanguozhi (Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms) accounts Korea’s iron industry as follows: Iron is produced [in Korea], and states such as Han, Ye, and Wae flock to get it. Iron is used as a medium of trade in markets; it functions much as coins do in China.
This is definitive evidence that shows the central role that the production and circulation of iron played in the Korean economy even before the advent of the Three Kingdoms period.
Modern steel products
It may be reasonable to state that the emergence of these ancient kingdoms in Korea can be attributed to the possession of technology for producing iron in large quantities. Although it remains disputable in archaeological circles, just as the steel industry stood at the forefront of the industrialization of the Korean economy in the 20th century, an iron industry capable of mass production may have provided the driving force for the ancient social transition into the Three Kingdoms period on the Korean Peninsula.
* A special exhibition on Korea’s iron history will be held at the National Museum of Korea from
September 26–November 26, 2017.
- Title: METAL, IRON AND STEEL, THE CULTURAL HISTORY OF IRON
- Place: Special Exhibition Gallery, National Museum of Korea (Seobinggo-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 04383, Republic of Korea)
- Duration: September 26–November 26, 2017 - Tel: +82 2 2077 9000