Pyongyang, a place of exquisite beauty, has a long history of 5 000 years.
Pyongyang was the capital of Ancient Korea founded by Tangun, the founding father of the Korean nation. Born in Pyongyang, Tangun founded a country and set up the capital in Pyongyang in the early 30th century B.C. He named it Joson, which meant a country with the sunrise in the east.
According to several old books including “Samguksagi” (Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms), “History of Koryo” and “Sejong Sillok” (Chronicles of King Sejong), Tangun held the court in Pyongyang and named the country Joson, and Pyongyang is a city with a long history which the founder king of our countrymen chose as a capital. Furthermore, a lot of names of places associated with the birth and growth of Tangun are used and the Mausoleum of King Tangun was discovered in Kangdong, Pyongyang. These prove that Pyongyang was King Tangun’s birthplace and the capital of the country.
The name “Pyongyang” is the translation in Chinese characters of the Korean native word “Puruna”, where puru referred to a large field or a walled city and na meant a place. In a word, “Puruna” means “a plain or land of fields”. The area around Pyongyang had a lot of fertile fields and a river, so it was easy of access. At that time, “Puruna” was understood as a large walled city or the capital. Pyongyang was also called other names like “Phyongchon” or “Phyongna” as a result of different translations of the same Korean word “puruna” in Chinese characters.
It is recorded in historical books “Samguksagi” and “History of Koryo” that in the period of Ancient Korea Pyongyang was also called “Wanggom Walled City”, which meant a capital city chosen by the founder king.
In the period of the Three Kingdoms, too, Pyongyang was in the position of a capital for both its natural and geographical conditions and economic and cultural conditions. The reason that Koguryo chose Pyongyang as a provisional capital in 247 and as a real capital in 427 lies in the fact that Pyongyang had enough conditions as well as a long history to be a capital.
During the Koryo dynasty, Pyongyang had other names “Sogyong” or “Sodo”, both of which meant a capital in the west. In fact, Pyongyang was not the formal capital of Koryo, but it was given as much importance as the capital. Wanggon, who founded the first unified state in 918, was planning to move the capital to Pyongyang when he recognized that Pyongyang was more important than Kaegyong in the aspects of geographical position and economical and cultural conditions.
During the feudal Joson dynasty, Pyongyang was called yet other names “Sogyong” or “Ryugyong”.
Pyongyang was famous for its scenic beauty with willows and flowers. In particular, the view of drooping branches of willows and all sorts of flowers in bloom in early spring was spectacular. Therefore, people called Pyongyang “Ryugyong”, which is translated as a capital with a lot of willows.
Pyongyang was still given importance during this period, when it was the centre of feudal rule, commodity exchange, distribution of agricultural products and feudal handicrafts.
As mentioned above, Pyongyang has been the capital or a city in the same position as a capital for as long as 5 000 years. Today, the Korean people are proud of and ardently love Pyongyang, the capital city with a long history of fifty centuries.
Kim Kwang Jo, researcher at the Academy of Social Sciences
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