Nangnang Kingdom (Korean: 낙랑국;Hanja: 樂浪國) was a kingdom located in the northwestern part of theKorean Peninsula according toSamguk sagi. The kingdom's independence, however, is debated.^[1] According to the ancient Korean record ofSamguk Sagi, the King of Nangnang namedChoi Ri met thePrince Hodong of Goguryeo and let him marry his daughter, thePrincess of Nakrang. When Prince Hodong asked the princess to break drums and horns in the Nangnang's armory to prevent the kingdom's guards from alerting the attack byGoguryeo, the princess followed Hodong's instructions, leading to Nangnang being conquered by Goguryeo.^[2]

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The view regarding Nangnang's independence is disputed. While Chinese and Japanese scholars claim that the name Nangnang actually refers to theLelang Commandery of China'sHan dynasty and Choi Ri was Lelang's governor rather than a King,^[3][4] Korean scholars often view Nangnang as an independent kingdom.^[2]

Korean scholars tend to view Nangnang as an independent kingdom given that the ancient Korean recordSamguk Sagi referred to Nangnang as a kingdom and Choi Ri as Nangnang's King (樂浪王).^[2] They also point out the lack of Chinese record mentioning Choi Ri as the official of Lelang.^[2] It is also noted that Goguryeo must had attacked Lelang Commandry during the time period mentioned inSamguk Sagi if the name Nangnang indeed referred to Lelang. However, there is no record of such war between Goguryeo and Lelang at the mentioned time, suggesting that Nangnang was possibly a different state than Lelang.^[2]

Because the record ofSamguk Sagi also suggested that Choi Ri and Hodong met near modern-dayHamhung, some South Korean scholars speculate Nangnang to be a kingdom centered around Hamhung, possibly related to the several states that briefly evolved and lived after the abolishment of Lelang Commandery, before being absorbed by Goguryeo.^[2]

North Korean academia fully assert that Nangnang was an independent country that existed in modern-day Pyongyang and composedMahan confederacy, arguing Lelang Commandery to be actually located nearLiao River ofLiaodong Peninsula.^[3] The North Korean academia also speculate theChinese-style ruins and relics found in Pyongyang to be either the war bounties, introduced throughtrade, or even forged. They also emphasize that the Korean characteristics found in the ruins and relics should not be negated.^[3]

The Chinese and Japanese scholars state that the Nangnang Kingdom was just another name used to refer to the Lelang Commandery of the ChineseHan dynasty. This perspective claims that it was referred to with the name of akingdom because the residents wereautonomous but were ultimately controlled by the Chinese commandery. The King of Nangnang was also interpreted to be the same title as the governor of the commandery.^[5][6]

Kenji Takahisa (Professor ofKorean history atSenshu University) mentions “In that theory, there were Nangnang Kingdom which founded by old Korean ethnic group in Pyongyang, not Lelang Commandery of Han. However, it is difficult to prove this theory because there are many tombs influenced by Han culture found in Pyongyang, while there were not related archaeological and historical resources related to Lelang Commandery in Liaoning area.”^[7]

Shouei Mishina criticized the claim that Nangnang Kingdom was different from the Lelang Commandery and said that it ignored the situation of Lelang Commandery of theEastern Han dynasty.^[8]

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