Key Issues and Future Directions in Rewriting the History of Mahan －The Characteristics and Cultural Identity of Early Mahan Society

This study investigates the formation of early Mahan society within the broader context of Late Kojosŏn’s cultural expansion. It argues that the Korean-style bronze dagger culture, which emerged in the Hoseo region during the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE, developed through ideological and ritual networks rooted in Kojosŏn's foundational traditions, particularly ancestor worship and elite exchange systems. The study highlights how the Songguk-ri cultural group became a key regional ally of Kojosŏn, forming diplomatic and military ties through the distribution of prestige items such as bronze daggers and mirrors. The arrival of King Chun and other political refugees further catalyzed the formation of early Han society in the southwestern peninsula. Though short-lived, this early polity helped shape the peninsula-centered worldview later adopted by the Mahan confederacy. Ultimately, the research presents Mahan as a product of both internal cultural continuity and external geopolitical dynamics.