The Cheolli Jangseong or Great Wall of

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

may refer to either of two massive fortifications built between medieval

and the Chinese to the west and other tribes to the north. The first is a 7th-century network of military garrisons built by

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

, one of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea The Three Kingdoms of Korea or Samhan (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla) competed for hegemony over the Korea, Korean Peninsula during the ancient period of History of Korea, Korean history. During the Three Kingdoms period (), many states and statele ...

. These are now located in

Northeast China Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...

. The second is an 11th-century wall built by Korea's

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

, now located in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Name

The Korean name ''Cheolli Jangseong'' literally means the "Thousand Ri Wall", a reference to the

Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against vario ...

whose Chinese name is the "Ten-Thousand" or "Countless Li Wall". The second wall is also known in Korean as the ''Goryeo Jangseong'' ("Great Wall of Korea").

Goguryeo period

After

's victory in the Goguryeo–Sui Wars, in 631 Goguryeo began the fortification of numerous military garrisons after the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, the successor to the Sui in China, began incursions from the northwest.《三国史记·高句丽本记八》："荣留王十四年春二月，王动众筑长城，东北自扶余城，西南至海千余里，凡十六年毕功" Its construction was supervised by

Yŏn Kaesomun Yŏn KaesomunSome Chinese and Korean sources stated that his surname was Yŏngae () and personal name was Somun (), but the majority of sources suggest a one-syllable surname and a three-syllable personal name. (; 594–666) was a powerful milit ...

during the reign of King Yeongnyu. The preparation and coordination was completed in 647, after which Yŏn Kaesomun took control of the Goguryeo court in a coup. The network of fortresses ran for approximately 1000 li in what is now

, from Buyeoseong (부여성, 扶餘城) (present-day

Nong'an County Nong'an County () is a county of Jilin Province, Northeast China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Changchun, the capital of Jilin. The westernmost county-level division of Changchun City, it borders Dehui to the eas ...

) to the

Bohai Bay Bohai Bay () is one of the three major bays of the Bohai Sea, the northwestern and innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. It is bounded by the coastlines of eastern Hebei province ( Tangshan and Cangzhou), Tianjin municipality and northern Sha ...

. The most important of the garrisons were as follows: * Bisa (; present-day Jinzhou County in

Dalian Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

) * Geonan (; present-day

Gaizhou Gaizhou (), formerly Gaixian, ''Gaiping'', and Kaiping, is a county-level city in Liaoning province, China. It is under the administration of Yingkou City, which lies to the north-northwest, and is located at the northwest end of the Liaodong P ...

) *

Ansi The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private nonprofit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organiz ...

(

: 안촌홀 (安寸忽, , near present-day Haicheng in

Anshan Anshan ( zh, s=鞍山, p=Ānshān, l=saddle mountain) is an inland prefecture-level city in central-southeast Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, about south of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, it was Liaoning' ...

Prefecture) * Baegam (; in present-day Dengta County of

Liaoyang Liaoyang ( zh, s=辽阳 , t=遼陽 , p=Liáoyáng) is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is hom ...

prefecture) * Yodong (; just to the east of present-day Liaoyang) * Gaemo (; present-day

Fushun Fushun ( zh, s=, t=, p=Fǔshùn, historically Fuxi ()) is a prefecture level city in Liaoning province, China, about east of Shenyang, with a total area of , of which is the city proper. Situated on the Hun River ("muddy river"), it is one o ...

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

) * Hyeondo () * Shin (, present-day

) * Buyeo (; present-day

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

)

Goryeo period

A second Cheolli Jangseong is the stone wall built from 1033 to 1044, during the

dynasty, in the northern

Korean peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

. It is roughly 1000 li in length, and about 24 feet in both height and width. It connected the fortresses built during the reign of Emperor Hyeonjong, passing through these cities, * Uiju (의주, 義州) * Wiwon (위원, 威遠) * Heunghwa (흥화, 興化) * Jeongju (정주, 靜州) * Yeonghae (영해, 寧海) * Yeongdeok (영덕, 寧德) * Yeongsak (영삭, 寧朔) * Jeongyung (정융, 定戎) * Yeongwon (영원, 寧遠) * Pyeongno (평로, 平虜) * Sakju (삭주, 朔州) * Maengju (맹주, 孟州) * Unju (운주, 雲州) * Cheongsae (청새, 淸塞) * Ansu (안수, 安水) * Yeongheung (영흥, 永興) * Yodeok (요덕, 耀德) * Jeongbyeon (정변, 靜邊) * and ending at Hwaju (화주, 和州). King Deokjong ordered Yuso to build the defenses in response to incursions by the Khitan of the northwest and the Jurchen of the northeast. It was completed during the reign of Emperor Jeongjong. It ran from the mouth of the

Yalu River The Yalu River () or Amnok River () is a river on the border between China and North Korea. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between China and North Korea. Its valle ...

to around Hamheung of present-day

. Remnants are still extant, including in Ŭiju and Chŏngp'yŏng.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* https://web.archive.org/web/20051013072812/http://enc.daum.net/dic100/viewContents.do? * https://web.archive.org/web/20051013072812/http://enc.daum.net:80/dic100/viewContents.do? * http://kr.dic.yahoo.com/search/enc/result.html?pk=18576200&p=%C3%B5%B8%AE%C0%E5%BC%BA&field=id&type=enc {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519194223/http://kr.dic.yahoo.com/search/enc/result.html?pk=18576200&p=%C3%B5%B8%AE%C0%E5%BC%BA&field=id&type=enc , date=2011-05-19 Goguryeo Buildings and structures of Goryeo Walls Castles in Korea

Name

Goguryeo period

Goryeo period

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography