Okjeo () was an ancient Korean tribal state which arose in the northern Korea from perhaps the 2nd century BCE to the 5th century CE.
Dong-okjeo (Eastern Okjeo) occupied roughly the area of the Hamgyŏng provinces of North Korea, and Buk-okjeo (Northern Okjeo) occupied the Tumen River region.
Dong-okjeo was often simply called Okjeo, while Buk-okjeo was also sometimes referred to as Chiguru (置溝婁, 치구루) or Guru (구루),
History
In its early history, Okjeo oscillated between domination by the Chinese commanderies and by Goguryeo. From the 3rd century BCE to 108 BCE, it was controlled by Gojoseon. At 107 BCE, it became part of the Xuantu Commandery.
As the Xuantu Commandery retreated towards the liadong peninsula as a result of expansion of
Goguryeo, East okjeo became part of the eastern part of the Lelang Commandery.
Due to the constant interference of its neighbours, Okjeo never grew into a fully centralised kingdom. In 28 BCE, King Dongmyeong sent
Bu Wiyeom to attack the Northern Okjeo. In the 1st or 2nd century CE, King Taejo of Goguryeo reduced Okjeo to a tributary, which delivered local products to Goguryeo. During the 244 Wei Invasion of Goguryeo, Goguryeo's King Dongcheon briefly retreated to North Okjeo, and in 285, the
Buyeo court also temporarily escaped to Okjeo under northern nomadic attacks.
In early 5th century, Okjeo was completely conquered by Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo.
Culture
Knowledge of Okjeo culture is fragmentary. As with the
Eastern Ye and Okjeo's language, food, clothing, architecture, and customs were similar to that of
Goguryeo. The Okjeo people practised arranged marriage by which the child-bride lived with the child-groom's family until adulthood, and they interred the dead of a family in a single coffin.
Language
Okjeo was a presumed ancient language that was a part of the Puyŏ languages and existed from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. In Peter H. Lee's book, he stated that although there are some small differences between Okjeo and Goguryeo, the two languages have many similarities that Okjeo didn't have with the other Puyŏ languages.
However, Christopher I. Beckwith considers Okjeo to have been a dialect of Goguryeo.
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See also
Notes
