Jin (Korean state)

Jin state
진국(辰國)
4th century B.C.–2nd century B.C.
Korea in 108 B.C.
Capital		Not specified
Languages		Proto-Korean
Religion		Korean shamanism
Government		Political union
Historical era		Ancient
•	Establishment	4th century B.C.
•	Succeeded by Samhan	2nd century B.C.
Succeeded by Mahan confederacy Byeonhan confederacy Jinhan confederacy
Today part of		South Korea,  North Korea

The state of Jin was an early Korean Iron Age state which occupied some portion of the southern Korean peninsula during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC, bordering the Korean kingdom Gojoseon to the north. Its capital was somewhere south of the Han River. It preceded the Samhan confederacies, each of which claimed to be successors of the Jin state.

"Jin" is the Revised Romanization of Korean , originally written in Korean Chinese characters (hanja). This character's Old Chinese pronunciation has been reconstructed as /*[d]ər/ and originally referred to the 5th earthly branch of the Chinese and Korean zodiacs, a division of the orbit of Jupiter identified with the dragon. This was associated with a bearing of 120° (between ESE and SE) but also with the two-hour period between 7 and 9 am, leading it to be associated with dawn and the direction east.

A variant romanization is Chin.

It is not clear as to how well defined of an organized state Jin was. It seems likely that it was a federation of small states much like the subsequent Samhan. For the state to be able to contend with Wiman Joseon and send embassies to the court of Han Dynasty China, there was probably some level of stable central authority. Korean historian Ki-baek Lee (1984, p. 24) also suggests that the kingdom's attempt to open direct contacts "suggests a strong desire on the part of Chin [Jin] to enjoy the benefits of Chinese metal culture." However, for the most part Wiman Joseon prevented direct contact between Jin and China.