Pyongyang
One of the great centers of Goguryeo civilization

by: Hyungwon Kang

For centuries, historians have debated a deceptively simple question: Where was the capital of Koguryo?

The question puzzled scholars even during the reign of King Sejong the Great. In 1427, Minister of Rites Shin Sang reported that while the capitals of Silla and Baekje could be identified, "the capital of Koguryo is unknown." Perhaps the question itself is too narrow.

Rather than revolving around a single permanent capital, Koguryo evolved through at least three major centers of political, military and cultural importance.

The first was the Beijing–Yanshan region. In his PhD dissertation, Dr. Ki-hoon Yi argues that Koguryo's capital Hwando-seong (환도성 丸都城), identified with Gungnae-seong (국내성 國內城), was located near present-day Beijing—not at Ji'an (집안시 集安市) on the Amnokgang River.

Dr. Yi's academic theory presents a fundamental challenge to the conventional interpretation of Koguryo's early capitals. In my assessment, a comparison of his research with the conventional view suggests that the prevailing interpretation reflects historical narratives shaped during the twentieth century under Japanese colonial scholarship and subsequently retained by much of today's academic establishment.

Dr. Yi's theory demonstrates that Koguryo's historical geography remains an active subject of scholarly debate.

The second great center was the Ji'an region in today's Jilin Province, China, one of the world's richest archaeological landscapes of Koguryo civilization.

More than 12,000 Koguryo tombs are distributed throughout and around Ji'an. Among them are monumental pyramid-like stone cairn tombs, or jeokseokchong, including the Tomb of King Gwanggaeto (Taewangneung), the Tomb of King Jangsu (Janggunchong), and more than ten additional royal-class tombs. These stepped stone monuments—often described as the "Koguryo pyramids"—reflect the engineering sophistication and political power of one of East Asia's great ancient kingdoms.

Koguryo's commitment to honoring its ancestors is recorded on the Gwanggaeto Stele, erected in A.D. 414. The monument states that 330 households were assigned to protect the royal tombs—30 households of gukyeon (국연 國烟) serving as direct guardians and 300 households of ganyeon (간연 看烟) providing labor, supplies and financial support. Assuming five people per household, more than 1,500 people were dedicated to maintaining the royal cemeteries. Recording this administrative system on the stele demonstrates how central ancestor veneration and royal-tomb protection were to Koguryo statecraft.

Why did Koguryo devote such extraordinary resources to its royal tombs?

One possible explanation lies in a devastating episode in Koguryo history. In 342, Former Yan forces captured the capital, desecrated the tomb of King Micheon, carried away his remains, and took members of the royal family hostage. This was not merely a military defeat but a dynastic catastrophe. According to Dr. Yi's interpretation, this trauma helps explain why Koguryo later concentrated its royal cemeteries in the Ji'an region, separating its kings' burial grounds from political centers farther west.

The third great center was Pyongyang.

Long before becoming Koguryo's final capital, Pyongyang had emerged as the kingdom's principal southern military base. The Samguk Sagi records that King Micheon relocated thousands of captives there after his campaigns. Later kings expanded Pyongyang Fortress and made the city a foundation for southern expansion. Following the invasion of 342, Koguryo strengthened the city's fortifications and constructed a network of defensive mountain fortresses around it.

The Pyongyang region also contains tens of thousands of Koguryo tombs extending across Daesongsan and surrounding districts. Together with its stone fortifications and mountain fortresses, they demonstrate that Pyongyang was not merely a frontier outpost but one of late Koguryo's largest political, military and cultural centers.

During my rare visit to Pyongyang in April 2026, I photographed fortress walls displaying the distinctive stone masonry of Koguryo engineering. Standing atop those walls, it became clear that Pyongyang does not need to claim the status of Koguryo's only or earliest capital to establish its historical significance.

Koguryo's story was never confined to a single city. Its civilization extended across political centers, royal burial landscapes and military strongholds. The Beijing–Yanshan region, the Ji'an royal necropolis and Pyongyang each preserve a different chapter of that history.

Among them, Pyongyang remains one of the greatest surviving landscapes of Koguryo civilization. Its ancient fortresses and vast concentrations of Koguryo tombs testify that Koguryo was not the story of one capital, but of a civilization whose legacy stretched across multiple centers over many centuries.

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