The Taedonggang culture of Korea is one of the earliest civilizations of mankind.

The culture was created in the Taedong River basin with Pyongyang as the centre. The basin with the clean river, vast and fertile plain, rich natural resources and warm temperature is an ideal place to live in, making it a birthplace of mankind.

There are many historical remains which prove the long history of the Taedonggang culture.

The Komunmoru remains unearthed long ago in Hugu-ri, Sangwon County, North Hwanghae Province, show indisputably that people had lived in the area since a million years ago. There are also other remains, typically fossils of Paleolithic men, called Ryokpho Man and Tokchon Man, and of Neolithic men such as Sungnisan Man and Mandal Man, were dug up in succession in and around the basin. These remains show the anthropological succession from apeman to Paleolithic and Neolithic men in the area and provide scientific evidence that the basin is one of the birthplaces of earliest culture of mankind.

It has also been verified that the basin was the cradle of ancient Koreans originating from the local Neolithic men in the later Paleolithic Age and that it was the place of origin and centre of the primitive culture where they created and developed the culture of the Neolithic Age characterized by agriculture and the culture of the Bronze Age marked by metal culture of a high level.

In the 1990s the History Society of the DPRK, based on scientific and rich research findings, named the primitive culture in the basin the Taedonggang culture.

New research findings with regard to King Tangun and Ancient Joson added much to the scope and content of the Taedonggang culture.

Tangun, the founding father of the Korean nation, set up Ancient Joson with Pyongyang as its capital 5 000 years ago and developed civilization in and around the Taedong River basin.

Remains of fortresses have been excavated in different places, showing the aspects of the ancient state. The remains of Chongam-dong earthen wall in Taesong District, Pyongyang, Hwangdae Fort in Kangdong County and other remains of fortresses suggest that there was a well-developed defence system with Pyongyang as the centre.

Phyodae remains in Honam-ri, Samsok District and Kumthan-ri remains in Sadong District, both in Pyongyang, are typical sites showing the appearance of towns around the basin in the period of Ancient Joson. The former indicates that there were hundreds of houses in the place.

Until the mid-1990s more than 14 000 dolmens were found around the basin, offering a glimpse into the institutional nature of the ancient state.

Among those dolmens, hundreds have lid slabs inscribed with constellations. For this reason, the basin is regarded as a place of origin of ancient astronomy.

As the area around the basin has favourable conditions for farming, the ancient Koreans developed agriculture in the area from olden times. They cultivated rice, foxtail millet, soybean, sorghum and other crops by using farm tools.

The Taedonggang culture is regarded as one of the earliest civilizations along with the Two River culture in Mesopotamia, the Indus River culture, the Yellow River culture and the Nile River culture. Continued efforts are being directed to the excavation of relics and remains and research with regard to the Taedonggang culture.

Yang Ryon Hui