In 1958, a silver seal was excavated in Jeongbaekdong Tomb No.
1 in Nangnang District, Pyeongyang. There is four-letter inscription on
the seal which reads ‘Bujoyegun (夫租?君)’. Since ‘夫租 (Bujo)’ means
‘沃沮 (Okjeo)’, it is possible to assume that the person buried in the
tomb is a local elite of Okjeo from the 1st century B.C., Bujoyegun.
This study aims to elucidate how the local ruling class of Okjeo area
coped with the Han Empire’s Domination over the area in the 1st
century B.C., by examining relevant materials to Bujoyegun.
In the early 1st century B.C., the period of Bujoyegun, Okjeo was
under the control of Hyeonto Commandery (玄?郡) of the Han
Empire. Bujoyegun seems to have been able to maintain his social
status as a local elite in the area by helping the Hyeonto administration.
However, at around B.C. 75, he had to move his residence to
Nangnang Commandery (樂浪郡) when Okjeo witnessed Hyeonto’s
abolition and the installation of Dongbudowi (東部都尉). The vast
amount of grave goods, especially numbers of weapons, unearthed
from Jeongbaekdong Tomb No. 1 suggests that Bujoyegun could manage his superior social and political status in Nangnang area until
he died.
The surroundings of Bujoyegun’s migration and his unchanged high
social status still need to be elucidated. Due to the invasion of Yemak
(夷貊) at around B.C. 75, Hyeonto Commandery was collapsed and,
therefore, Han merged Okjeo into more stably managed Nangnang
Commandery to strengthen its control over the area. Amid this political
shift, the ruling class of Okjeo lost its social foundation. However, some
influential local elites such as Bujoyegun actively assisted Han’s
domination. The silver seal from his tomb seems to be one of the Han
Empire’s awards granted to the cooperative local elites of Okjeo.
Bujoyegun and other powerful figures of Okjeo could maintain their
social positions by collaborating with the reformation of Han’s
domination at the time. From the information gathered above, it is
possible to assume that those elites continuously performed an
important role in the Nangnang administration.