stone daggers, and arrowheads. Their views were similar to those of their European counterparts prior to the development of archaeology in that they regarded stone tools as thunderbolts or elf arrows. One of the first scholars to consider prehistoric artifacts as human tools and weapons, i.e., as valuable historical data, was Kim Jeong-hui (1786–1856), a well-known writer, calligrapher, and painter. His survey of the Silla royal tombs in Kyongju resulted in an article that discussed the location of King Jinheung’s tomb from a historical and geographical approach (Yi 1988). His identification of inscribed roof tiles from the Pyongyang area as those of the western Han dynasty of China on the basis of calligraphic style is the first example of archaeological research in Korea. However, his activities were isolated incidents and had no effect on the development of archaeology in Korea.

Modern archaeological activity in Korea began during the decline of the Joseon dynasty and the subsequent growth of Japanese influence during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Even before the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Japanese scholars such as Sekino Tadashi, Torii Ryuzo, and Imanishi Ryu surveyed various archaeological sites on Korean Peninsula and in northeast china. The earliest known archaeological excavations in Korea were all conducted by Japanese archaeologists in 1909 at the Baekje royal tombs in Buyeo and at a Silla royal tomb in Kyongju by Sekino Tadashi. The brick chamber tombs of the Chinese Lelang commandery in Pyongyang were excavated by Sekino Tadashi and Imanish Ryu. It is clear that the Japanese scholars were mainly interested in the royal tombs of Korea for their well-furnished burial goods, and it is also evident that they wanted to use them to highlight the foreign rule of Korea—in an attempt to legitimize Japan’s rule of Korea, beginning with the Protectorate Treaty of 1905 and culminating in official annexation in 1910.

After annexation, the Korean Governor General’s Office played an important role in establishing archaeological institutions, regulating and managing cultural properties, and deciding major policies concerning archaeological research in Korea. The office established the Museum of the Governor General’s Office in 1915 to accommodate its own collection of Korean artifacts, and it organized the Committee for the Investigation of Korea Antiquities (Chosen koseki chosa iinkai), which would not only serve as the main consulting body for archaeological activities initiated by the colonial government but also conduct surveys, excavations, reconstruction, and preservation works throughout Korea. Scholars who participated on this committee included Sekino, Imanishi, Kuroita Katsumi, Hamada Kosaku, Harada Yoshito, Ikeuchi Hiroshi, and Umehara Sueji.

The office also laid the legal foundations for the preservation of archaeological remains by promulgating the first laws regulating cultural properties in 1916 (Pai 2000). For the first thirty years of the twentieth century, all archaeological research and excavation in Korea was organized, sponsored, and supervised by the Governor General’s Office. After 1935, a semi-official Society for the Study of Korean Antiquities (Chosen koseki kenkyukai) replaced the Governor General’s Office as the major sponsor of archaeological research in Korea.

During Japan’s colonial rule of Korea, Japanese archaeologists identified and excavated thousands of archaeological sites, the majority of which were burials, such as the graves of the Lelang commandery in Pyongyang and the royal tombs of Silla in Kyongju; Baekje in Seoul, Gongju, and Buyeo; and Goguryo in Pyongyang and Ji’an in northeastern China, which was also under the rule of Japan at the time. Ancient buildings, monuments, and remains in several capitals of Korean dynasties and kingdoms, such as Seoul (Joseon dynasty), Gaeseong (Goryeo dynasty), Pyongyang, Gongju, Buyeo, and Kyongju, were thoroughly surveyed, photographed, recorded, and classified. Other kinds of archaeological sites, such as historic fortresses, Buddhist temples, prehistoric graves, and shell middens, were also surveyed, and a number of important ones were excavated.

As a result, Japanese researchers prior to 1945 produced a huge amount of archaeological data that could be used to understand the prehistory and history of Korea. A framework