Hwandan Gogi, also called Handan Gogi, is a compilation of texts on ancient Korean history. It is a bound volume of four supposedly historical records: Samseonggi, Dangun Segi, Bukbuyeogi and Taebaek Ilsa. According to its introduction, the text was compiled in 1911 by Gye Yeon-su and supervised by Yi Gi. The entire set of texts, of which the only extant version is a modern transcription by Yi Yu-rip published in 1979, is widely regarded as a forgery among academics.
Some historians view the Hwandan Gogi as worthy of further scholarly scrutiny, believing that it is at least partly based on historically valuable, ancient texts.
The record that five stars were arranged in straight line at 1733 BCE. This astronomical record in Hwandan Gogi is proved by Professor Park Changbeom, and it is published in the journal. They show that the five stars were arranged in straight line at 1734 BCE with the assumption that Gojoseon was established at 2333 BCE.
Law Professor Junhwan Go asserts several reasons why the Hwandan Gogi is considerable.
The territory of Gojoseon described in Hwandan Gogi accords with the distribution area of the mandolin-shaped dagger of Gojoseon. Moreover, this territory as advocated by Yoonet al. and Yi Byeongdo coincides with the territory described in Hwandan Gogi.
Criticism
Most historians in South Korea, North Korea and Japan generally consider the text to have been created in recent times, because of the following reasons:
The route through which Hwandangogi was first published is not clear.
* Yi Gi could not have supervised the Hwandangogi which was first compiled in 1911, because he died then.
* The contents of Cheonbu Gyeong could not be included in Taebaek Ilsa before 1911 because the Cheonbu Gyeong was first discovered and known to the Daejonggyo in 1916 by Gae Yeonsu, the person who compiled Hwandan Gogi.
* The 1911 edition has not been found. There is no proof that the book was kept by Yi Yu-rip and lost in 1975, and then restored by Yi Yu-rip before 1979.
Other criticisms made on a South Korean television show include unrealistic descriptions found in the texts, for example:
Hwan-guk is said to have spanned several thousand kilometers ten thousand years ago
Rulers of Baedal are said to have lived regularly for 120–150 years
