Koguryŏ , the largest of the three kingdoms to which the ancient Korea to 668. Koguryŏ is traditionally said to be 37 v. In the Tongge Basin of North Korea, the area may have been founded by Chu-mong, the leader of one of the tribes native to Puyŏ , but modern historians believe it is more likely that the tribal state was founded in the 2nd century v . Chr . was formed .
Under the rule of the king T'aejo (53–146 ce ), a royal inheritance system, had been established. With the proclamation of the king Sosurim (r. 371–384), who had issued various laws and decrees centralizing royal authority, developed to a full-fledged aristocratic state. Its territory was greatly expanded during the reigns of King Kwanggaet'o (391–412) and further by Changsu (r. 413–491). The entire northern half of the Korean Peninsula and in present-day China the Liaodong Peninsula and a significant portion of the Manchuria (Northeast China) was under the rule of Koguryŏ during the kingdom's peak season.
The central Bureaucracy had 12 styles, with a Tae-Daero (Prime Minister) at the top, the was elected every three years by his fellow officials. The officials ruled through a series of military garrisons established at strategic points throughout the state.
Due to Chinese influence Buddhism became 372 v. Introduced as ideological support for the newly developed centralized bureaucracy, and at about the same time Confucian education was introduced as a means of sustaining it of the social order. Daoism was also widely used in later years. The numerous tomb paintings that have survived give a good picture of the life of the ideology and the character of the Koguryŏ.
With the establishment of the unifying Dynasties Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) in China, Koguryŏ began to suffer incursions from China. The kingdom was defeated in 668 by the allied forces of the South Korean kingdom of Silla and the tang Dynasty and the entire peninsula fell under the United Silla Dynasty (668-935). Several locations in the far south Province Jilin , China, with early Koguryŏ ruins and tombs together became in 2004 UNESCO Declared World Heritage Site .