• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.604-615
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• 2009

The independent groups, which were scattered all over the Korean Peninsula in the bronze age, may be called 'walled-town states' rather than 'chiefdoms'. Gi-Back Lee, a famous Korean historian, argued that 'the walled-town state' rulers kept themselves safe by staying inside a mud-walled or wood-walled castle on a hilltop and they governed the farmers living in the surrounding plains. Among the twenty-one castle sites found in Jinju region, five are believed to be 'walled-town state' sites. Inside the castle are found no well sites. The average altitude of the five castles is 189.4m and the average length of their circumferences is 250m. Archeological excavation research on the castle sites is expected for more scientific conclusion on the 'walled-town states'.