Tradition posits the time around 37 BCE as the emergence of the Goguryeo kingdom under the reign of Emperor Dongmyeongseong though some sources use the year 18 BCE. While dates are not entirely certain, it is agreed by various sources that sometime in the late 1st century BCE, a leader called "Jumong," who was also known as "Dongmeyongseong," left his homeland of Buyeo to set up a new state. At this time, the region where Goguryeo was situated consisted of various chiefdoms and small states, peopled by various Altaic peoples. The emerging Goguryeo state immediately faced several major challenges including a lack of grain revenue and political and military threats from more established neighboring states and chiefdoms as well as the presence of the Chinese empire. Through good leadership, however, the fledgling Goguryeo state overcame its rivals and became a regional power. Goguryeo emerged as a result of the unification of several Korean warrior tribes that controlled a vast swath of territory including the northern half of the Korean peninsula and Manchuria.
Prior to this period, the Chinese Han Dynasty had attempted to colonize the region by setting up "commanderies" in the present-day Liaoning and Jilin provinces of the modern Peoples' Republic of China. These commanderies eventually fell under attack from Korean tribes who resisted or revolted against Han incursions. The power of the Chinese dyansties waxed and waned over time, but even as the Chinese empire fell into disarray, its presence continued to be a major obstacle. To deal with the threat of the Chinese empire, King Taejo of the first century CE initiated a military campaign against the commanderies of Lelang, Xuantu, and Liaodong. In the fourth century CE, the kingdom of Goguryeo eventually drove out the Chinese military presence, though the Chinese empire would continue to be a major threat, especially in the late Samguk era when the powerful and expansionistic Tang Dynasty arose.
Due to the frequency of conflicts with the Chinese military presence as well as other local Korean tribes and cheifdoms, the aristocracy of the early Goguryeo state had a military nature. The newly-formed kingdom itself was shaped in large part by its clashes with the Chinese. The lack of resources and the high level of competition in the region also was a major driving force behind the Goguryeo militarism. By the first century CE, the territories of the Goguryeo kingdom expanded into the regions around the Liao, Sungari and Taedong Rivers. The rulers of Goguryeo established themselves as emperors and regarded their rank as being on equal level with that of the Chinese emperors, demonstrating the strong rivalry between the Goguryeo kingdom and the Chinese dynasties.
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