Decline and fall
Scholars dispute the course of the decline and fall of Gojoseon, depending on how historians view Gija Joseon. Joseon Sangosa suggests the theory that Gojoseon disintegrated by about 300 B.C.E. as it gradually lost the control of its former fiefs. Many smaller states sprang from the former territory of Gojoseon such as Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye, Guda-guk, Galsa-guk, Gaema-guk, and Hangin-guk. Goguryeo and Baekje descended from Buyeo. The Three Kingdoms refer to Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla, although Buyeo and the Gaya confederacy existed into 5th and 6th centuries respectively.