While Chinese and Japanese scholars claim that the name Nakrang actually refers to the Lelang Commandery of China's Han dynasty and Choi Ri was Lelang's governor rather than a King,[3][4] Korean scholars often view Nakrang as an independent kingdom.
[2] Because the record of Samguk Sagi also suggested that Choi Ri and Hodong met near modern-day Hamhung, some South Korean scholars speculate Nakrang to be a kingdom centered around Hamhung, possibly related to the several states that briefly evolved and lived after the abolishment of Lelang Commandery, before being absorbed by Goguryeo.
[2] North Korean academia fully assert that Nakrang was an independent country that existed in modern-day Pyongyang and composed Mahan confederacy, arguing Lelang Commandery to be actually located near Liao River of Liaodong Peninsula.
[3] The North Korean academia also speculate the Chinese-style ruins and relics found in Pyongyang to be either the war bounties, introduced through trade, or even forged.
This perspective claims that it was referred to with the name of a kingdom because the residents were autonomous but were ultimately controlled by the Chinese commandery.