 | Goryeo: Encyclopedia II - Goryeo - History
Goryeo - History
Gojoseon, Jin
Proto-Three Kingdoms:
Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye
Samhan, Gaya
Three Kingdoms:
Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla
Unified Silla, Balhae
Later Three Kingdoms
Goryeo
Joseon
Japanese Rule
Divided Korea:
N. Korea, S. Korea
Goryeo - Founding
As Unified Silla weakened and lost control over local lords, the country entered a period of civil war and rebellion. Major rebellion forces were led by Gung Ye (궁예, 弓裔, ?~918), Gi Hwon (기훤), Yang Gil (양길) and Gyeon Hwon (견훤). Two new kingdoms were established: Hugoguryeo (후고구려, Later Goguryeo, later renamed Taebong (태봉)) by Gung Ye, and Hubaekje (후백제, later Baekje) by Gyeonhwon. This period is known as the Later Three Kingdoms era.
Wanggeon (왕건), who was a lord of Songak (present-day Kaesong), joined Taebong but overthrew Gung Ye and established Goryeo in 918. The Later Three Kingdoms era ended as Goryeo annexed Silla and defeated Hubaekje in 936.
Goryeo - Political structure
The terminology used in the court of Goryeo was that of an empire, not of a kingdom. Capital Gaeseong was called "Imperial Capital (皇都)" and palace as "Imperial Palace (皇城)." Other terms like Your Majesty (陛下), Prince (太子), Empress (太后), Imperial Ordiance (詔 or 勅) also suggest Goryeo was an empire itself. After the Mongol invasion, Mongols forced Goryeo to give up on its status as an empire and it became a kingdom, to signify Mongolian influence.
In order to strengthen the power of the central government, Gwangjong, the 4th King, made a series of laws including that of freeing slaves in 958, and one creating the exam for hiring civil officials. Gwangjong also proclaimed himself Emperor, independent from any other countries.
The 5th king, Gyeongjong (경종, 景宗) launched land-ownership reformation called Jeonsigwa (전시과田柴科) and the 6th King Seongjong(성종, 成宗) appointed officials to local areas, which were previously succeeded by the lords. Between 993 and 1019, the Goryeo-Khitan Wars ravaged the northern border.
By the time of 11th King Munjong (문종, 文宗), the central government of Goryeo gained complete authority and power over local lords. Munjong and later kings emphasized the importance of civilian leadership over the military.
Goryeo - Power struggles
The House Yi of Inju (인주이씨, 仁州李氏) married the kings from Munjong to the 17th king, Injong. Eventually the Yis gained more power than the king himself. This led to the coup of Yi Ja-gyeom in 1126. The coup failed but the power of monarch was weakened; Goryeo underwent a civil war among the nobility.
In 1135, Myo Cheong argued to move the capital to Seogyeong (present day P'yŏngyang). This proposal divided the nobilities of Goryeo in half. One faction, led by Myo Cheong, believed in moving the capital to Pyongyang and expanding into Manchuria. The other one, led by Kim Bu-sik (author of the Samguk Sagi), wanted to keep the status quo. Myo Cheong failed to persuade the King and rebelled against the central government, but failed.
In 1170, a group of army officers led by Jeong Jung-bu (정중부, 鄭仲夫) and Yi Ui-bang (이의방, 李義方), launched a coup d'état and succeeded. King Injong went into exile and Myeongjong (명종,明宗) was made king. Effective power, however, lay with a succession of generals: Military rule of Goryeo had begun. In 1177, the young general Kyong Taesung rose to power and began an attempt to restore the full power of the monarch and purge the corruption of the state. However, he died in 1184, and was succeeded by the son of a slave Lee Euimin. His unrestrained corruption and cruelty led to a coup by a more traditionalist general, Choi Chungheon, who assasinated Yi Uimin and took supreme power in 1197. For the next 61 years, the Choe house ruled as military dicators, maintaining the kings as puppet monarchs; Choe Chungheon was succeeded in turn by his son Choi U, his grandson Choi Hang and his greatgrandson Choi Ui. On taking power, Choi Chungheon forced Meyongjong off the throne and replaced him by Sinjong, but after Sinjong died he forced two further kings off the throne until he found the pliable Gojong
Goryeo - Mongol invasions
See main article: Mongol invasions of Korea
In 1231, Mongolians under Ögedei Khan invaded Goryeo, as part of a general campaign to conquer China. The royal court moved to Ganghwa Island in the Bay of Gyeonggi, in 1232. The military ruler of the time Choe Chung-heon (최충헌, 崔忠獻) insisted on fighting back. Goryeo resisted for decades but finally surrendered in 1259. Some military officials who refused to surrender formed the Sambyeolcho Rebellion and resisted in the islands off the southern shore of the Korean peninsula. The Goryeo dynasty survived but it remained under Mongolian control until King Gongmin began to push Mongolian forces back.
Goryeo - Fall
In 1388, King U planned a campaign to invade present-day Liaoning of China. King U put the general Yi Seong-gye (later Taejo) in charge, but he stopped at the border and rebelled. Goryeo fell to General Yi In 1392. He then established the Joseon Dynasty.
Other related archives1135, 1170, 1177, 1184, 1197, 918, 958, Baekje, Balhae, Buddhist, Buyeo, Choe Chung-heon, Choi Chungheon, Divided Korea, Dongye, Emperor, Ganghwa Island, Gaya, Goguryeo, Gojong, Gojoseon, Goryeo, Goryeo-Khitan Wars, Gung Ye, Gwangjong, Gyeon Hwon, Hubaekje, Injong, Japanese Rule, Jeong Jung-bu, Jin, Joseon, Joseon Dynasty, Kaesong, King Gongmin, King Injong, King U, Korea, Korean peninsula, Later Three Kingdoms, Later Three Kingdoms era, Liaoning, List of Korea-related topics, List of Monarchs, Manchuria, Mongol invasions of Korea, Munjong, Myeongjong, N. Korea, Names of Korea, Okjeo, P'yŏngyang, Proto-Three Kingdoms, Rulers of Korea, S. Korea, Sambyeolcho Rebellion, Samguk Sagi, Samhan, Seongjong, Silla, Sinjong, Taebong, Taejo, Three Kingdoms, Tripitaka, Tripitaka Koreana, Unified Silla, Wanggeon, Yi Seong-gye, campaign to conquer China, celadon, civilian leadership over the military, coup d'état, Ögedei Khan
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
