Goryeo

Related Topics:
Goryeong

The Goryeo dynasty (also Koryo) established in 918 ruled Korea from the fall of the Unified Silla in 935 until replaced by the Joseon dynasty in 1392.

The name "Goryeo" is a shortened form of "Goguryeo," one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea that were united by Silla in 668. The English name "Korea" derives from "Goryeo." See Names of Korea.

Two of this period's most notable products are Goryeo pottery — the famous Korean celadon pottery — and the Tripitaka Koreana — the Buddhist scriptures (Tripitaka) carved onto roughly 80,000 woodblocks. Goryeo also created the world's first metal-based movable type printing press in 1234.

History

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, Post-Goguryeo, later renamed Taebong (태봉)) by Gung Ye, and Hubaekje (후백제, later Baekje) by Gyeon Hwon. This period is known as the Later Three Kingdoms era.

Wanggeon (왕건), who was a lord of Songak (present-day Gaesong), 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.

Political structure

The terminology used in the court of Goryeo was that of an empire, not of a kingdom. The capital, Gaeseong, was called "Imperial Capital" (皇都) and the palace was referred to as "Imperial Palace" (皇城). Other terms, such as "Your Majesty" (陛下), "Prince" (太子), "Empress" (太后), and "Imperial Ordinance" (詔 or 勅) also suggest that 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 fourth 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 fifth king, Gyeongjong (hangul: 경종; hanja: 景宗), launched land-ownership reformation called Jeonsigwa (hangul: 전시과; hanja: 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 eleventh King Munjong (hangul: 문종; hanja: 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.

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 assassinated 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.

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 sued for peace 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 as a tributary ally of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty until King Gongmin took advantage of Zhu Yuanzhang's rebellion, and began to push Mongol forces back.

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.