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Koguryo (or Goguryeo. traditional founding date 37 BC; probably 2nd century BC – AD 668) was a kingdom in the northern Korean Peninsula and Manchuria. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, along with Baekje and Silla.

The modern English name "Korea" derives from the Koryo(or Goryeo) Dynasty (935-1392). Koguryo was also called Koryo at that time (See Names of Korea). It is not clear what "Koguryo" means, but it has been suggested that the name is related to a Korean word "Guri", meaning copper, because Koguryo was famous for its copper mines.. In addition, the Korean people may have once been called "Guhwan". Some scholars have suggested that "Guhwan" was changed to "Guri" or "Guryeo" when it was transliterated into the Chinese writing system. Thus, "Koguryo" means the nation of "Guryeo" or "Guhwan", whose rulers have a family name of Go.

Koryo-era records say it was founded in 37 BC by Jumong, although it probably dates back to the 2nd century BC, around the time of Gojoseon's fall. Other small states in the former Gojoseon territory included Buyeo, Okjeo and Dongye, all of which were later conquered by Koguryo. It was a major regional power of East Asia until it was defeated by a Silla-Tang alliance in 668. After its defeat, it was divided between the Unified Silla and Balhae states of Korea.

History

Founding, growth, and expansion (37 B.C-391)

According to the Samguk Sagi, a 12th century Korean history, Jumong (posthumously called King King Tongmyong) founded the state in 37 BC in a region called Jolbon Buyeo, usually thought to be located in the middle Yalu and T'ung-chia river basin, an area that now overlaps the China-North Korea border. However, Kim Bu-sik, the chief compiler of the Samguk Sagi and a direct descendant of Silla nobility, is widely thought to have been justifying Silla's unification of the Three Kingdoms by retroactively claiming the longest history for Silla.

Many modern scholars believe Koguryo was actually founded in the 2nd century BC. In the History of Tang, it is recorded that Emperor Taizong of Tang refers to Koguryo's history as being some 900 years old. In 75 BC, a local confederacy which may have included Koguryo drove China's Xuantu commandery west from the Amnok River valley.

The Koguryo people originated from Bukbuyeo, integrating with existing chiefdoms. In the aftermath of the disintegration of Gojoseon and Buyeo, various small tribes coalesced into five chiefdoms along the banks of the Yalu River, and these five were eventually led by the king of Koguryo.

King Tongmyong

Koguryo was founded by Jumong, who migrated south from Buyeo. Jumong is a Korean name transcribed in hanja as 朱蒙 (Jumong, 주몽), 鄒牟(Chumo, 추모), or 仲牟 (Jungmo, 중모), with the family name of Hae, the royal surname of Buyeo. The family name was posthumously changed to Go (meaning "high" in Hanja).

Jumong is said to be descended from Hae Mosu, the son of the Sun-god (hae in modern Korean means sun). Also, legend says that Jumong left Dongbuyeo ("Eastern Buyeo") for Jolbon Buyeo, where he was exiled and married the daughter of its ruler, and subsequently became king himself, founding Koguryo with a group of his followers from his native country. "Jolbon Buyeo" thus seems to have been a branch of Buyeo that predates Jumong's founding of Koguryo.

Koguryo maintained close early relationship with Dongbuyeo until it was absorbed into Koguryo. Jumong is recorded to have conquered the states of Biryu (비류국, 沸流國) in 36 BC, Haeng-in (행인국, 荇人國) in 33 BCE, and North Okjeo in 28 BC.

Centralized kingdom and expansion

Koguryo became a significant independent kingdom in the first century, and expanded its power in the region. By the time of Taejo of Koguryo in 53, the five tribes became five centrally ruled districts of the kingdom, and foreign relations and the military were controlled by the king. Taejo successfully invaded the northern Korean peninsula by attacking Han China's commanderies of Lolang, Xiantu, and Liaodong, becoming fully independend from the Han commanderies.

Continuing its expansion to the north, Koguryo began large-scale, organized attacks against the Chinese, as well as conquering neighboring statelets such as Okjeo and Dongye. New laws regulated peasants and the aristocracy, as tribal leaders continued to be absorbed into the central aristocracy. Royal succession changed from fraternal to patrilineal, strengthening the royal court.

Further expansion

As Koguryo extended its reach into the Liaodong peninsula, the last Chinese commandery, at Lelang, was destroyed by Micheon of Koguryo in 313, and the Three Kingdoms dominated the peninsula.

The expansion met temporary setbacks when in 342, the Xianbei (鮮卑) tribe of Former Yan state (前燕) attacked Koguryo’s capital, and in 371, King Geunchogo of Baekje sacked Koguryo’s largest city, Pyongyang, and killed King Gogukwon of Koguryo in battle.

Turning to domestic stability and the unification of various conquered tribes, Sosurim of Koguryo proclaimed new laws, embraced Buddhism as the national religion in 372, and established a national educational institute called the Daehak (대학, 大學). By 391, the kingdom's rulers had achieved undisputed control of all of Manchuria and even eastern inner Mongolia, as well as of the northern and central regions of the Korean Peninsula.

Rule of Great King Kwanggaeto the Great (391-412)

The greatest territorial expansion of the dynasty began during the reigns of Great King Kwanggaeto the Great (whose name literally means “great expander of territory”) and his son King Jangsu.

Great King Kwanggaeto reigned from 391 to 412, during which Koguryo conquered 64 walled cities and 1,400 villages from one campaigan against Buyeo alone, destroyed Later Yan and annexed Buyeo and Mohe tribes to the north, made Baekje submit to him and retreat to the south, contributed to the dissolution of the Gaya confederacy, and turned Silla into a protectorate in wars against Gaya and Wa (Japan). In doing so, he brought about the loose unification of Korea that lasted about 50 years. His accomplishments are recorded on the Great King Kwanggaeto Stele erected in 414 in southern part of Manchuria.

King Jangsu, ascending to the throne in 413, moved the capital to Pyongyang in 427, evidence of the intensifying rivalries between it and the other two Korean kingdoms of Baekje and Silla to its south. Jangsu, like his father, continued Koguryo's territorial expansion into Manchuria and reached the Eastern Songhua River, which marked Koguryo's farthest reach to the north. Jangsu also advanced into the east, occupying part of Russia's Littoral Province.

During this period, Koguryo territory included three fourths of the Korean peninsula, including today's Seoul, and most of the Manchuria and the Russian maritime province. Koguryo considered itself the center of the world, and founder Jumong the son of Heaven. The title of the ruler, Taewang, while literally translated as the Greatest of the Kings, is often translated to mean Emperor.

In the late 5th century, it absorbed Bukbuyeo and more Mohe and Khitan tribes, and competed with Northern Wei in the north, and continued its strong influence over Silla. Gwanggeto and Jangsu's rules marked Koguryo's zenith of territorial control.

Internal strife

Koguryo’s fortunes began to change in the 6th century. King Anjang was assassinated, and succeeded by his brother King Anwon, during whose reign aristocratic factionalism increased. A polotical schism deepened as two factions advocated different princes for succession, until the eight-year-old Yang-won was finally crowned. But the power struggle was never resolved definitively, as feudal lords with private armies appointed de facto rulers called Daedaero.

Taking advantage of Koguryo's internal struggle, a nomadic group called the Tuchueh attacked Koguryo's northern castles in the 550s and conquered Koguryo's northern lands. Weakening Koguryo even more, as civil war continued among feudal lords over royal succession, Baekje and Silla allied to attack Koguryo from the south in 551. Koguryo fought back to reclaim the Seoul region that had been taken by Silla, and maneuvered to effectively sever the Silla-Baekje alliance, continuing its reign as a powerful dynasty.

Koguryo-Sui Wars (598-614)

Main article:Koguryo-Sui Wars.

The Sui Dynasty was founded in 581. It grew in power and emerged as a powerful dynasty in China. Koguryo's expansionism conflicted with the Sui Dynasty and tensions built up. In 598 the Sui Dynasty of China, provoked by Koguryo military offensives in the Liaodong region, attacked Koguryo in the first of the Koguryo-Sui Wars. In this campaign, as with those that followed in 612, 613, and 614, Sui met with defeat.

One of Sui's most disastrious campaigns was the campaign of 612, in which Sui mobilised at least 1,138,000 combat troops, also provided Koguryo, and modern Korea, with one of its great national heroes: the general Eulji Mundeok, who led the Koguryo troops to victory by luring the Sui troops into a trap outside of Pyongyang. At the Battle of Salsu River, Koguryo soldiers released water from a dam, which overwhelmed the Chinese army and drowned nearly every Chinese soldier. Chinese histories record that of the over 300,000 Sui troops that crossed into Koguryo in 612, less than 3,000 returned to China.

The wars depleted the national treasury of the Sui Dynasty and after revolts and political strife, the Sui Dynasty disintegrated in 618. However the wars exhausted Koguryo's strength and its power declined.

Silla-Tang invasion (645-662)

Although Koguryo had been strong enough to repulse the forces of the Sui Dynasty, combined attacks by Silla from the south and the Tang Dynasty of China (618-907) from the west proved too formidable. The Tang Dynasty was established in 618 and about thirty years after the Koguryo-Sui Wars, the Tang mobilized an army to take revenge on Koguryo and launched a series of attacks on Koguryo.

A combination of bad weather and flawed strategy meant Tang's first attempts under the personal leadership of Emperor Gaozu proved inconclusive and Koguryo was able to repel thousands of Tang troops at its western boundary.

However, under Gaozu's successor Taizong, Tang forged an alliance with Koguryo's rival Silla after defeating Koguryo's western ally, the Gokturks. This, combined with Koguryo's increasing political instability following the 642 murder of its king Yeongnyu at the hands of the military general Yeon Gaesomun, proved the kingdom's undoing.

When Yeon Gaesomun rejected negotiations with Silla, Silla was forced to look to its ties with Tang. In 645, Tang led an attack against Koguryo. Koguryo was able to repel the attack at Anshiseong, but the attacks continued, weakening Koguryo’s defenses.

Goguryo's ally in the southwest, Baekje, fell to the Silla-Tang alliance in 660; the victorious allies continued their assault on Koguryo for the next eight years and eventually vanquished the weary kingdom, which had been suffering from a series of famines and internal strife.

Fall

In 666 (though dates vary from 664-666), Yeon Gaesomun died and civil war ensued between his three sons. This greatly contributed to the kingdom's weakness as it faced its gravest challenge. Koguryo was finally overthrown by the Silla-Tang alliance in 668.

Silla thus unified Korea in 668, but the kingdom's reliance on China's Tang Dynasty had its price. Eventually Silla had to forcibly resist the imposition of Chinese rule over the entire peninsula, which Silla's rulers did, but their strength did not extend beyond the Taedong River.

Aftermath

After the downfall of Koguryo in 668, a few hundred thousands of Koguryo people were taken to Tang China as prisoners of war. At that time, the total number of people in Koguryo is estimated as about 4 millions because Samguk Sagi says that the total number of households was about seven hundred thousands. However, some Koguryo people stayed behind and rebelled against the Tang and Silla by starting Koguryo revival movements. Among these are Geom Mojam, Heuk Sa-Byul, Dae Geol-Jungsang, and several others. Working against these revival movements were the Tang, who had tried but failed to form a commandery to rule over the area.

The revival movements, however, were crushed, but one survived to carry on the legacy of Koguryo: Dae Joyeong. Dae Joyeong, the son of Dae Geol-Jungsang, reconquered most of Koguryo's land and established the Kingdom of Balhae in 698, 30 years after the fall of Koguryo. The southern portion of the erstwhile Koguryo territory was claimed by Silla, while the rest was succeeded by Balhae. In her diplomatic language with Japan, Balhae stood as a successor state to Koguryo. Balhae existed as a nation until it was conquered in 926 by the Khitans.

In the early 10th century, Taebong (also called Hu-Koguryo ("Later Koguryo")), which briefly rose in rebellion against Silla, also claimed to be a successor to Koguryo, as did Koryo, the state that replaced Silla to rule the unified Korean peninsula.

Culture

Remains of walled towns, fortesses, palaces, tombs, and artifacts have been found in North Korea, including ancient paintings in a Koguryo tomb complex in Pyongyang. Some ruins are also still visible in China, for example at Onyeosan ("Five Maiden Peaks") near Ji'an (集安) in Manchuria along the present border with North Korea, site of the state's first permanent capital. Ji'an is also home to a large collection of Koguryo era tombs, including what Chinese scholars consider to be the tombs of kings Great King Kwanggaeto and his son Jangsu, as well as perhaps the best-known Koguryo artifact, the mammoth funeral stele of Great King Kwanggaeto, around whose interpretation a debate still rages. The stele is one of the primary sources for pre-fifth century Koguryo history.

Koguryo art, preserved largely in tomb paintings, is noted for the vigor of its imagery. It absorbed influences from the northern dynasties of China.

Cultural vestiges of Koguryo may be found in modern Korean culture, for example, Ondol, Koguryo's unique floor heating system. A modernized version can be found in the floor of every modern house in Korea.

Language

Main article:Koguryo language.

The Koguryo language is unknown except for a small number of words, which mostly suggests that it was similar to the language of Silla and influenced by the Tungusic languages. Supporters of the Altaic language family often classify the Koguryo language as a member of that language family. Most Korean linguists believe that the Koguryo language was closest to the Altaic languages out of the Three Kingdoms that followed Gojoseon.

Striking similarities between Baekje and Koguryo can also be found, which is consistent with the legends that describe Baekje being founded by the sons of Koguryo's founder. The Koguryo names for government posts are mostly similar to those of Baekje and Silla.

The American linguist Christopher Beckwith has also noted similarities in certain vocabulary with Old Japanese. Some linguists propose the so-called "Buyeo languages" family that includes the languages of Buyeo, Koguryo, Baekje, and Old Japanese. Chinese records suggest that the languages of Koguryo, Buyeo, East Okjeo, and Gojoseon were similar, while Koguryo language differed significantly from that of Malgal (Mohe).

Some words of Koguryo origin can be found in the old Korean language (early 10th-late 14th centuries) but most were replaced by Silla-originated ones before long.

See also: Korean language

World Heritage Site

UNESCO added Complex of Koguryo Tombs in present-day North Korea and Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom in present-day China to the World Heritage Sites in 2004.

Modern politics

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Conventionally, Koguryo is viewed as a Korean state, more specifically as one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Traditional Chinese histories also identified Koguryo with Koryo, a Korean dynasty that took its name from Koguryo and ruled Korea for centuries.

Starting from the 1980's, the People's Republic of China began to re-identify Koguryo, especially the first half of Koguryo's history before it moved its capital to the Korean peninsula, as a part of the regional history of China rather than Korea. This is based on the following:

• that Koguryo was established in Manchuria, now a part of China;
• that Koguryo actively sought a tributary relationship with successive Chinese empires
• the claim that after the end of Koguryo, its descendants were largely assimilated into the Han Chinese
• the claim that the Koryo Dynasty and hence, the Korean nation, descends from Samhan and Silla, not Koguryo; and that Koryo appropriated the name from Koguryo when in fact the two were established by different ethnicities.

In contrary, Korean historian insists the objection about the advocacy of north east project, and as follows.

• Claim that Koguryo's second capital city was located at Pyongyang, North Korea. Before the capital city was moved, the territory of Koguryo was North Korea and a part of Manchuria.
• Koguryo lasted for about 700 years at least, while there was no contemporary Chinese state that lasted for more than 400 years. Koguryo also defeated the Sui and Tang Dynasties of China several times before being destroyed eventually by the Tang
• The claim that only a few hundred thousand people were captured among 4 million people. Instead, Koguryo was continued by the state of Balhae; when Balhae was destroyed, its population dissipated into the Korean dynasty of Koryo. Hence, Silla was not the only source of the modern Korean nation.
• Only Jeolla and Kyongsang were descendants of Samhan, where is south of Geum River. There are more people from other than Samhan and Silla in north of Geum River. The entire North Koreans are descendant of Guguryeo, and North Korean has the same languange with South Korean.

The Chinese government launched the Northeast China Project, a 20-billion-yuan (2.4 billion US dollars) project dealing with China's Northeast in 2002, rewriting history textbooks and restoring important Koguryo sites in China. In 2004 this dispute threatened to lead to diplomatic disputes between China and South Korea, although all of the governments involved seem to exhibit no desire to see the issue damage relations.

Legacy

See also: Gando Convention

Notes

1. 류, 렬 (1995). 세나라시기의 리두에 대한 연구. 서울: 한국문화사. ISBN 89-7735-173-1.
2. Lee, Ki-baik (1984). A new history of Korea, tr. by Wagner & Shultz. Seoul: Ilchogak. p. 19. ISBN 89-337-0204-0.
3. This relationship is also supported by non-Chinese historians, including Byeon (1999), p. 40.
4. 동북공정과 고대사 왜곡의 대응방안. 서울: 백암. 2006. ISBN 89-7625-119-9. {{cite book}}: |first= missing |last= (help)

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• Rulers of Korea
• Complex of Koguryo Tombs
• List of monarchies

References

• Byeon Tae-seop (변태섭) (1999). 韓國史通論 (Hanguksa tongnon) (Outline of Korean history), 4th ed. ISBN 89-445-9101-6.

• Koguryo (Encyclopedia Britannica; paid registration required to view full article)
• Korea - The Three Kingdoms Period (U.S. Library of Congress)
• Gaogouli role in Chinese history traced (China Daily, June 24th, 2003)
• Korea, 1-500 A.D. Metropolitan Museum
• Yonson Ahn: Competing Nationalisms The mobilisation of history and archaeology in the Korea-China wars over Koguryo/Gaogouli (Japan Focus)
• Yonson Ahn: The Korea-China Textbook War What's It All About? (History News Network)
• Austin Ramzy: Rewriting History China and the Koreas feud over the ancient kingdom of Koguryo (Time Asia, August 16th, 2004)
• Bruce Klingner: China shock for South Korea (Asia Times, September 11th, 2004)
• Lost kingdom, modern spat Antiquities spark Korea-China row of historical proportions (JoongAng Daily, April 7th, 2006)

External links

• English Content and Conclusion of "History of Koguryo"(Korean) By Hyoung-Sik Shin, Ewha Womans University Press, Seoul, Korea 2003
• Information about the ancient kingdom
• "The Forgotten Glory of Koguryo" by Lee Wha Rang
• Excavated paintings about the ancient kingdom
• -An excellent site to learn about the history, culture of Koguryo.

• History of Manchuria
• Former countries in Asia
• Koguryo
• History of Korea
• 1st millennium BC establishments
• 668 disestablishments