Today, we’re going to find out one of historical figures who are difficult to be found in korean literature and cultural books. In addition, korean formal education doesn’t cover this hidden figure. Despite of these kind of conditions, surprisingly, almost every Korean know him. Can you guess who is this? Thanks for this contents, when you have a conversation with Korean as foreigners, I’m sure that you can surprise them. This series(introducing korean hidden figures) will be continued, and the very first person that we’ll study today is Gungye. Gungye is a historical figure who lived quite a long time ago with no real portraits left. But There is no one who hasn’t heard of him. In short, Gungye is well-known person. And many TV stars are imitating Gung Ye It is because of the drama called Taejo Wang Geon whose image quality is not good and looks like an old drama. Nevertheless, this drama attracted so many viewers and fans! Yes, the highest viewership rating is over 60%, ranking sixth among many Korean dramas. Nowadays, once we get 20% of rating, it is called a jackpot. Can you believe this? But even if it was famous before, isn't it strange that even young people know the Gungye until now? Due to the famous scenes that have been popular even after the drama is ended. This is the reason! Let me show you one of the most popular scenes right now. Yes, this person is Gungye. he doesn't have any hair, wore an eye patch and seems unique. Gungye is the king who appeared in the post-Three Kingdoms era in Korean history. According to Samguk Sagi, the most famous book that records Korean history, Gungye was born in Dano, a traditional Korean holiday. However, the royal prophet foretold that a baby born in Dano would bring disaster to the country. The officials of the palace and the royals stronly urged the king to kill the infant. So the king ordered the soldiers to kill the baby. However, when the army ran to the mother's residence, she threw a baby on the second floor, and a maid hiding under the building got a baby. Although her plot tricked the soldiers, the maid had accidentally poked the left eye of the baby, causing Gung Ye to lose one eye. She hid Gung Ye and raised him secretly. when she died, Gung Ye became a Buddhist monk. At the time, the monarch of Silla was Queen Jinseong. Queen Jinseong was a powerless ruler and the government was largely corrupted by interventions of royal family members and rampant bribery among members of the royal court. The corrupt government continuously exploited the peasants and farmers, massively raised taxes which led to many revolts and rebellions. Local forces, called the Hojok, actually ruled the province like kings, but the government's only concern was their power struggle. Silla (after nearly a millennium as a centralized kingdom) was quickly declining, and Gung Ye instigated his own rebellion in present-day Kaesong. Gung Ye eventually defeated and subjugated hojoks and other local lords in central Korea to proclaim himself king of Hugoguryeo in 901. With his rival Gyeon Hwon's Hubaekje taking control of the peninsula's southwest, he opened up the Later Three Kingdoms period of Korean History. And he expanded his rule into the Chungcheong region. Searching for a better way to unite his citizens, he wanted a more potent unifying theology. Therefore, around 905, he turned to religion. He decided what was needed to unite people under his power was religious faith, and using his previous occupation as a Buddhist monk, he referred to himself as Maitreya Buddha, who came to the world to guide and save the suffering people from all hardship. In his later days, it is recorded that Gung Ye started to suffer from paranoia. He accused many arbitrarily of treason and sentenced anyone who opposed him to death, including Kang, one of his wives, and his two sons. As a result, in 918 generals drove Gung Ye out, and started a revolution. and enthroned Wang Geon, one of Gung Ye's followers and the previous chief minister, of his nation, as king. Gung Ye is said to have escaped the palace, but was killed shortly thereafter either by peasants who mistook him for a thief. Soon thereafter, the Goryeo dynasty was proclaimed, and Wang Geon went on to defeat the rivaling Silla and Hubaekje to reunite the three kingdoms in 936. Gungye. Did you fully understand him now? Shout out if you have Korean friends. Who made the cough? It was Choi owlowl. Thank you for watching my video. If it was useful and helpful, please subscribe me! And don’t forget to ‘like’!

• published: 20 Apr 2020
• views: 7662