Kim Yushin
His statue in Namsan Park, Seoul, South Korea
Korean name
Hangul	김유신
Hanja	金庾信
Revised Romanization	Kim Yu-shin
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Yu-sin

Kim Yushin (595 – 1 July 673) was a general in 7th-century Silla. He led the unification of the Korean peninsula by Silla under the reign of King Muyeol of Silla and King Munmu of Silla. He is said to have been the great-grandchild of King Guhae of Geumgwan Gaya, the last ruler of the Geumgwan Gaya state. This would have given him a very high position in the Silla bone rank system, which governed the political and military status that a person could attain.

Much of what we know about Kim's life comes from the detailed account in the Samguk Sagi, Yeoljeon 1-3, and the much briefer record in the Samguk Yusa, vol. 1.

Early years[link]

Kim Yushin was the son of General Kim Seohyeon and Lady Manmyeong, who was a daughter of King Jinheung of Silla. He was born in Gyeyang, Jincheon County in 595, became a Hwarang warrior at just 15 and was an accomplished swordsman and a Gukseon (국선, 國仙; Hwarang leader) by the time he was 18 years old. By the age of 34 (in 629) he had been given total command of the Silla armed forces. Three years after Princess Deokman became Queen Seondeok of Silla, who kept Kim Yushin as commander in chief of the royal army.

Military accomplishments[link]

Equestrian statue of Kim Yusin at Hwangseong Park in Gyeongju (ROK)

Kim's first military engagement in command is believed to have occurred around 629 AD, and through it he quickly proved his capabilities as a warrior. Silla was in a constant struggle with its neighbor to the west, Baekje, over territory. There had been gains and losses on both sides, and the struggle lasted for many years. It was during this period that Kim rose through the ranks of the military, rising to the position of general and becoming a skilled field commander.

Baekje and Silla had formed an alliance to counter Goguryeo's power and its intentions to push southwards, and together they launched a successful attack on it, Silla taking the northern territory and Baekje the one south of the Han river. But Silla broke the alliance and attacked Baekje in order to claim both territories for itself. After this betrayal, Baekje allied with Goguryeo. When Goguryeo and Baekje attacked Silla in 655, Silla joined forces with Tang Dynasty China to battle the invaders. Although it is not clear when Kim first became a general, he was certainly commanding the Silla forces at this time. Eventually, with the help of the Silla navy and some 13,000 Tang forces, Kim attacked the Baekje capital, Sabi, in 660, in one of the most famous battles of the century, the Battle of Hwangsanbeol.

The Baekje defenders were commanded by none other than General Gyebaek, although the Baekje forces consisted of about 5,000 men and were no match for Kim's warriors, which numbered about ten times as many. Baekje, which had been experiencing internal political problems, crumbled. Kim's Silla forces and their Tang allies now moved on Goguryeo from two directions, and in 661 they attacked the seemingly impregnable Goguryeo kingdom, but were repelled. The attack had weakened Goguryeo, though. In 667 another offensive was launched which, in 668, finally destroyed Goguryeo.

Silla still had to subdue various pockets of resistance, but their efforts were then focused on ensuring that their Tang allies did not overstay their welcome on the peninsula. After some difficult conflicts, Silla eventually forced out the Tang troops and united the peninsula under their rule.

Legends[link]

Many stories exist about Kim Yusin. It is told that he once was ordered to subdue a rebel army, but his troops refused to fight as they had seen a large star fall from the sky and took this to be a bad omen. To regain the confidence of his troops, the General used a large kite to carry a fire ball into the sky. The soldiers, seeing the star return to heaven, rallied and defeated the rebels. It is also related how General Kim ingeniously used kites as a means of communication between his troops when they had become divided between islands and the mainland. Another story relates how, while Silla was allied with the Tang Dynasty against Baekje, an argument broke out between Kim's commander and So Jung-Bang, a Tang general. As the argument escalated into a potentially bloody confrontation, Kim's sword was said to have leaped from its scabbard into his hand. Because the sword of a warrior was believed to be his soul, this occurrence so frightened the Tang general that he immediately apologized to the Silla officers.

Incidents such as this kept the Tang in awe of the Hwarang, and meant that in later years, when asked by the Tang emperor to attack Silla, the Tang generals refused, claiming that although Silla was small, it could not be defeated.

His final years[link]

Throughout his life Kim Yusin had felt that Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla should not be separate countries but united. He is regarded as the driving force in the unification of the Korean Peninsula, and is the most famous of all the generals in the unification wars of the Three Kingdoms.

Tomb of General Kim Yusin in Gyeongju

Kim Yusin was rewarded handsomely for his efforts in the campaigns. In 668, King Munmu bestowed upon him the honorary title of Taedaegakgan (태대각간, 太大角干), something like "Grand Sub-Chief." He reportedly received a village of over 500 households, and in 669 was given some 142 separate horse farms, spread throughout the kingdom. He died four years later, leaving behind ten children.

Kim Yusin lived to the age of 79 and is considered to be one of the most famous generals and masters of Korean swords in Korean history. He is the focus of numerous stories and legends, and is familiar to most Koreans from a very early age. Following his death in 673, General Kim was awarded the honorary title of King Heungmu, and was buried at the foot of Songhwa Mountain,35°50′44″N 129°11′28″E / 35.8456477°N 129.1911292°E / 35.8456477; 129.1911292 near Gyeongju in southeastern Korea, in a tomb as splendid as that of kings.

Family[link]

Kim Yusin had two sisters, Kim Bohui and Kim Munhui (Hangul: 김문희, Hanja: 金文姬). Kim Munhui, later known as Queen Munmyeong (Hangul: 문명왕후, Hanja: 文明王后), married Yusin's childhood friend King Muyeool of Silla, who is credited for having led the unification of the Korean peninsula under Silla. Muyeol and Munmyeong were the parents of King Munmu of Silla and Kim Inmun.

Kim Yusin's wife, Lady Jiso (智炤夫人), was the third daughter of King Muyeol of Silla. Yusin had ten children. His second son, Kim Wonsul, would later play a central role in completing the independence of Silla from the Tang Dynasty.

Legacy[link]

Kim Yushin is remembered by his people to have been one of the greatest generals in Korean history. His ultimate legacy is the unifying of the Korean nation. One of his ten children, his second son Kim Wonsul, became a general during the time of King Munmu of Silla, and he was essential in unifying Silla.

Sources[link]

• McBride, Richard D., II. “Hidden Agendas in the Life Writings of Kim Yusin.” Acta Koreana 1 (August 1998): 101-142.

See also[link]

• List of Korea-related topics
• Korean history
• Three Kingdoms of Korea
• Queen Seondeok (TV series)

External links[link]

• Kim Yusin

This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (October 2007)

For the historical drama, see Yeon Gaesomun (TV series).

Yeon Gaesomun
Portrait of Yeon Gaesomun
Korean name
Hangul	연개소문[1]
Hanja	淵蓋蘇文[1]
Revised Romanization	Yeon Gaesomun
McCune–Reischauer	Yŏn Kaesomun

Yeon Gaesomun^[1] (Hangeul:연개소문 Hanja:淵 蓋蘇文 or 伊梨 柯須弥)(603–666) was a powerful and controversial military dictator and Generalissimo^{[citation needed]} in the waning days of Goguryeo, which was one of the Three Kingdoms of ancient Korea. Yeon is also remembered for a number of successful resistance in military conflicts with Tang Dynasty under Emperor Li Shimin and his son Emperor Gaozong. Their failure to Yeon was the only defeat that Emperor Li Shimin ever suffered on the battlefield.

Traditional Korean histories paint Yeon as a despotic leader, whose cruel policies and disobedience to his monarch led to the fall of Goguryeo. However, his achievements in defending Goguryeo against Chinese onslaughts have inspired Korean nationalist historians, most notably the 19th century Korean historian and intellectual Shin Chaeho, to term Yeon the greatest hero in Korean history. Many Korean scholars today echo Shin and praise Yeon as a soldier-statesman without equal in Korean history, though other scholars strongly disagree. Chinese and Japanese scholars continue to hold an unfavorable view of Yeon^{[citation needed]}.

Biography[link]

Yeon Gaesomun was the first, and oldest son of Yeon Taejo, the Prime minister (막리지, 莫離支) of Goguryeo during the reigns of King Pyeongwon of Goguryeo and King Yeongyang of Goguryeo. It is known that the Yeon family was always of high rank and status in Goguryeo. Yeon's grandfather Yeon Ja-yu was also a prime minister of Goguryeo. Information about Yeon Gaesomun comes largely from the Samguk Sagi's accounts of King Yeongnyu and King Bojang (Goguryeo vols. 8-10) and its biography of Yeon Gaesomun (vol. 49), surviving tomb engravings belonging to his sons Yeon Namsaeng and Yeon Namsan, and the biographies of those same sons that appear in the New Book of Tang.

Tang Chinese historical records give Yeon Gaesomun's surname as Cheon (泉, Quan in Chinese, meaning "spring"), because Yeon (淵, Yuan in Chinese, meaning "riverhead") was the given name of Emperor Gaozu of Tang (Li Yuan, 李淵), founder and first emperor of Tang, and thus taboo to apply to another by Chinese tradition (see naming taboo). He is also sometimes referred to as Gaegeum (개금/蓋金). In Nihon Shoki, he appears as Iri Kasumi (伊梨柯須彌).^[2]

Very little is known of Yeon's early days, until he became the Governor of the Western province (西部大人), where he oversaw the building of the Cheolli Jangseong, a network of military garrisons to defend the Liaodong area from Tang invaders.

Overthrow of the throne[link]

In the winter 642, King Yeongnyu was apprehensive about his general Yeon Gaesomun and was plotting with his other officials to kill Yeon. When Yeon received the news, Yeon arranged a lavish banquet to celebrate his rise to the position of Eastern Governor to which one hundred of the opposing politicians of the kingdom were invited. Yeon's soldiers ambushed and killed all one hundred ministers present. Yeon then proceeded to the palace and murdered the king. According to traditional Chinese and Korean sources, Yeon's men dismembered the dead king's corpse and discarded it without proper ceremony.

After placing King Bojang (r. 642-668),a nephew of King Yeongnyu, on the Goguryeo throne, Yeon appointed himself Dae Mangniji (대막리지, 大莫離支, Generalissimo). Subsequently, in this role Yeon went on to assume de facto control over Goguryeo affairs of state until his death around 666.

His role in the murder of the Goguryeo king was taken as the primary pretext for the failed Tang invasion of 645.

642 coup d'etat by Yeon Gaesomun came as the culmination of a lengthy power struggle between the military and the executive officials; between those who favored appeasement towards the Tang Dynasty and those who advocated military confrontation; and Yeon belonged to the hard-liners. Traditional Chinese and Korean historians believed that his motive was simply his thirst for power. With the rise of Korean nationalism, many revisionist Korean historians now assert that his motive was to make Goguryeo assume a tougher stance against Tang China. At the time the emperor was basically submitting to Tang for a peaceful diplomatic relationship.

Wars with China[link]

The series of wars between Goguryeo and Tang comprise some of the most important events in the ancient history of Northeast Asian, for many maintain they were the main cause of the Silla-Tang alliance, the ultimate demise of once-powerful Goguryeo, and the unification of the peninsula under Silla rule. Yeon was a central protagonist in this series of conflicts, as well as its chief cause.

At the outset of his rule, Yeon took a briefly conciliatory stance toward Tang Dynasty China. For instance, he supported Taoism at the expense of Buddhism, and to this effect in 643 sent emissaries to the Tang court requesting Taoist sages, eight of whom were brought to Goguryeo. This gesture is considered by some historians as an effort to pacify the Tang and buy time to prepare for the Tang invasion Yeon thought inevitable given his ambitions to annex Silla.

Relations with Tang deteriorated when Goguryeo launched new invasions of Silla. In 645 the Goguryeo-Tang Wars began and Taizong's noted military acumen enabled him to conquer a number of major Goguryeo border fortresses.

Eventually, however, Taizong's invasion was met with two major setbacks. First, Taizong's main army was stymied and bogged down for several months at Ansi Fortress due to the resistance of the celebrated commander, Yang Man-chun. Second, the elite marine force that Taizong sent to take Pyongyang, Goguryeo's capital, was defeated by Yeon who, according to the Joseon Sanggosa, then immediately marched his legions to relieve Yang's forces at Ansi Fortress.

Taizong, caught between Yang's army in the front and Yeon's counter-attacking forces closing in from behind, as well as suffering from the harsh winter and dangerously low food supplies, was forced to retreat homeward (Zizhi Tongjian). During the retreat itself, a large number of Taizong's soldiers were killed by Yeon and his pursuing army. However, Taizong and the invading army survived. Taizong's first invasion of Goguryeo was thus defeated. However, Taizong succeeded in inflicting heavy casualties on Goguryeo.

It is speculated that after Taizong's failure to conquer Goguryeo his personal rivalry with Yeon became an obsession with both him and his son Gaozong. They invaded Goguryeo two more times in 661 and were unsuccessful in both attempts—perhaps most notably during Yeon's victory over the Tang forces in 662. Chinese general Pang Xiaotai (龐孝泰) was defeated by Goguryeo forces at Sasu River (蛇水, probably Botong River) and was killed along with his 13 sons, Su ran into harsh snowstorms and withdrew. With increasing domestic turmoil in China, Tang was once again forced to retreat.

However, the population and economy were severely damaged after the three major invasions and never fully recovered. Silla and Tang continued their mutual struggle for over 8 years. In 668, two years after Yeon's death, Goguryeo finally met its demise. However, at least during the rule of Yeon Gaesomun the Tang-Silla alliance was unable to subdue Goguryeo.

Death[link]

The most likely date of Yeon's death is that recorded on the tomb stele of Namsaeng, Yeon Gaesomun's eldest son: the twenty-fourth year of the reign of Bojang (665). However, the Samguk Sagi records the year as 666, and the Japanese history Nihonshoki gives the year as the twenty-third year of the reign of King Bojang (664).

Yeon Gaesomun had at least three sons, (eldest to youngest) Yeon Namsaeng, Yeon Namgeon, and Yeon Namsan. After his death, the country was weakened by a succession struggle between his brother and three sons, and in 668 fell relatively swiftly to the Silla-Tang armies.

Controversy and Legacy[link]

Yeon has been one of the most controversial figures in Korean history. The many controversies surrounding him revolve around two issues: his character and his role in the fall of Goguryeo.

Later Confucian scholars have mercilessly criticized Yeon for the coup and the regicide that brought him to power. In their eyes, he was a disloyal subject who sought personal power above all else. In particular, extant Tang and Silla sources have consistently portrayed Yeon as a brutal and arrogant dictator. According to their testimony, for instance, Yeon carried five swords at a time, and would have men prostrate themselves so that he might use their backs to mount or dismount his horse. Yeon's modern-time defenders, however, dismiss these Tang and Silla sources as biased calumnies of enemy historians. Moreover, they argue that Yeon's subsequent single-mindedness and success in defending Goguryeo testifies his genuine patriotism (though Taizong's first invasion was provoked by Yeon's attacks on Silla, and subsequent attacks were possibly due to Taizong and his son's personal hatred against Yeon).

In terms of his role in the downfall of Gogureyo, Yeon's detractors blame Yeon for needlessly provoking the Tang to attack Goguryeo (see above) and thereby ensuring its downfall. They point out that, while Goguryeo remained a formidable regional power before Yeon assumed power, it was completely destroyed by Silla and Tang within a short time soon after his death. They also point out that the population of Gogureyo decreased dramatically during Yeon's rule, and much of the economy was destroyed due to constant wars with Tang China and Silla. Yeon's defenders rejoin by claiming that the Tang would have invaded Goguryeo, regardless of Goguryeo's attitude vis-a-vis Tang (although a major reason for Taizong's first invasion of Goguryeo was Yeon's invasion of Silla, another Korean kingdom that allied with Tang).

Another controversy that arises is the sources actually used to support the defeat of the Tang Dynasty. Some sources such as Shin's Joseon Sanggosa claim that Taizong was forced into the outskirts of Beijing. However, Shin's account has been challenged on the basis that it lacked support in traditional Korean and Chinese sources. The ancient Korean history Samguk Sagi^[3] and ancient Chinese histories Book of Tang,^[4] New Book of Tang,^[5] and Zizhi Tongjian^[6] put the figure at 20,000, stating that there were only 100,000 Tang soldiers used total. The modern Chinese historian Bo Yang has speculated that the Yeon had the records altered so that he could claim credit for Yang Manchun's victory over Tang.^[7]

Notes and references[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c} Some Chinese and Korean sources stated that his surname was Yeongae (연개, 淵蓋) and personal name was Somun (소문, 蘇文), but the majority of sources suggest a one-syllable surname and a three-syllable personal name.
2. ^ Nihon Shoki, Fist year of Empress Kōgyoku (642); 秋九月。大臣伊梨柯須彌殺大王。并殺伊梨渠世斯等百八十餘人。
3. ^ Samguk Sagi, vol. 21 [1].
4. ^ Book of Tang, vols. 3, 199 [2].
5. ^ New Book of Tang, vols. 2, 220 [3].
6. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 197, 198.
7. ^ Bo Yang Edition of the Zizhi Tongjian , vol. 47.

See also[link]

• History of Korea
• List of Korea-related topics
• Three Kingdoms of Korea