Goryeo Kingdom ---------------------- Goryeo, also known as Koryŏ (918–1392), was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by King Taejo. This kingdom later gave name to the modern exonym "Korea". It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the leader of the Joseon dynasty in 1392. The Goryeo dynasty expanded its borders to present-day Wonsan in the north-east (936–943) and the Amnok River (993) and finally almost the whole of the Korean peninsula (1374). Two of this period's most notable products are Goryeo celadon pottery and the Tripitaka Koreana—the Buddhist scriptures (Tripitaka) carved onto roughly 80,000 woodblocks and stored, and still in, Haeinsa. Subjects and officials of the Goryeo dynasty also created the world's first metal-based movable type in 1234; the oldest surviving movable metal type book, the Jikji, was made in 1377. Wang Geon, a descendant of a merchant family of Songdo, overthrew the king of Taebong and established the Goryeo Kingdom and Dynasty in 918. Goryeo adopted a Silla-friendly Hubaekje-hostile stage in the later Three Kingdoms, but in 927, Goryeo was defeated by Hubaekje in present-day Daegu. Wang Geon lost his best supporters in the battle. For 3 years after the battle, Hubaekje dominated the Later Three Kingdoms but after a defeat at the Andong in 930, Hubaekje lost his power. The Later Three Kingdoms era ended as Goryeo annexed Silla in 935 and defeated Hubaekje in 936. Wang Geon moved the capital to his hometown Kaesǒng, and ruled the Korean peninsula as the first King of Goryeo. Wang Geon married a daughter of the Silla royal family and let most nobles keep their lands. Even though Wang Geon ruled the united nation for only 7 years before his son took the reign after his death, the succession was not challenged. The House Yi of Inju were close with the royal family. Eventually the Yis gained an incredible amount of power. This led to the coup of Yi Ja-gyeom in 1126. The coup failed but the power of the monarch was weakened; Goryeo underwent a civil war among the nobility. In 1135, Myo Cheong argued in favor of moving the capital to Seogyeong. This proposal divided the nobles of Goryeo in half. One faction, led by Myo Cheong, believed in moving the capital to Seogyeong 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 and made a country named Daebang, but failed and was swiftly eliminated. In 1388, King U (son of King Gongmin) and general Choe Yeong planned a campaign to invade present-day Liaoning. King U put the general Yi Seong-gye (later King Taejo) in charge, but he stopped at the border and rebelled. Goryeo fell to General Yi Seong-gye, who usurped the throne and established in 1392 the Joseon Dynasty. For more information, you can visit: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goryeo - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silla - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Later_Three_Kingdoms - http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/List_of_monarchs_of_Korea#Goryeo - http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?611404-Imjin-mod-(Korea-campaign)/page18 - http://koreanhistory.info/Koryo.htm - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS0zOYLWRk4

• published: 31 Mar 2015
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