Gogugyang of Goguryeo (died 391, r. 384–391)[1] was the 18th ruler of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. During his reign, the balance of power among the Three Kingdoms began to shift, as Goguryeo attacked Baekje, and allied with Silla.

Gogugyang of Goguryeo
Hangul
고국양왕
Hanja
故國壤王
Revised RomanizationGogugyang-wang
McCune–ReischauerKogugyang-wang
Birth name
Hangul
고이련, 이속, 어지지
Hanja
高伊連, 伊速, 於只支
Revised RomanizationGo I-ryeon, Isok, Eojiji
McCune–ReischauerKo Iryŏn, Isok, Ŏjiji

Family edit

  • Father: King Gogukwon (고국원왕; 故國原王)
    • Grandfather: King Micheon (미천왕; 美川王)
    • Grandmother: Queen, of the Ju clan (왕후 주씨; 王后 周氏)
  • Unknown wife

Background and rise to the throne edit

He was the son of the 16th king Gogugwon, who was killed by prince and future Baekje king Geungusu in the latter's assault on Pyongyang Castle. Gogugyang was also the younger brother of the 17th king Sosurim, and the father of the 19th king Gwanggaeto the Great.[2] Gogugyang rose to the throne when Sosurim died without a son.

Reign edit

In the second year of his reign, Gogukyang sent 40,000 troops to attack the Chinese state of Later Yan in the Liaodong Peninsula. The Goguryeo army captured Liaodong and Xuantu, and took 10,000 prisoners.

In 386, the prince Go Dam-deok, the later King Gwanggaeto the Great, was designated heir to the throne. It is said Dam-deok served his father in battlefields since he was teenager.

Goguryeo attacked the southern Korean kingdom of Baekje in 386, which returned the attacks in 389 and 390. In the spring of 391, Goguryeo signed a treaty of friendship with King Naemul of Silla, another of the Three Kingdoms, and received Naemul's nephew Kim Sil-seong as a hostage.[3]

Death and succession edit

He furthered the formal state adoption of Confucianism and Buddhism, building a national temple and repairing the ancestral shrine.[4] Especially, the ancestral shrine of Sajik-dan was constructed by incorporating Chinese-style rituals, while the temples of land and water were said to be constructed with a view to encouraging the commoners to have religious faith.[5]

He died in his eighth year on the throne, in the fifth lunar month of 391. He was given the posthumous name of Gogugyang.

Popular culture edit

References edit

  1. ^ Kim, Bushik (1145). Samguk Sagi (三國史記 卷第十八 髙句麗本紀 第六). Retrieved 1 February 2016. 故國壤王, 諱伊連 或云於只攴.校勘 015, 小獸林王之弟也. 小獸林王在位十四年薨, 無嗣, 弟伊連即位.
  2. ^ "King Gogukyang". KBS Radio. Korean Broadcasting System. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  3. ^ Kim, Bushik (1145). Samguk Sagi (三國史記 卷第十八 髙句麗本紀 第六). Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  4. ^ Jeon, Hotae (2007). Koguryŏ = Koguryo, the origin of Korean power & pride. Seoul: Tongbuga Yŏksa Chaedan. pp. 21–23. ISBN 9788991448834.
  5. ^ Korean, Historical Survey Society (2007). Seoul : a field guide to history (English ed.). Paju: Dolbegae Publishers. p. 254. ISBN 9788971992890.

See also edit

Gogugyang of Goguryeo
 Died: 391
Regnal titles
Preceded by Monarch of Goguryeo
384–391
Succeeded by