Gwanggaeto the Great

Greatly expanded his territory; his stele records his deeds, though its reading is much disputed.

Life

Took the throne as a youth

Gwanggaeto the Great was born into the Goguryeo royal family and came to the throne in 391 CE at the age of 18. At the time Goguryeo was repeatedly contending for control of the Korean Peninsula with Baekje and Silla to the south and with the seaborne forces of Wa, while to the north it bordered the Later Yan in northeastern China.

Campaigns in all directions

During his reign he expanded greatly: to the north he crushed Khitan tribes, and to the west he seized large areas of the Liaodong Peninsula. In 396 CE he personally led a great army south against Baekje, at one point capturing its royal city and forcing the king of Baekje to declare himself a vassal and give hostages. At Silla's request he also sent troops to drive out Wa forces that had crossed the sea, bringing Goguryeo's territory to its zenith, controlling nearly all of the northern Korean Peninsula and the southern part of northeastern China.

Inscription controversy

His deeds are known mainly from the "Gwanggaeto Stele" erected for him by his son King Jangsu, whose inscription details his successive campaigns and his era name and is a core primary source for the history of Northeast Asia in the 4th and 5th centuries. But because key characters in the passages on the wars between Goguryeo and Wa are worn and illegible, Chinese, Japanese and Korean scholars have long differed in reading and interpreting them, especially the passage on whether "Wa" once crossed the sea and made Baekje and Silla its subjects, which remains a focus of debate among East Asian historians to this day.

Legacy

Gwanggaeto the Great reigned for more than 20 years and brought Goguryeo's power to its zenith. The Gwanggaeto Stele, erected in 414 CE by his son King Jangsu, stands over 6 meters tall and still survives in Ji'an, Jilin; it is one of the most important ancient steles extant in Northeast Asia and has been inscribed on the World Heritage List as part of the "Capital Cities, Royal Tombs and Nobles' Tombs of Goguryeo." Because the characters are damaged, the "sinmyo year" passage of the inscription is read in differing ways, and since modern times there has also been controversy over whether it was deliberately altered.

Major works & achievements

• Used the era name "Yeongnak"
• Campaigned south against Baekje, forcing it to submit as a vassal
• Sent troops to rescue Silla and drove back the Wa army
• Attacked westward to seize Liaodong, expanding his territory

Did you know? "Gwanggaeto" is a shortened form of his posthumous title, whose full form is "Gukgangsang Gwanggaeto-gyeong Pyeongan Hotaewang."

Key dates

• 374Born into the Goguryeo royal family
• 391Became the 19th king of Goguryeo
• 395Crushed Khitan tribes
• 396Marched south against Baekje and captured its royal city
• 400Sent troops to aid Silla and drove back the Wa army
• 402Pushed west to seize Later Yan's Liaodong region
• 412Died