Gang Gam-chan
A civil official who inflicted a crushing defeat on the Liao army at Gwiju in 1019, ending the Goryeo–Khitan War.
Life
Civil Official and Top Graduate
Gang Gam-chan came from a family of founding meritorious officials of Goryeo and was top scholar in the civil service examinations of 983, thereafter serving long as a civil official. In 1010, when Emperor Shengzong of Liao invaded Goryeo in person, many at court favored surrender; he argued instead for avoiding the enemy's full force for a time and sending envoys to seek peace while awaiting an opportunity. Hyeonjong adopted his advice and withdrew south, and although the Liao army took Gaegyeong, it withdrew when its line of retreat was threatened.
Commander Against the Liao
At the end of 1018 the Liao general Xiao Paiya launched a third major invasion. Gang Gam-chan, already over seventy, was appointed supreme commander and led more than 200,000 troops against the enemy. According to the Goryeosa, at Heunghwajin he dammed the river with oxhides and released the water to ambush the Liao army as it crossed; the Liao forces made a detour straight for Gaegyeong, but Goryeo strengthened its walls and cleared the countryside, and the Liao army, short of food, turned back. In February 1019 he intercepted the Liao army at Gwiju and, taking advantage of a shift in the wind, launched an all-out assault; the Liao army suffered a crushing defeat, and few survived.
Triumph and Legacy
When he returned in triumph, Hyeonjong came out in person to greet him and bestowed eight golden flowers. After the war Liao and Goryeo made peace, and Goryeo thereafter enjoyed a long period of peace. In his later years Gang Gam-chan oversaw the building of Gaegyeong's outer wall, and he died in 1031. Many legends about him circulate among the people of the Korean Peninsula, and he is ranked with Eulji Mundeok and Yi Sun-sin as a famed general who resisted foreign enemies.
Legacy
Gang Gam-chan, a civil official, commanded troops at the age of about seventy, and the Great Victory at Kwiju led the Liao dynasty to abandon large-scale attacks on Goryeo. Goryeo then acknowledged Liao overlordship, the two sides maintained a long peace, and Goryeo was able to remain stable between the Liao and the Song. In Korea he is regarded as a national hero, ranked alongside Eulji Mundeok and Yi Sun-sin. Many legends with supernatural elements surround his life, and the details of the battle rely mainly on later histories such as the History of Goryeo.
Major works & achievements
- 1010: Urges the court to avoid the enemy's full force for the time being and not to surrender
- 1019: Great Victory at Kwiju, inflicting a crushing defeat on the Liao army
- Oversaw building the outer walls of Kaegyong
Did you know? Nakseongdae in Seoul's Gwanak District is said to be his birthplace; its name comes from the legend that a star fell to earth when he was born.
Key dates
- 983Top scholar in the civil service examinations
- 1010Refused to surrender when the Liao invaded
- 1018Appointed supreme commander
- 1019Great Victory at Kwiju
- 1029Oversaw building the outer walls of Kaegyong
- 1031Died