Gogukcheon

King Gogukcheon of Goguryeo
Korean alphabet :	고국 천왕, 국 양왕
Hanja :	故國 川 王, 國 襄王
Revised Romanization :	Gogukcheon-wang, Gukyang-wang
McCune-Reischauer :	Kogukch'on-wang

Birth Name
Korean alphabet :	고 남무
Hanja :	高 男 武
Revised Romanization :	Go Nammu
McCune-Reischauer :	Ko Nammu

Gogukcheon († 197 ) was the ninth ruler of the state of Goguryeo , the northern of the Three Kingdoms of Korea . He ruled from 179 until his death in 197.

Life

Gogukcheon was the second son of King Sindae . Although his older brother Go Balgi ( 고발 기 ) was originally crown prince, Gogukcheon became crown prince in his place in 176 with the support of court officials. After his father's death in 179, Gogukcheon became king of Goguryeo.

In 180 Gogukcheon married Mrs. U, the daughter of the influential U So of the Jena clan, in order to consolidate his power. After his death, she married his brother and successor Sansang . In their day, the five great noble clans ( bu ) of Goguryeo wielded great power in their home regions.

Since 182, Gogukcheon had to defend itself against attacks by the Chinese Han dynasty , which wanted to gain a foothold on the Liaodong peninsula. In 182 he sent his son and Crown Prince Gye-Su against them, who was able to push back the Han troops. In an attack by Han general Gongsun Du in 184, the king himself led the army.

His domestic policy was aimed at improving the living conditions of the rural population. The historical work Samguk Sagi reports an anecdote that the king distributed his clothes and provisions to them on a hunt in 194 under the impression of hunger and poverty of the rural residents.

Gogukcheon died in 197. The traditional line of succession from Goguryeo was that of his brother. Since Gogukcheon's predecessor broke this rule and thus took the step to father-son line of succession, the old rule was resumed after Gogukcheon's death. His brother Sansang succeeded him to the throne.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Yang, 1999, p. 15

literature

• Yang, SC: The South and North Korean political systems: A comparative analysis. (Rev. Ed.) Hollym, Seoul 1999, ISBN 1-56591-105-9 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Sindae	King of Goguryeo 179–197	Sansang