Yeon Gaesomun

Yeon Gaesomun
Portrait of Yeon Gaesomun
(Portrait painted by guessing)
Dae Magniji (Grand Prime Minister) of Goguryeo
In office
642–666
Preceded byNone
Succeeded byYeon Nam-saeng
Personal details
Born594
Died666
ChildrenYeon Nam-saeng
Yeon Nam-geon
Yeon Nam-san
Parent
Korean name
Hangul
연개소문
Hanja
淵蓋蘇文
Revised RomanizationYeon Gaesomun
McCune–ReischauerYŏn Kaesomun

Yeon Gaesomun[1] (594–666) was a powerful military dictator in the waning days of the Goguryeo kingdom,[2] which was one of the Three Kingdoms of ancient Korea. He is remembered for his successful resistance against Tang China under Emperor Taizong and his son Emperor Gaozong.[2]

Traditional Korean histories from Joseon painted Yeon Gaesomun as a despotic leader, whose cruel policies and disobedience to his monarch led to the fall of Goguryeo. However, his achievements in defending Goguryeo against Chinese onslaughts have inspired early Korean nationalist historians, most notably the 19th-century Korean historian and intellectual Sin Chaeho, to term Yeon Gaesomun the greatest hero in Korean history. In popular culture Yeon Gaesomun is often remembered as an exceptional soldier-statesman without equal in Korean history.

  1. ^ Some Chinese and Korean sources stated that his surname was Yeongae (연개; 淵蓋) and personal name was Somun (소문; 蘇文), but the majority of sources suggest a one-syllable surname and a three-syllable personal name.
  2. ^ a b Lee, Ki-Baik (1984). A New History of Korea. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 48. ISBN 067461576X.