The state of Goryeo ruled Korea from the fall of Silla in 935 until the founding of Joseon in 1392. The name "Goryeo" is a shortened form of "Goguryeo," the name of a kingdom in northern Korea which was conquered by Silla in 668. The English name "Korea" comes from "Goryeo." See Names of Korea.

Two of this period's most notable products are Goryeo pottery — the famous Korean celadon pottery — and the Tripitaka Koreana — the Buddhist scriptures (Tripitaka) carved onto roughly 80,000 woodblocks.

[edit] History

As Unified Silla weakened and lost control over local lords, the country entered a period of civil war and rebellion. Major rebellion forces were led by Gung Ye (궁예弓裔, ?~918), Gi Hwon (기훤), Yang Gil (양길) and Gyeon Hwon (견훤). Two new kingdoms were established: Hugoguryeo (후고구려, Later Goguryeo, later renamed Taebong (태봉)) by Gung Ye, and Hubaekje (후백제, later Baekje) by Gyeonhwon. This period is known as the Later Three Kingdoms era.

Wanggeon (왕건), who was a lord of Songak (present-day Gaeseong), joined Taebong but overthrew Gung Ye and established Goryeo in 918. The Later Three Kingdoms era ended as Goryeo annexed Silla and defeated Hubaekje in 936.

Terminologies used in the court of Goryeo was that of an empire, not of a kingdom. Capital Gaeseong was called "Imperial Capital (皇都)" and palace as "Imperial Palace (皇城)." Other terms like Your Majesty (陛下), Prince (太子), Empress (太后), Imperial Ordiance (詔 or 勅) also suggest Goryeo was an empire itself. After the Mongol invasion, Mongols forced Goryeo to give up on its status as an empire and it became a kingdom, to signify Mongolian influence.

In order to strengthen the power of the central government, Gwangjong, the 4th King, made a series of laws including that of freeing slaves in 958, and one creating the exam for hiring civil officials. Gwangjong also proclaimed himself Emperor, independent from any other countries.

The 5th king, Gyeongjong (경종, 景宗) launched land-ownership reformation called Jeonsigwa (전시과田柴科) and the 6th King Seongjong(성종, 成宗) appointed officials to local areas, which were previously succeeded by the lords. By the time of 11th King Munjong (문종, 文宗), the central government of Goryeo gained complete authority and power over local lords. Munjong and later kings emphasized the importance of civilian leadership over the military.

The House Yi of Inju (인주이씨, 仁州李氏) married the kings from Munjong to the 17th king, Injong. Eventually the Yis gained more power than the king himself. This led to the coup of Yi Ja-gyeom in 1126. The coup failed but the power of monarch was weakened; Goryeo underwent a civil war among the nobility.

In 1135, Myo Cheong argued to move the capital to Seogyeong (present day P'yŏngyang). This proposal divided the nobilities of Goryeo in half. One faction, led by Myo Cheong, believed in moving the capital to Pyongyang and expanding into Manchuria. The other one, led by Kim Bu-sik (author of the Samguk Sagi), wanted to keep the status quo. Myo Cheong failed to persuade the King and rebelled against the central government, but failed.

In 1170, a group of army officers led by Jeong Jung-bu (정중부, 鄭仲夫) and Yi Ui-bang (이의방, 李義方), launched a coup d'état and succeeded. King Injong went into exile and Myeongjong (명종,明宗) was made king. Military rule of Goryeo began.

In 1231, Mongolians under Ögedei Khan invaded Goryeo, as part of a general campaign to conquer China. The throne moved to Ganghwa-do in the Bay of Gyeonggi, in 1232. The military ruler of the time Choe Chung-heon (최충헌, 崔忠獻) insisted on fighting back. Goryeo resisted for decades but finally surrendered in 1259. Some military officials who refused to surrender formed the Sambyeolcho Rebellion and resisted in the islands off the southern shore of the Korean peninsula. The Goryeo dynasty survived but it remained under Mongolian control until King Gongmin began to push Mongolian forces back.

In 1388, King U planned a campaign to invade present-day Liaoning of China. King U put the general Yi Seong-gye (later Taejo) in charge, but he stopped at the border and rebelled. Goryeo fell to General Yi In 1392. He then established the Joseon Dynasty.

Today, Korea and related forms such as Corea and Corée that derive from Goryeo are used as names for the country in most languages around the world. Goryeo is also sometimes used as a politically neutral name in the Korean language for the whole of Korea. For more information, see Names of Korea.

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