The Royal Seal of Goryeo from 1370—1392
No, this isn't what it sounds like in English. Stop laughing.
(Note: names are written using the Revised Romanization of Korean, which means they may look odd to people more familiar with the McCune–Reischauer system.)
The House of Wang (왕 in hangeul, 王 in hanja) ruled Korea (called Goryeo during their rule; the English word "Korea" is derived from Goryeo) from 918 to 1392. During their reign the entire Korean peninsula was united into one kingdom for the first time. Pre-918 the Korean peninsula was divided into three kingdoms: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The House of Wang originated as a noble clan from Goguryeo who became merchants and military leaders before finally conquering the other kingdoms. It produced 34 kings, some of whom intermarried with China's Yuan Dynasty (descended from Genghis Khan). They were overthrown in 1392 by The House of I who established the kingdom of Joseon.
The Gaeseong Wang clan (based, unfortunately, in North Korea) trace their ancestry back to the House of Wang. Unlike the House of I, their ancestors were overthrown so long ago that there's no chance at all of them being offered the throne.
Confusingly, many kings of Goryeo and Joseon share temple names: both kingdoms have a Taejo, a Jeongjong (three Jeongjongs, to be precise), a Gyeongjong, a Seongjong, a Hyeonjong, a Munjong, a Sunjong, a Heonjong, a Sukjong, a Yejong, an Injong, a Myeongjong, and a Gojong. It's like they were trying to cause headaches for future historians. note
Not to be confused with the royal families of Great Shu or Min (both kingdoms in what's now China), who also had the surname Wang. ("Wang" means "king" in both Mandarin and Korean, so all of these royal families were really "the House of King".)
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Taejo
Personal name: Wang Geon (왕건/王建)
Lived: 31 January 877 — 4 July 943
Reigned: 918–943
Parents: Wang Ryung (??? — 897, posthumously honoured as King Sejo of Goryeo) and Lady Han (??? — ???, posthumously honoured as Queen Wisuk)
Consorts: (1) Queen Sinhye of the Jeongju Ryu clan (c. 880 — after 918); (2) Queen Janghwa of the Naju O clan (c. 890 — between 934 and 943); (3) Queen Sinmyeong of the Chungju Yu clan (c. 900 — after 949); (4) Queen Sinjeong of the Hwangju Hwangbo clan (c. 900 — 19 August 983); (5) Queen Sinseong of the Gyeongju Gim clan (before 925 — before 1010); (6) Queen Jeongdeok of the Jeongju Ryu clan (c. 900 — ???); at least 24 concubines
Wang Geon grew up during the Later Three Kingdoms period (889 — 935). The kingdom of Unified Silla was theoretically in control of most of modern Korea, but its hold was increasingly weakened and many local leaders rebelled against it. Wang Geon's father joined the army of Gung Ye, the half-brother of Silla's last queen, who wanted to take the throne for himself. Wang Geon demonstrated skill as a military commander and was quickly promoted to general.
In the early 10th century Gung Ye defeated his sister, renamed Silla to Taebong, and declared himself king. He quickly became paranoid and possibly delusional, declaring himself a Buddha and killing his wife and two of his sons. In 918 four of his supporters decided to get rid of him, so they overthrew him and replaced him with Wang Geon.
Wang Geon renamed the kingdom to Goryeo, moved the capital to Pyongyang (now in North Korea), and began expanding his kingdom. He practiced an odd form of Altar Diplomacy and married the daughters of every single local leader. Because of this he had an estimated 34 children, most of whom married each other. During his reign he united all of the Three Kingdoms under his control.
Hyejong
Personal name: Wang Mu (왕무/王武)
Lived: 912 — 23 October 945
Reigned: 943 — 945
Parents: King Taejo and Queen Janghwa
Consorts: Queen Uihwa of the Jincheon Im clan (c. 912 — c. 945); at least three concubines
Taejo's oldest son. He became crown prince when he was 11, and as a teenager he accompanied his father into battle. When he became king his half-brothers promptly started planning to overthrow him. He was reportedly murdered when someone — probably one of his half-brothers — poisoned him by putting mercury in his bath-water. He had two sons, but they were both too young to succeed him. One was later murdered by Hyejong's half-brother, while the other's fate is unknown.
Jeongjong (定宗)
Personal name: Wang Yo (왕요/王堯)
Lived: 923 — 13 April 949
Reigned: 945 — 949
Parents: King Taejo and Queen Sinmyeong
Consorts: (1) Queen Mungong of the Suncheon Bak clan (c. 923 — ???); (2) Queen Munseong of the Suncheon Bak clan (c. 925 — ???); at least one concubine
The first king of Goryeo to be born after the kingdom was founded. Also the first king to be completely off his rocker. Taejo's third son, Jeongjong plotted with his younger brother Wang So to overthrow Hyejong. After taking the throne he became paranoid and was convinced everyone was scheming against him. (One theory is that this was due to a guilty conscience about Hyejong's death. Another theory suggests that Jeongjong, like Hyejong, was a victim of mercury poisoning, possibly orchestrated by Wang So. Mercury has a tendency to turn its victims into paranoiacs — just ask Qin Shi Huangdi.) Whatever the truth, in 949 Jeongjong died immediately after he signed a royal decree disinheriting his son and handing the throne to Wang So. Make of that what you will.
Gwangjong
Personal name: Wang So (왕소/王昭)
Lived: 925 — 4 July 975
Reigned: 949 — 975
Parents: King Taejo and Queen Sinmyeong
Consorts: Queen Daemok of the Hwangju Hwangbo clan (c. 930 — before 1002); at least two concubines
Taejo's fourth son. He conspired with Jeongjong to kill Hyejong, and then possibly conspired against Jeongjong to take the throne himself. However it happened, he became king when he was 25 and immediately set about creating an absolute monarchy. He refused to marry women from noble clans in case their families used him to gain power, so instead he married his relatives. His official wife, Queen Daemok, was his half-sister. His second wife, Lady Gyeonghwa, was Hyejong's daughter and thus Gwangjong's half-niece.
Gwangjong's first reform was the emancipation of slaves. This was more out of self-interest than any sort of humanitarian feeling (the slaves paid taxes to the noble clans who owned them and not to the crown, so by freeing them Gwangjong cut the nobles' income and increased his own), but it gave him the distinction of being one of the first rulers in historynote to abolish slavery. He set up medical centres to help poor patients and created the national civil service examination to weed out officials who gained positions through nepotism. (He established the examination in 958 and it remained in place with minor alterations until 1894, making it by far his longest-lasting reform.) He was also notable for being the first king to declare himself Emperor of Korea, almost a thousand years before Gojong of Joseon did the same.
Unfortunately not everything he did was good. In 960 Gwangjong began a series of purges against everyone who disagreed with him. Victims included his half-brother Wang Won, his nephews Heunghwa (Hyejong's son) and Gyeongchunwon (Jeongjong's son), and thousands of his father's supporters.
Gwangjong died of a serious illness in 975. His tomb still exists, but it's in North Korea so good luck visiting it.
Gyeongjong
Personal name: Wang Ju (왕주/王伷)
Lived: 9 November 955 — 13 August 981
Reigned: 975 — 981
Parents: King Gwangjong and Queen Daemok
Consorts: (1) Queen Heonsuk of the Gyeongju Gim clan (c. 955 — before 1002); (2) Queen Heonui of the Chungju Yu clan (c. 955 — ???); (3) Queen Heonae of the Hwangju Hwangbo clan (964 — 1029); (4) Queen Heonjeong of the Hwangju Hwangbo clan (c. 965 — 992 or 993); at least one concubine
Early in his reign Gyeongjong freed political prisoners imprisoned by his father and established a new system so people who'd been framed could get justice. Later he lost interest in ruling and spent most of his time in places of entertainment. He died of an illness when he was only 27.
Notable mainly for the Squickiness of his marriages. Of his five confirmed wives, four of them were his cousins. And since all of their parents were half-siblings, they were even more closely related than ordinary cousins.
Seongjong
Personal name: Wang Chi (왕치/王治)
Lived: 15 January 961 — 29 November 997
Reigned: 981 — 997
Parents: Wang Uk (c. 925 — 969, posthumously honoured as King Daejong of Goryeo) and Queen Seonui of the Jeongju Ryu clan (c. 930 — ???)
Consorts: (1) Queen Mundeok of the Chungju Yu clan (c. 960 — before 997); (2) Queen Munhwa of the Seonsan Gim clan (c. 970 — after 1029); after least one concubine
One of Taejo's grandsons. Succeeded his cousin (and brother-in-law) Gyeongjong in 981. During his reign the kingdom was divided into 10 provinces for the first time. Towards the end of his reign the First Goryeo-Khitan War took place between Goryeo and the Khitan-led Liao dynasty of China. He died of disease in 997 and was succeeded by his nephew Mukjong.
Mukjong
Personal name: Wang Song (왕송/王訟)
Lived: 5 July 980 — 2 March 1009
Reigned: 997 — 1009
Parents: King Gyeongjong and Queen Heonae
Consorts: Queen Seonjeong of the Chungju Yu clan (c. 990 — c. 1009); at least one concubine
Notable mainly for how incredibly inbred he was. Most people have four great-grandfathers; Mukjong had only one (King Taejo). His parents were cousins and all of his grandparents were half-siblings. Astonishingly he didn't appear to suffer any ill-effects from this.
Mukjong was only 2 when his father died, so the throne went instead to his uncle. After his uncle's death he became king and his mother became regent. At some point his mother began an affair with a monk named Gim Chi-yang and used her influence to promote him to important positions. Mukjong was childless and possibly gay or bisexual, so when Queen Heonae had a son with Gim they conspired to overthrow Mukjong and replace him with their son. Mukjong discovered the plan and called on General Gang Jo to deal with it. Gang executed Gim and his supporters, but a rumour started that he also planned to execute Mukjong and make himself king. Mukjong believed it and planned to kill Gang, so Gang was left with no choice but to overthrow Mukjong to save his own life.
Instead of killing Mukjong right away Gang decided to exile him to Chungju. On the way to Chungju, however, Mukjong and his wife were assassinated.
Hyeonjong
Personal name: Wang Sun (왕순/王詢)
Lived: 1 August 992 — 17 June 1031
Reigned: 1009 — 1031
Parents: Wang Uknote (c. 940 — 24 July 996, posthumously honoured as King Anjong of Goryeo) and Queen Heonjeong
Consorts: (1) Queen Wonjeong of the Seonsan Gim clan (c. 992 — 23 April 1018); (2) Queen Wonhwa of the Gyeongju Choe clan (c. 992 — after 1017); (3) Queen Wonseong of the Ansan Gim clan (c. 995 — 15 August 1028); (4) Queen Wonhye of the Ansan Gim clan (c. 996 — 31 July 1022); (5) Queen Wonyong of the Jeongju Yu clan (before 1010 — ????); (6) Queen Wonmok of the Icheon Seo clan (c. 1010 — 16 June 1057); (7) Queen Wonpyeong of the Ansan Gim clan (c. 1000 — c. 1028); at least six concubines
Hyeonjong was born under very Squicky circumstances. His mother, Queen Heonjeong, was the widow of Gyeongjong. After Gyeongjong's death she moved to the neighbourhood where her uncle Wang Uk lived. Uncle and niece became very close over the next few years, and at some point they began an affair. Hyeonjong was born as a result. His mother died in childbirth and his father was exiled for the affair, but Seongjong brought Hyeonjong to the palace to be raised. After Seongjong's death Queen Heonae (Hyeonjong's maternal aunt) tried to kill him several times. Somehow he survived, and after Mukjong was overthrown Gang Jo decided to make Hyeonjong the next king.
During his reign the Khitan continued to attack Goryeo. In 1019 Goryeo finally managed to win a decisive victory. The Khitan withdrew and didn't attack again for years.
Hyeonjong is also notable for ordering the Tripitaka Koreana
, the most comprehensive version of the Buddhist canon written in Hanja.
Deokjong
Personal name: Wang Heum (왕흠/王欽)
Lived: 9 June 1016 — 31 October 1034
Reigned: 1031 — 1034
Parents: King Hyeonjong and Queen Wonseong
Consorts: (1) Queen Gyeongseong of the Gyeongju Gim clan (c. 1020 — 1086); (2) Queen Hyosa of the Ansan Gim clan (c. 1025 — ????); at least four concubines
Hyeonjong's oldest son. During his reign construction began on the Cheolli Jangseong, a wall built to keep out the Khitan in case they decided to attack again. He died when he was only 18 and was succeeded by his brother.
Jeongjong (靖宗)
Personal name: Wang Hyeong (왕형/王亨)
Lived: 31 August 1018 — 24 June 1046
Reigned: 1034 — 1046
Parents: King Hyeonjong and Queen Wonseong
Consorts: (1) Queen Yongsin of the Danju Han clan (c. 1018 — 1036); (2) Queen Yongui of the Danju Han clan (c. 1020 — after 1040); (3) Queen Yongmok of the Buyeo I clan (c. 1025 — ????); at least two concubines
As soon as he took the throne Jeongjong began constructing fortresses along the northern border. His caution was justified; the Khitan invaded again in 1037. In 1039 he undid some of Gwangjong's reforms and brought back the Slave Mother Law, which meant that children born to slave women were considered slaves too. (Slavery had clearly been brought back at some point after Gwangjong abolished it.) Shortly before his death he passed the Firstborn Inheritance Act, which established primogeniture (the oldest child inheriting the parents' entire property) as national law.
Jeongjong became critically ill in the 1040s and summoned his half-brother Hwi to temporarily take over the government. Jeongjong had at least three surviving sons and probably expected the oldest to inherit. After his death, however, Hwi took the throne. The fate of Jeongjong's oldest son is unknown, but Hwi destroyed all records about him so he was probably killed.
Munjong
Personal name: Wang Hwi (왕휘/王徽)
Lived: 29 December 1019 — 2 September 1083
Reigned: 1046 — 1083
Parents: King Hyeonjong and Queen Wonhye
Consorts: (1) Queen Inpyeong of the Ansan Gim clan (c. 1020 — ????); (2) Queen Inye of the Incheon I clan (c. 1020 — 1092); at least three concubines
Munjong was the half-brother (and cousin) of Deokjong and Jeongjong. During his reign Confucianism was encouraged, the 12 schools of private learning were developed, and the central government gained complete authority over the local lords. He also expanded Goryeo's borders northward towards the Yalu (on the border with China) and Tumen (on the border with China and Russia) Rivers.
The culture developed significantly during his reign, leading to it sometimes being called the Golden Age of Goryeo. Munjong is also called the Holy King because of his devotion to Buddhism.
Sunjong
Personal name: Wang Hyu (왕휴/王烋), later renamed Wang Hun (왕훈/王勳)
Lived: 28 December 1047 — 5 December 1083
Reigned: 18 July 1083 — 23 October 1083
Parents: King Munjong and Queen Inye
Consorts: Queen Jeongui of the Gaeseong Wang clan (c. 1050 — ????); at least two concubines
One of the shortest-reigning kings in Korean history. He suffered from an unknown disease which killed him four months after he took the throne.
Seonjong
Personal name: Wang Jeung (왕증/王蒸) or Wang Gi (왕기/王祈), later renamed Wang Un (왕운/王運)
Lived: 9 October 1049 — 17 June 1094
Reigned: 24 October 1083 — 2 May 1094
Parents: King Munjong and Queen Inye
Consorts: Queen Sasuk of the Incheon I clan (c. 1065 — c. 1107); at least three concubines
The first king to establish trade with the Song and Liao dynasties, the Jurchens, and Japan. Buddhism and Confucianism flourished during his reign. He had a peaceful reign and died of an illness when he was 44.
Heonjong
Personal name: Wang Uk (왕욱/王昱)
Lived: 1 August 1084 — 6 November 1097
Reigned: 2 May 1094 — 7 October 1095
Parents: King Seonjong and Queen Sasuk
Consorts: Queen Hoesun of the Jinju So clan (c. 1085 — ????; records are unclear and she may not have actually existed)
Heonjong was a bright child who excelled at writing by the age of 9. (If that doesn't sound impressive, remember that the only writing system in Korea at the time was hanja or Chinese characters — hangeul wouldn't be invented for centuries. Nowadays it takes children six to seven years to learn to write the simplified versions of those characters. Heonjong learnt to write the traditional and much more complicated versions.) He was also sickly, possibly as a result of the Royal Inbreeding in his family tree.
Shortly after becoming king Heonjong faced an attempted coup. It was quickly put down by his uncle Wang Hui, but Heonjong's health deteriorated and he abdicated in favour of his uncle a year later.
Sukjong
Personal name: Wang Hui (왕희/王熙), later renamed Wang Ong (왕옹/王顒)
Lived: 2 September 1054 — 10 November 1105
Reigned: 8 October 1095 — 2 October 1105
Parents: King Munjong and Queen Inye
Consorts: Queen Myeongui of the Jeongju Yu clan (c. 1054 — 1112); at least one concubine
Sukjong did his best to maintain diplomatic ties with both Liao and Song while also fending off the Jurchens. During his reign the first brass coins were struck, and the Southern Capital (modern Seoul) was constructed.
Yejong
Personal name: Wang U (왕우/王俁)
Lived: 11 February 1079 — 15 May 1122
Reigned: 2 October 1105 — 8 April 1122
Parents: King Sukjong and Queen Myeongui
Consorts: (1) Queen Gyeonghwa of the Incheon I clan (1079 — 1109); (2) Queen Sundeok of the Incheon I clan (1094 — 1118); at least four concubines
Sukjong's oldest son. He spent most of his reign strengthening the central administration and the army. Since Munjong's reign most of the government officials had been from the Incheon I clan. Yejong diminished their power by appointing ministers unrelated to them. He also expanded the civil examination system created by Gwangjong and continued Sukjong's economic reforms by minting metal coins.
Yejong was interested in botany. He gathered rare plants from all over Korea and sent them to China in exchange for Chinese plants. He also established academic institutes and libraries.
Injong
Personal name: Wang Gu (왕구/王構), later renamed Wang Hae (왕해/王楷)
Lived: 29 October 1109 — 10 April 1146
Reigned: 8 April 1122 — 28 February 1146
Parents: King Yejong and Queen Sundeok
Consorts: (1) Deposed Princess Yeondeok of the Incheon I clan (c. 1110 — 1139); (2) Deposed Princess Bokchang of the Incheon I clan (c. 1115 — 1195); (3) Queen Gongye of the Jangheung Im clan (1109 — 1183); (4) Queen Seonpyeong of the Gyeongju (or Gangneung) Gim clan (c. 1115 — 1179)
Became king when he was 12, mainly due to the influence of his maternal grandfather I Ja-gyeomnote . The year Injong became king was also the year when the Jurchen Jin dynasty destroyed the Liao dynasty; after this the Jin began to consider invading Goryeo.
For the first few years of Injong's reign the real ruler was I Ja-gyeom; at one point Injong even offered to abdicate in favour of Ja-gyeom. In 1126 things went wrong for Ja-gyeom, however; he was arrested by a rival, banished, and later beheaded. Because of this Injong had to divorce his first two wives because they were Ja-gyeom's daughters.
After the Incheon I clan's fall from grace a Buddhist monk named Myocheong became Injong's political advisor. Myocheong persuaded Injong to declare war on the Jin. Injong agreed, but the rest of the government realised this was a terrible idea and managed to talk him out of it. Myocheong decided to rebel and attempted to make himself king, but his rebellion was quickly crushed.by Gim Bu-sik. For the next nine years Gim Bu-sik was the most important official in the government.
Injong ordered the compilation of a history book in 1142. The result, the Samguk Sagi, took 14 authors about four years to complete and is the oldest extant source on Korean history.
Injong and his third wife Queen Gongye had misgivings about their oldest son Wang Hyeon, and Gongye preferred their second son Wang Gyeong. In spite of this Wang Hyeon succeeded Injong upon his death.
Uijong
Personal name: Wang Cheol (왕철/王徹), later renamed Wang Hyeon (왕현/王晛)
Lived:23 May 1127 — 7 November 1173
Reigned: 28 February 1146 — 2 September 1170
Parents: King Injong and Queen Gongye
Consorts: (1) Queen Janggyeong of the Gim clan (c. 1125 — after 1170); (2) Queen Jangseon of the Jiksan Choe clan (c. 1130 — ????); at least one concubine
As soon as he became king Uijong proved his parents were right to worry about him. He was an alcoholic and preferred the civil officials to the military officials. He often forced soldiers to participate in martial arts competitions for his own amusement and refused to give them enough land during land distributions. After enduring this for years the military officials finally had enough and showed Uijong that maybe he shouldn't have angered the people who controlled the army: they revolted and easily defeated all opposition, deposed Uijong, assassinated him and his grandson (and possibly his son too), and replaced him with his brother.
Myeongjong
Personal name: Wang Heun (왕흔/王昕), later renamed Wang Ho (왕호/王晧)
Lived: 8 November 1131 — 3 December 1202
Reigned: 2 September 1170 — 23 September 1197
Parents: King Injong and Queen Gongye
Consorts: Queen Uijeong of the Gim clan (c. 1130 — c. 1170); at least three concubines
Injong's third son. He was chosen solely because the military knew he would be a weak king and they could rule behind the scenes. He spent his entire reign controlled by a succession of regents before his last regent decided to exile him and replace him with his brother.
Sinjong
Personal name: Wang Min (왕민/王旼), later renamed Wang Tak (왕탁/王晫)
Lived: 11 August 1144 — 15 February 1204
Reigned: 23 September 1197 — 5 January 1204
Parents: King Injong and Queen Gongye
Consorts: Queen Seonjeong of the Gim clan (c. 1145 — 1222)
Like his brother Sinjong spent his entire reign as a Puppet King controlled by the military. He became ill after reigning for seven years and abdicated in favour of his son.
Huijong
Personal name: Wang Yeon (왕연/ 王淵), later renamed Wang Deok (왕덕/王悳) and Wang Yeong (왕영/王韺)
Lived: 21 June 1181 — 31 August 1237
Reigned: 5 January 1204 — 25 December 1211
Parents: King Sinjong and Queen Seojeong
Consorts: (1) Deposed Crown Princess of the Gaeseong Wang clan (???? — ????); (2) Queen Seongpyeong of the Jangheung Im clan (c. 1180 — 1247)
Huijong hated Choe Chung-heon and Choe Chung-su, the military leaders who mainly controlled him and his father, and made several attempts to rebel against them. When he became king he attempted to lull Chung-heon into a false sense of security by making him prime minister. Huijong then pretended to be sick and asked Chung-heon to visit him alone. Chung-heon did, and Huijong tried to kill him. His attempt failed and Chung-heon had him exiled.
Incidentally his temple name was originally Jeongjong. If it had stayed that way he would have been the third of four kings named Jeongjong (three in this dynasty, one in the next). Luckily for historians his temple name was changed to Huijong.
Gangjong
Personal name: Wang Suk (왕숙/王璹), later renamed Wang Jeong (왕정/王貞) and Wang O (왕오/王祦)
Lived: 10 May 1152 — 26 August 1213
Reigned: 25 December 1211 — 9 August 1213
Parents: King Myeongjong and Queen Uijeong
Consorts: (1) Queen Sapyeong of the Jeonju I clan (c. 1150 — after 1174); (2) Queen Wondeok of the Yu clan (c. 1167 — 1239); at least one concubine
Huijong's cousin. He was exiled along with his father Myeongjong, but Huijong brought him back 13 years later and gave him a royal title. After Huijong was overthrown Gangjong became the latest in the series of kings controlled by the military. Choe Chung-heon remained the real ruler behind the scenes.
Incidentally Gangjong's first wife Queen Sapyeong was from the Jeonju I clan, which over a century later became The House of I. Sapyeong was a first cousin five times removed of I Seong-gye, first king of Joseon.
Gojong
Personal name: Wang Jil (왕질/王晊), later renamed Wang Cheol (왕철/王皞)
Lived: 3 February 1192 — 21 July 1259
Reigned: 10 August 1213 — 30 June 1259
Parents: King Gangjong and Queen Wondeok
Consorts: Queen Anhye of the Yu clan (c. 1199 — 1232)
The longest-reigning king in Goryeo's history (45 years and 10 months; especially impressive when none of the last three kings had reigned for more than seven years). For the first few years he was another Puppet King of the Choe clan. Choe Chung-heon died in 1219 and his son took over as the power behind the throne. In 1231 the Mongols invaded. For almost thirty years war raged between Goryeo and the Mongols until Gojong was finally forced to make peace with them in 1251.
Wonjong
Personal name: Wang Jeon (왕전/王倎), later renamed Wang Sik (왕식/王植0 and Wang Jeong (왕정/王禎)
Lived: 5 April 1219 — 23 July 1274
Reigned: (1) 1260 — 1269; (2) 1269 — 1274
Parents: King Gojong and Queen Anhye
Consorts: Queen Jeongsun of the Gyeongju Gim clan (1222 — 1237); at least two concubines
Gojong's oldest son. He became king with the support of Kublai Khan. Because of this Goryeo became a vassal state of Yuan-dynasty China, and it would remain one for most of the rest of its history.
In 1269 a military leader staged a coup, overthrew Wonjong, and replaced him with his brother. Kublai Khan promptly sent his army to help Wonjong, and a few months later Wonjong was made king again.
Incidentally he was the last king of Goryeo to have a temple name ending in "-jong". The suffixes "-jo" (祖) and "-jong" (宗) mean "revered ancestor" and are usually reserved for emperors. Kublai Khan objected to a king subordinate to him receiving such a name, so from then on all kings of Goryeo were given names including "chung" (meaning "loyalty").
Yeongjong
Personal name: Wang Gan (왕간/王侃), later renamed Wang Chang (왕창/王淐)
Lived: August 1223 — after 1269
Reigned: 21 June 1269 — November 1269
Parents: King Gojong and Queen Anhye
Consorts: Deposed Queen Gwon of the Andong Gwon clan (12?? — ????)
Second only to Sunjong on the list of shortest-reigning kings. He was made king after a coup deposed his older brother, and five months later was overthrown when his brother reclaimed the throne. His fate after this is unknown.
Chungnyeol
Personal name: Wang Geo (왕거/王昛)
Lived: 3 April 1236 — 30 July 1308
Reigned: (1) 18 June 1274 — 19 January 1298; (2) 18 August 1298 — 13 July 1308
Parents: King Wonjong and Queen Jeongsun
Consorts: Queen Jangmok of the Yuan Borjigin clan (1259 — 1297); at least five concubines
The first king of Goryeo to intermarry with the Yuan royal family; his official wife was Kublai Khan's daughter (and thus a great-granddaughter of Genghis Khan). Because of this he had very little power of his own and had to do whatever the Yuan dynasty told him. When the Mongols decided to invade Japan, Chungnyeol was forced to send troops to help them even though he didn't want to. In 1298 after his wife's death he decided to abdicate in favour of his son Chungseon. Political backlash against this decision was so severe that after eight months Chungseon handed the throne back to Chungnyeol.
Chungseon married a Yuan princess in 1296. Chungnyeol disapproved because he knew this would strengthen Yuan's hold on Goryeo. In 1306 he hatched a plot to force Chungseon to divorce his wife. The plot was discovered and Chungnyeol was forced to move to Khanbaliq (now part of Beijing) so the Yuan emperor could keep an eye on him. Chungnyeol gave up hope of freeing Goryeo from the Yuan after this and spent much of the remaining two years of his life drinking and hunting.
From this point onward, Goryeo rulers no longer have a temple name and stopped using the title emperor altogether (until this point, they followed a practice that came to be called "emperor at home, king abroad," in which they adopted the title of emperor and the structure of government associated with the imperial title for domestic purposes, but were willing to acknowledge suzerainty of the Chinese emperors (plural is intentional since China until this period was split between the Song, Western Xia, and Liao Dynasties (and Liao was later supplanted by Jin) and reasonably civil relations needed to be maintained with both Liao and Jin, even if Koreans were willing to fight them if they became too overbearing, while relationship with Song remained valuable economically and culturally) and accept lesser title, "king," in return.) One of the conditions of the peace with the Mongols was that rulers of Korea will formally accept a subordinate role to the Mongol khan, which included consistently using the title "king," among other things. Temple names were considered an "imperial" practice that the Mongols would no longer accept.
Chungseon
Personal name: Wang Won (왕원/王謜), later renamed Wang Jang (왕장/王璋), also known by his Mongolian name Ijir Bukhqa
Lived: 20 October 1275 — 23 June 1325
Reigned: (1) 19 January 1298 — 18 August 1298; (2) 28 August 1308 — 24 March 1313
Parents: King Chungnyeol and Queen Jangmok
Consorts: Borjigin Budashiri, Princess Supreme of Gye State (c. 1285 — 1316); at least seven concubines
The first half-Mongolian king of Goryeo, and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. In 1297 his mother died after a short illness when she was only 37. Rumours immediately started that she'd been murdered, and violence broke out between her supporters and her rivals. Chungnyeol decided to hand the throne to Chungseon in an attempt to get the situation under control. This backfired on everyone when Chungseon's official (Mongolian) wife and secondary (Korean) wife started plotting against each other. Chungseon handed the throne back to his father and began to spend most of his time in China. (In 1310 he was given a Chinese title, King of Shen; this sort of situation — a royal of one country holding a title in a different country — is called a personal union
and is extremely rare in East Asia.)When he became king again in 1308 Chungseon began to make reforms. The most notable was banning incestuous marriages in the royal family. He selected several non-royal families they could marry and forbade them from marrying anyone else, which inevitably meant that in a few generations they were all related anyway, but at least it was an improvement over the brother-sister marriages common earlier in Goryeo's history.
Chungseon continued to prefer China to Goryeo, and in 1313 he abdicated in favour of his son so he could move to China permanently. He died there 12 years later.
Chungsuk
Personal name: Wang Do (왕도/王燾), later renamed Wang Man (왕만/王卍), also known by his Mongolian name Aratnashiri
Lived: 30 July 1294 — 3 May 1339
Reigned: (1) 28 March 1313 — 1 February 1330; (2) 24 February 1332 — 24 March 1339
Parents: King Chungseon and Yasokjin, Royal Consort Ui
Consorts: Queen Gongwon of the Namyang Hong clan (1298 — 1380); at least four concubines
Chungsuk became king when he was only 18 and had no children. Because of this his cousin Wang Go was made crown prince and believed he had a chance to inherit the throne. Two years later Chungsuk's first son was born. Wang Go wouldn't give up his chance to be king that easily, so he got Gegeen Khan of Yuan to imprison Chungsuk. Two years later Gegeen Khan was assassinated and Chungsuk was able to return to Goryeo.
Five years later Chungsuk decided to abdicate in favour of his son Chunghye. This turned out to be a terrible decision, because Chunghye was a serial rapist and murderer. He was overthrown, but unfortunately Chungsuk decided not to do anything else about him. This had dire consequences for everyone, because when Chungsuk died Chunghye became king again.
Chunghye
Personal name: Wang Jeong (왕정/王禎), also known by his Mongolian name Putashiri
Lived: 22 February 1315 — 30 January 1344
Reigned: (1) 1 February 1330 — 24 February 1332; (2) March 1339 — 22 November 1343
Parents: King Chungsuk and Queen Gongwon
Consorts: Princess Deoknyeong of the Yuan Borjigin clan (before 1320 — 1375); at least four concubines
Goryeo's equivalent of Yeonsan-gun of Joseon. Spent most of his life abducting, raping and murdering women. His final downfall came when he raped one of his father's concubines, Bayankhutag, who was a Yuan noblewoman. Bayankhutag attempted to flee to Yuan. Chunghye imprisoned her in her palace and pretended she was ill. The Yuan ambassador became suspicious and visited her, and she told him what had happened. Chunghye was promptly arrested and dragged to Beijing, where he was imprisoned for the rest of his life.
Chungmok
Personal name: Wang Heun (왕흔/王昕), also known by his Mongolian name Batma Dorji
Lived: 15 May 1337 — 25 December 1348
Reigned: February 1344 — 5 December 1348
Parents: King Chunghye and Princess Deoknyeong
One of the youngest kings in Goryeo's history, he became king when he was only 7. Sadly he died when he was only 11.
Chungjeong
Personal name: Wang Jeo (왕저/王㫝), also known by his Mongolian name Chosgen Dorji
Lived: 9 January 1338 — 23 March 1352
Reigned: 8 May 1349 — 6 October 1351
Parents: King Chunghye and Royal Consort Hui of the Papyeong Yun clan
Consorts: At least one concubine
Another very young king. Became king when he was 11, was overthrown by his uncle two years later, and was murdered when he was only 14. Disturbingly, he fathered at least one child with an unknown woman before his death.
Gongmin
Personal name: Wang Gi (왕기/王祺), later renamed Wang Jeon (왕전/王顓), also known by his Mongolian name Bayan Temür
Lived: 23 May 1330 — 27 October 1374
Reigned: 6 October 1351 — 22 October 1374
Parents: King Chungsuk and Queen Gongwon
Consorts: (1) Queen Indeok of the Yuan Borjigin clan (c. 1330 — 1365); (2) Queen Sunjeong of the Goksan Han clan (c. 1340 — c. 1376); at least five concubines
Chunghye's younger brother. Became king after deposing and murdering his nephew. During his reign the Yuan dynasty collapsed and was replaced by the Ming dynasty. Gongmin began to reform Goryeo to get rid of the remnants of Yuan influence. While he did not restore the title "emperor" that Goryeo kings used earlier in the dynasty's history, he restored many of the formerly "imperial" practices and titles that were abolished when Korea made peace with the Mongols and regained control over border territories that were subordinated to direct Mongol rule. He was known as an excellent artist and calligrapher. He also appointed a general named I Seong-gye who would become very important later. I was a son of I Ja-Chun, a high ranking Korean officer serving in the Mongolian-controlled garrison in the northern territories that were transferred to direct Mongolian rule. I Ja-Chun, along with his son, switching allegiance back to Goryeo was an important part of Goryeo retaking control of these regions.
Unfortunately Gongmin was also a rapist like his brother and raped at least five young boys. In 1374 he discovered one of his concubines was having an affair with another man. Afraid of being executed, the concubine's lover assassinated Gongmin in his sleep.
U
Personal name: Wang U (왕우/王禑)
Lived: 25 July 1365 — 31 December 1389
Reigned: 25 September 1374 — 8 June 1388
Parents: King Gongmin and Ban-ya
Consorts: Royal Consort Geun of the Goseong I clan (c. 1365 — after 1388); at least 11 concubines
U was Gongmin's illegitimate son with a slave girl. At first Gongmin refused to acknowledge the baby, leading to speculation that U wasn't his son after all. He had no surviving sons with his wives, however, so he decided to acknowledge U in 1371. After Gongmin's death U became king when he was only 11.
In 1388 he made the fatal decision to invade northeastern China note This was the result of years of tension and infighting between the pro-Yuan and pro-Ming factions in the court, but it was unpopular with everyone and doomed Goryeo. U chose General I Seong-gye to lead his army. Seong-gye got as far as the Yalu River before he decided the war was a terrible idea and would lead to his army being wiped out. So he turned back, attacked the capital, and deposed U.
Chang
Personal name: Wang Chang (왕창/王昌)
Lived: 6 September 1380 — 31 December 1389
Reigned: 9 June 1388 — 15 November 1389
Parents: King U and Royal Consort Geun
One of the most tragic figures in Korean history. Chang was made king when he was only 7 and spent his entire reign under the control of I Seong-gye. After a year Seong-gye decided to replace him with a distant cousin. Chang and his father were exiled to Ganghwa Island, where both of them were assassinated.
Gongyang
Personal name: Wang Yo (왕요/王瑤)
Lived: 9 March 1345 — 17 May 1394
Reigned: 15 November 1389 — 12 July 1392
Parents: Wang Gyun, Internal Prince Jeongwon and Princess Bongnyeong
Consorts: Royal Consort Sun of the Gyoha No clan (c. 1345 — 1394)
A descendant of King Sinjeong. He was chosen as Goryeo's last king, possibly because his niece Lady Gang married I Seong-gye. Gongyang did his best to avoid trouble and show he had no political ambitions. It didn't do him any good in the end. I Seong-gye and his son I Bang-won wiped out the House of Wang's supporters, and when there was no one left to object they deposed Gongyang. At first they only exiled him, but two years later they assassinated him along with his son. I Seong-gye then took the throne himself and founded The House of I.
Appearances in fiction:
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Film
- A Frozen Flower: The king is unnamed but is inspired by Gongmin.
- Wang-geon, the Great: Based on Taejo's life.
Live-Action TV
- Guardian: The Lonely and Great God: Wang Yeo is a fictional character and doesn't correspond to any real king, but his surname and the fact he ruled Goryeo indicate he is meant to be part of the family.
- Jegug-ui achim ("The Dawn of the Empire"), KBS1's immediate followup to Taejo Wang Geon, is about the reigns of Taejo's sons.
- The King Loves: Chungseon is the main character.
- Moon Lovers is set during Taejo's reign. The future Gwangjong is one of the main characters, and the future Hyejong and Jeongjong are supporting characters.
- Goryeo–Khitan War: Hyeongjong is the main character and Mokjong is a supporting character. Other members of the family also appear.
- Taejo Wang Geon (subbed into English as Emperor Wang Gun) chronicles Taejo's childhood and rise to the throne.
