Gang Jo (, 964 – 31 December 1010) was a

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificat ...

general who came from the noble family in Sincheon,

Hwanghae-do Hwanghae Province (''Hwanghae-do'' ) was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon era. Hwanghae was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Haeju. The Regions of Korea, regional name for the province was Haeseo ...

and served under King

Mokjong of Goryeo Mokjong of Goryeo (5 July 980 – 2 March 1009) (r. 997–1009) was the seventh ruler of the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. Reign Born as Wang Song, Mokjong was the only son of King Gyeongjong; however, when his father died, he was too young t ...

and King

Hyeonjong of Goryeo Hyeonjong of Goryeo (1 August 992 – 17 June 1031, r. 1009–1031) was the 8th ruler of the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. He was a grandson of King Taejo. He was appointed by the military leader Gang Jo, whom the previous King Mokjong had calle ...

. General Gang Jo was a general in charge of the Northern border army and came from the

Sincheon Gang clan Sincheon Kang clan () is a Korean clan from Sinchon County, Hwanghae Province. According to a census held in 2015, the clan has 52,945 members and in a census held in 2000, the clan had 13,909 families. The ''daedongbo'' (a compilation genealogy ...

, those made Gang become the relative of King Taejo's 22nd wife,

Lady Sinjuwon Lady Sinjuwon of the Sincheon Gang clan (; ) was the daughter of Gang Gi-ju who became the 23rd wife of Taejo of Goryeo. Through her father, she was a descendant of Gang Bo-jeon (강보전) who was the great-grandson of Gang Ho-gyeong (강호경) ...

Rise to power

When scholar-official Kim Chi-yang burned the royal palace to the ground, threatening to kill the king and take over, King Mokjong called General Gang Jo to the capital city of

Kaesong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...

. General Gang Jo immediately executed Kim Chi-yang and his supporters. Then, the scholar officials, enemies of Gang Jo, spread rumors and lies that the general was planning to take over the government for himself. These rumors reached the King, and he planned to kill Gang Jo. Gang Jo heard of the conspiracy and doubts of the King, and ordered his army to attack and kill all of his enemies, including the King. After assassinating King Mokjong, General Gang placed King

on the throne.

War with the Liao and death

Soon after this,

Emperor Shengzong of Liao Emperor Shengzong of Liao (16 January 972 – 25 June 1031), personal name Wenshunu, sinicised name Yelü Longxu, was the sixth emperor of the Khitan-led Chinese Liao dynasty and its longest reigning monarch. Conflict with the Northern Song dy ...

attacked Goryeo during the fall of 1010 in an attempt to kill Gang Jo for killing the Goryeo King. According to the Korean source, 400,000-man Liao army invaded Goryeo territory. Liao first attacked but failed to capture the fort of Hueng hwa, whose lord was General Yang Gyu. Next, the Liao finally headed to the city of Tong-Ju, which is where General Gang Jo and 30,000 Goryeo troops were waiting. General Gang Jo set up an ambush on a narrow pass that the Liao army was inevitably going to have to pass. There, he directly led his troops in a three-pronged attack when the Liao came. The Liao soldiers were forced to retreat and 10,000 died during this ambush. The enemy troops again attacked Tong-Ju city but faced a humiliating defeat with severe casualties. The Liao commander launched another attack on the city, with Gang Jo as his main target. The Liao were defeated a third time, and were forced to retreat once more. In one last-ditch effort, the Liao army came attacking once more, but this time, General Gang Jo did not directly orchestrate the attack and played Badok with one of his lieutenants instead, thinking that victory was a given. In the same time, Liao general Yelupennu led the Khitan army to attack and capture the Sanshu fortress. However, after hearing the source Gang Jo did not take any measures to defend Khitan force. Then one of Gang Jo's men told his plan to the Liao. Liao soldiers pierced through the city's defenses. After the Khitan army launched a surprise attack, the Goryeo army was defeated, finally 30,000 Goryeo soldiers were killed and Gang Jo was captured. General Gang refused to surrender to the Liao Emperor, who in turn executed Gang.

Place in history and comparison to Yeon Gaesomun

Gang Jo is seen as a hero. Though his rule was a time of war against the invading Liao, not many deaths were ordered by the general with the exception of King Mokjong and the conspiring scholar-officials. Gang Jo can be compared with his predecessor Yeon Gaesomun of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled mos ...

, who had also killed a King of Goguryeo for conspiring against him. Gang Jo, however, was not as brilliant as Yeon Gaesomun, as he was not able to keep control for very long. Gang Jo did bring great victories to Goryeo over the Liao dynasty, but his death brought about another period of trouble for Goryeo, just as Yeon Gaesomun's death had done to Goguryeo. Gang Jo can be seen as a smaller-scale version of Yeon Gaesomun.

Family

*Father: Gang Tae-ju (강태주, 康泰周) *Daughter: Lady Gang (부인 강씨, 夫人康氏) **Son-in-law: Gim Jin-yu (김진유, 金振酉) ***Grandson: Gim Seung-ui (김승의, 金承意) ***Grandson: Gim Gye-ui (김계의, 金繼意) ***Grandson: Gim Jin-ui (김진의, 金進意)

In popular culture

* Portrayed by

Choi Jae-sung Choi Jae-Sung (born November 18, 1964) is a South Korean actor. Choi debuted with KBS TV drama series, ''Diary of a High School Student'' in 1984. Choi entered stardom through ''The Tree Blooming with Love'' and ''Lee Jang-ho's Baseball Team''. ...

in the 2009

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, ...

TV series '' Empress Cheonchu''.

References