Bojang (died 682; ) was the 28th and last monarch of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

the northernmost of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea The Three Kingdoms of Korea or Samhan (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla) competed for hegemony over the Korea, Korean Peninsula during the ancient period of History of Korea, Korean history. During the Three Kingdoms period (), many states and statele ...

. He was placed on the throne by the military leader

Yeon Gaesomun Yeon GaesomunSome Chinese and Korean sources stated that his surname was Yeongae () and personal name was Somun (), but the majority of sources suggest a one-syllable surname and a three-syllable personal name. (; 594–666) was a powerful mili ...

. His reign ended when Goguryeo fell to the allied forces of the southern Korean kingdom of

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

and the Chinese

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

Background

The period of his rule over Goguryeo is recounted in the final two books of the annals of Goguryeo in the '' Samguk sagi''. Bojang's given name was Jang, though he was also known as Bojang. Bojang was the nephew of the previous king, king Yeongnyu and son of Go Dae-Yang. In 642, the general

carried out a coup d'etat and killed Yeongnyu and many of his supporters. Bojang was then placed on the throne. With the aim of inducing

to join an expedition against

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

dispatched Kim Chun-chu to request the commitment of troops but Goguryeo did not consent. For most of his reign, Bojang was a

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

, giving a veneer of legitimacy to Yeon Gaesomun's military rule. For example, at Yeon's instigation he supported

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

and issued edicts repressing

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

in the country, which had formerly been officially Buddhist. Goguryeo experienced many natural disasters during his reign.Samguk Sagi

Reign

Goguryeo continued battle against the southern Korean kingdom of

, in alliance with the third of the Three Kingdoms,

. Silla was further isolated by Goguryeo's restored relations with the Wa of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In 642, Silla sent Kim Chun-chu to negotiate a treaty, but when Yeon Gaesomun demanded the return of the

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

region, talks broke down, leading Silla to eventually ally with the Tang dynasty. In 645, the

Emperor Taizong of Tang Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty fo ...

led a major expedition against Goguryeo by land and sea, but Yeon Gaesomun and Yang Manchun repelled the invasion, as well as subsequent smaller attacks by the Tang. In 654, Goguryeo attacked the Khitans, who were allied with the Tang. In 655, Goguryeo and Baekje attacked Silla.Samguk Yusa The Baekje kingdom finally fell to Silla-Tang in 660. Yeon Gaesomun defeated major invasions of

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

in 661 and Sasu River in 662, but Silla and Tang were now free to focus and intensify their attacks against Goguryeo. In 663, the Baekje revival movement ended as its leader Buyeo Pung retreated to Goguryeo. After the death of Yeon Gaesomun in 666, Bojang was unable to gain control over the country, which instead was wracked by a succession struggle between Yeon's sons.

Fall of Goguryeo and after

As internal struggles continued in Goguryeo,

Yeon Namsaeng Yeon Namsaeng (; 634–679) was the eldest son of the Goguryeo ' (대막리지, 大莫離支; highest-ranking official or dictator; "prime minister") Yeon Gaesomun (603? – 665). In 665, Yeon Namsaeng succeeded his father and became the 2nd Dae ...

defected and 40 castles near the border surrendered to the Tang, while Yeon Jeong-to,

's brother, defected to Silla. The Goguryeo capital fell to Silla-Tang forces in the ninth

lunar month In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month. Variations In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Euro ...

of 668, and King Bojang was captured. He was appointed to the minister of public works (工部尚書) by Tang Gaozong. Tang faced increasing problems ruling the former inhabitants of Goguryeo, as well as Silla's resistance to Tang's remaining presence on the Korean Peninsula. In 677, the Tang insisted on crowning Bojang as the "King of

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

" and put him in charge of the Liaodong Commandery () of the

Protectorate General to Pacify the East The Protectorate-General to Pacify the East () was an administrative division of the Chinese Tang dynasty in Manchuria and the northern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula. It was established after the Tang dynasty defeated Goguryeo and annexed ...

. However, Bojang continued to foment rebellions against Tang in an attempt to revive Goguryeo, organizing Goguryeo refugees and allying with the Malgal tribes. He was eventually banished to

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

in 681, and died the following year. Because Bojang was the last ruler of Goguryeo, he did not receive a

temple name Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the Sinosphere for the purpose of ancestor worship. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the Shang dynasty in China and had since been adopted by other dynas ...

after his death. There was a brief attempt at Goguryeo restoration made by Anseung, who ultimately surrendered to Silla. One of his sons Go Yak-gwang settled in Japan in 666 where he founded the Koma clan and became known as Koma no Koshiki Jakkō. Go Deokmu was a prince of

and founded Lesser Goguryeo. He was the third son of King Bojang.

Family

*Father: Prince Daeyang () **Grandfather: King Pyeongwon () *Sons from first wife: ** Go Bok-nam () – last Crown Prince of

. ** Go Im-mu () – last ''Magniji'' of

. ** Go Ryeon () ** Go Deokmu () ** Go Yak-gwang () " Jakkō" – ancestor of the Koma clan in

. * Son from second wife: ** Anseung () ** Inseung () – ancestor of the Hoengseong Go clan (also known Goguryeo Go Clan) royal family of Goguryeo in Korea. *Grandsons: ** Go Bowon () – Go Bok-nam's son. ** Go Jin () – Go Ryeon's son. ** Koma no Ieshige (高麗家重) – Go Yak-gwang's son in Japan.

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Kil Yong-woo in 2006–2007 KBS TV series '' Dae Jo-yeong''. * Portrayed by Ahn Shin-woo in the 2012–2013 KBS1 TV series '' Dream of the Emperor''. * Portrayed by On Joo-wan in 2013

KBS2 KBS 2TV is a South Korean free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen ...

TV series '' The Blade and Petal''. * Portrayed by Ham Ji Sung in the 2017 KBS TV series '' Chronicles of Korea''

References