Geom Mojam (?–670) was the military leader of a short-lived movement to restore

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 ...

after its fall to

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 ...

in the later 7th century CE. After the kingdom fell to Tang and Silla in 668, he kindled an opposition movement in the

Taedong River The Taedong River () is a large river in North Korea. The river rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o.Suh, Dae-Sook (1987) "North Korea in 1986: Strengthening the Soviet ...

valley and in 670 established Anseung (안승, 安勝, another source has it as Ansun, 안순, 安舜) as the new King of Goguryeo. Anseung is believed to have been the illegitimate son of King Bojang, the last ruler of that kingdom. The capital was set up in modern-day Chaeryŏng-gun,

South Hwanghae South Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaenamdo; , lit. "south Yellow Sea province") is a Administrative divisions of North Korea, province in western North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North Hwa ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. The rebellion is briefly described in the ''

Samguk Sagi ''Samguk sagi'' () is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. Completed in 1145, it is well-known in Korea as the oldest surviving chronicle of Korean history. The ''Samguk sagi'' is written in Classical ...

'', Goguryeo Book 10. One source gives Geom's birthplace as Surimseong (수림성, 水臨城), while the

(“Annals of Silla”/King Munmu 10/Month 6) relates that he was a native of the walled city of Yeongnim (location unknown). His date of birth is unknown. As military official, the

relates, he reached the rank of ''daehyeong'' (대형, 大兄), seventh among the 14 ranks of Goguryeo officialdom. However, the New History of Tang (book 220/“Gaoli Monograph”) records his name as Gyeom Mojam (겸모잠, 鉗牟岑) and his office as that of daejang. The

relates how following the fall of Goguryeo Geom departed from Gungmo fortress (궁모성, 窮牟城) and arriving to the south of the Pae River he met and killed several Tang officials and the monk Fa An (法安) before heading for Silla territory. En route to Silla he met Anseung at Saya Island (present day Soya Island) and together they came to Han fortress (present day Chaeryŏng, Chaeryŏng county,

Province). There Anseung was proclaimed king of Goguryeo. After placing Anseung on the throne, Geom dispatched the ''sohyeong'' (소형, 小兄) ''Dasik'' (다식, 多式) to Silla to request armed assistance and recognition from that kingdom. Silla at this time was struggling to avoid absorption into the

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 ...

through 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 ...

(安東都護府), a military government Tang had established on the peninsula after the fall of Baekje and Goguryeo. Therefore, Silla eagerly sent an embassy recognizing Ansun as the legitimate King of Goguryeo and offering an alliance. But relation with Geom and Anseung suddenly deteriorated, and Geom was assassinated at the behest of Anseung. After the assassination, Anseung fled to Silla and later ruled the short-lived Bodeok Kingdom based in

Iksan Iksan (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city and major railway junction in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. The city center and railway junction was formerly called "Iri" (), but merged with Iksan County (''Iksan-gun'') in 19 ...

. Geom's struggle is comparable to that of the

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 ...

leader Boksin, who led a similarly ill-fated attempt to restore the Baekje state a decade before. The ultimate failure of Geom's struggle also prepared the way for the subsequent Goguryeo diaspora.{{Cite web , url=http://www.korea.net/news/news/newsView.asp?serial_no=20040303016&part=111 , title=On the Goguryeo diaspora see , access-date=2004-11-29 , archive-date=2007-09-30 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930155655/http://www.korea.net/news/news/newsView.asp?serial_no=20040303016&part=111 , url-status=dead

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Kim Myung-soo in the 2006-2007 KBS TV series '' Dae Jo-yeong''.

In popular culture

Notes

See also