Hae Gu (? – 478) was a noble of

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 ...

, one 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 a member of the Hae clan (解氏), one of the "

Great Eight Families The Great Eight Families (, ) were eight noble families of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. They were the most powerful of the noble families and had been comrades in arms with the founding monarch Onjo of Baekje. They reached the pin ...

" (''Daeseongpaljok'', 大姓八族). He held the position of Minister of Defense (''Byeonggwanjwapyeong'', 兵官佐平) during the reigns of the 22nd king,

Munju of Baekje Munju (?–477, r. 475–477Il-yeon: ''Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea'', translated by Tae-Hung Ha and Grafton K. Mintz. Book Two, page 120. Silk Pagoda (2006). ) was the 22nd king of Baekje, one of the ...

and his son the 23rd king,

Samgeun of Baekje Samgeun (465–479) (r. 477–479) was the 23rd king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. According to the ''Samguk sagi'', he was the eldest son of the 22nd king Munju. Background In 475, the northern Korean kingdom of Gogur ...

. In August, 476 during the second year of the reign of King

he was appointed Minister of Defense (''Byeonggwanjwapyeong'', 兵官佐平). In July, 477, Hae Gu who had obtained more power killed

Buyeo Gonji Buyeo Gonji (? – July, 477) was a member of the royal family of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was a son of the 21st king, Gaero of Baekje and younger brother of the 22nd king, Munju of Baekje. Life According to the ''Samguk Sagi ...

, the younger brother of Munju. The King failed to gain control over the nobility and in the midst of this instability, the chief general Hae Gu took control of the military. In September the same year (477) Hae Gu sent an assassin and killed King Munju. The following year the 13-year-old son of Munju, Samgeun was crowned king. Since he was not fit to oversee the military, the armies continued to be overseen by General Hae Gu, who maintained actual political control. In January, 478, Hae Gu made common cause with rebels based in Daedu Fortress led by ''Eunsol'' (恩率: 3rd official rank)

Yeon Sin Yeon Sin (? – 478) was a noble of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was a member of the Yeon clan (燕氏), one of the " Great Eight Families" (''Daeseongpaljok'', 大姓八族). He held the position of Eunsol (恩率: 3rd officia ...

(燕信). Samgeun first sent the noble, the ''Sahei'' (佐平: 1st official rank) Jin Nam to capture the castle with 2,000 men, but he failed. He then sent the ''Dalsol'' (德率: 4th official rank) Jin Ro, who defeated the rebels with 500 men, whereupon Yeon Sin fled to Goguryeo. With this event, the Jin clan gained great strength in Baekje. Hae Gu was captured and executed.Samguk Sagi, scroll 25

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References

* Hong, Wontack. (1994). ''Paekche of Korea and the Origin of Yamato Japan''. Seoul: Kudara International. * https://web.archive.org/web/20061220223926/http://gias.snu.ac.kr/wthong/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20080827190959/http://www.himemiko.info/2006/01/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20071113135549/http://www.kansai.gr.jp/culture_e/ibunka/monuments/siga/index.html

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