Kim In-mun (; 629–694) was an aristocrat, scholar, and official of the ancient 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 ...

. He was the son of Muyeol and the younger brother of Munmu, the twenty-ninth and thirtieth kings respectively of Silla.

Biography

In 651, as a young man of twenty-three, Kim In-mun was dispatched by his father, King Muyeol, to Tang China and entered into the service of Tang Gaozong, where he soon won that emperor's trust and esteem. In 653 King Muyeol entrusted his son In-mun with the diplomatic mission of securing a Tang military alliance against Silla's rival

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 ...

. Kim In-mun mobilized with the Tang troops that subsequently marched on Baekje, and participated in the campaign that ended in the destruction of Baekje and the capture of its last king Uija. Kim In-mun would go on to serve as a regular mediary between the Tang and Silla courts in the years of Korea's unification wars and for a short period thereafter, living much of his life in the Tang capital. In 674, in the wake of Silla's unification of the peninsula and the subsequent deterioration of the Silla-Tang alliance, Kim In-mun was actually named King of Silla by the Tang emperor and ordered to return to Silla to replace his brother on the throne. It was while en route back to Silla that an embassy from Silla was met proffering apologies to Tang and seeking forgiveness. Kim's title was rescinded and he returned to the Tang capital. The 12th century Korean history

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 ...

contains a brief biography of Kim In-mun. There it states that he died of illness in the Tang capital of

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

in the fourth month of 694, a detail confirmed in the Tang histories. The Tang emperor sent a special delegation to conduct Kim's body back to Silla. In Silla he was granted the posthumous title of ''Taedae gakgan'' () and was buried on the western plain of the Silla capital of

Gyeongju Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...

. The 13th century

Samguk Yusa ''Samguk yusa'' (; ) or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, d ...

relates that Kim In-mun died on board ship en route back to Silla, but considering the rather detailed account of Kim's death and subsequent funeral embassy found in the Tang histories and repeated in the ''Samguk Sagi'', this account seems doubtful.

Popular culture

* Portrayed by Jeon Kwang-jin in the 2012–2013

KBS1 KBS 1TV is a South Korean free-to-air television channel that launched on 31 December 1961 and is owned by Korean Broadcasting System. The channel offers more serious programming than its sister channel KBS2, and airs with no commercials. Hi ...

TV series ''

Dream of the Emperor ''Dream of the Emperor'' () is a South Korean television series that aired on KBS1 from September 8, 2012 to June 9, 2013 on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:40 for 70 episodes. Plot Kim Chun-chu is the grandson of King Jinji, but when his grandfa ...

''.

Biography

Popular culture

See also