Munmu of Silla (626–681), personal name Kim Pŏm-min, was a Korean monarch who served as the 30th king of the

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n 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 is usually considered to have been the first

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, scale, line gauge, or metre/meter stick, is an instrument used to make length measurements, whereby a length is read from a series of markings called "rules" along an edge of the device. Usually, the instr ...

of the

Unified Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla, is the name often applied to the historical period of the Korean kingdom of Silla after its conquest of Goguryeo in 668 AD, which marked the end of the Three Kingdoms period. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alli ...

period. Munmu was the son of

King Muyeol King Taejong Muyeol (603–661), born Kim Ch'un-ch'u, was the 29th ruler of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He is credited for leading the unification of Korea's Three Kingdoms. Background King Taejong Muyeol was born with the "sac ...

and Munmyeong, who was the younger sister of

Kim Yu-sin Kim Yu-sin (; 595 – 21 August 673) was a Korean military general and politician in 7th-century Silla. He led the unification of the Korean Peninsula by Silla under the reign of King Muyeol and King Munmu. He is said to have been the great ...

. Under his father's reign, he held the office of ''pajinchan'', who apparently was responsible for maritime affairs, and played a key role in developing the country's diplomatic links with

Tang China 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 ...

. He was born as Kim Pŏm-min and took the name Munmu when he succeeded his father to the throne. After his death, he was known by the title of

Dragon King The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in ...

. Munmu is known as one of the great rulers in the land of Korea. During his rule, he tried to achieve the welfare and happiness of the people and to improve the political and social system. He paid great attention to justice and equality and tried to avoid neglecting the people. Munmu also attached great importance to the development of culture and art and tried to promote them in the society. He even paid attention to creating an advanced cultural and educational environment.

Family

*Father : King Muyeol *Mother: Queen Munmyeong () of the Gimhae Kim clan *Spouse: Queen Jaeui, of the Kim clan (자의왕후 김씨; d.681) **Son: Kim So-myŏng (? – 665) **Son: Kim Chŏng-myŏng–who became King Sinmun, the 31st of Silla **

Unification of Three Kingdoms

King Munmu took the throne in the midst of a long conflict 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 ...

and

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 ...

, shortly after General

Gyebaek Gyebaek, or Kyebaek (died 20 August 660In the Korean calendar (lunar), he died on 9 July 660.), was a general in the ancient Korean kingdom of Baekje during the early to mid-7th century. Little else is known of his personal life—including the ...

and Baekje had been defeated at Sabi by General

in 660. In these struggles, Silla was heavily aided by the Tang. The first years of his reign were spent trying to defeat Goguryeo, following an abortive attempt in 661. Finally, in 667, he ordered another attack which led to the defeat of Goguryeo in 668. After the small isolated pockets of resistance were eliminated, Munmu was the first ruler ever to see the Korean peninsula completely unified.

War with Tang China

King Munmu then faced the challenge of freeing his country from Tang domination. After the fall of Goguryeo, Tang created 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 ...

and attempted to place the entire

Korean peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

, including Silla, under its rule. To prevent this, Munmu forged alliances with Goguryeo resistance leaders such as

Geom Mojam Geom Mojam (?–670) was the military leader of a short-lived movement to restore Goguryeo after its fall to Silla in the later 7th century CE. After the kingdom fell to Tang and Silla in 668, he kindled an opposition movement in the Taedong Riv ...

and

Anseung Anseung () (fl. 668–683), alternately Ansun (), was thought to be either the nephew or illegitimate son of King Bojang of Goguryeo, the last King of Goguryeo. He was named the new King of Goguryeo by general Geom Mojam, but later he murdere ...

, and launched a frontal attack on the Tang forces occupying former Baekje territories. The struggle lasted through the early 670s. In 674, Tang and its former ally, Silla, were in constant battle, as King Munmu had taken over much of former Baekje and Goguryeo territory from the Tang and fostered resistance against them. Emperor Gaozong, in anger, arbitrarily declared King Munmu's brother,

Kim In-mun Kim In-mun (; 629–694) was an aristocrat, scholar, and official of the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla. 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 the king. However, King Munmu formally apologized and offered tribute, and Emperor Gaozong ordered a withdraw and recalled Kim In-mun. In 675,

Li Jinxing Li, li, or LI may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects * Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political tec ...

(

Hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () ...

:李謹行) reached Silla territory with Mohe forces that submitted to Tang. However, the Tang forces were defeated by the Silla army at the Maeso fortress (Tang sources claim that the Tang forces won this and other battles in Silla). Emperor Gaozong ordered withdrawal of Tang forces from the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

entirely and moved the

to Liaodong, allowing Silla to eventually expel Tang out of the

and unify the parts of the peninsula south of 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 ...

. This victory, and the maintenance of Silla's independence, is generally regarded as a critical turning point in Korean history.

After Unification Wars

Munmu ruled over unified Silla for twenty years, until he fell ill in 681. On his deathbed, he left his last will and testament, and abdicated to his son, Prince Sinmun. Before he died he said: "A country should not be without a king at any time. Let the Prince have my crown before he has my coffin. Cremate my remains and scatter the ashes in the sea where the whales live. I will become a dragon and thwart foreign invasion." King Sinmun did as his father asked, and scattered his ashes over Daewangam (the Rock of the Great King), a small rocky islet off the Korean coast. Moreover, King Sinmun built the Gomun Temple (the Temple of Appreciated Blessing) and dedicated it to his father, he built a waterway for the sea dragon to come to and from the sea and land, and he built a pavilion, Eegun, overlooking the islet so that future kings could pay their respects to the King Munmu. In a dream, King Munmu and the general Kim Yu-sin appeared to King Sinmun and said to him: "Blowing on a bamboo flute will calm the heavens and the earth." King Sinmun awoke from the dream, rode out to the sea and received the bamboo flute named Manpa-sikjeok (萬波息笛, 만파식적). It was said that the blowing of this bamboo flute invoked the spirits of King Munmu and General Kim Yu-sin and would push back enemy troops, cure illnesses, bring rain during drought and halt the rains in floods.

Ancestry

The ''Stele of Munmu Wang'' suggests that he was of the ethnic

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

origin, or at least that parts of his family arrived from the Xiongnu.

Popular culture

* Portrayed by Baek Seung-hyeon in the 2006 SBS TV series ''

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 ...

.'' *Portrayed by Moon Hee-won in the 2006 KBS TV series ''

Dae Jo-yeong Dae Joyeong (; or ; died 719) or Da Zuorong (), also known as King Go (; ; Chinese: Gao), established the state of Balhae, reigning from 699 to 719. Life Early life Dae Joyeong was the first son of general Dae Jung-sang, who was also ...

.'' *Portrayed by Park Joo-hyeong in the 2011 MBC TV series ''

.'' *Portrayed by Lee Jong-soo 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 ...

''. * In the 2016

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

comic book ''New Super-Man'', King Munmu appears as the source of power for Ahn Kwang-jo, a North Korean refugee with powers over water bodies, able to summon sea creatures to aid. * In the Korean webcomic ''

The Gamer ''The Gamer'' () is a South Korean webtoon hosted by Naver WEBTOON. The webtoon is loosely influenced by fantasy RPGs, ''Dungeons & Dragons'' but set in contemporary South Korea. Once the main protagonist, Han Jihan, notices a dialogue box in ...

'', he appears as the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea * Portrayed by '' Yoon Hye Seok'' in the 2017 KBS TV series '' Chronicles of Korea''

References

{{Authority control Silla monarchs 626 births 681 deaths 7th-century Korean monarchs Muism Deified Korean people