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 "sacred bone" rank of ''seonggol''. His father, Kim Yongsu (), was a son of Silla's 25th ruler, King Jinji. When King Jinji was overthrown, all royalty from his line, including Kim Yong-su, were deemed unfit to rule over the kingdom. However, as Yong-su was one of the few remaining ''seonggols'', and married a ''seonggol'' princess ( King Jinpyeong's daughter Princess Cheonmyeong), their child, Kim Ch'un-ch'u, became ''seonggol'' and thus had a claim to the throne. Kim Yong-su was a powerful figure in the government; however, he lost all of his power to , the brother of the king. In order to survive, he accepted to become a ''jingol'', the rank that was right below ''seonggol'', therefore removing the right of becoming the king for him and his son, Kim Ch'un-ch'u. Following the death of his aunt, Queen Seondeok, Ch'un-ch'u was passed over in favor of Jindeok of Silla, the last verifiable ''seonggol''. With her death, all the ''seonggols'' were dead, so somebody with the royal blood in the ''jinggol'' rank had to succeed the throne. Alcheon, who then held the title '' Sangdaedeung'', or highest post of government, of Silla was the original favorite to succeed the throne. His father was a ''seonggol'', who married a ''jingol'' woman so that his son would not be a ''seonggol'' and suffer from the fight for the throne. However, Kim Yu-sin supported Kim Ch'un-ch'u, and Alcheon eventually refused the throne and supported Ch'un-ch'u's claim. As a result, Kim Ch'un-ch'u succeeded the throne as King Muyeol.

Marriage to Kim Yu-sin's sister

Kim Yu-sin had two sisters: Bo-hee and Mun-hee. Bo-hee was a shy girl with a delicate appearance, while Mun-hee was a tall and outgoing girl. Kim Yu-sin had always hoped for one of his sisters to be married to Kim Ch'un-ch'u.

One day, Kim Ch'un-ch'u went to Kim Yu-sin's house for a game of dakyu (, traditional Korean polo). During the game, Kim Yu-sin deliberately tore off one of the tassels on Kim Ch'un-ch'u's robe. Kim Yu-sin offered to have it sewn by one of his sisters; he then sent for Bohee to have it mend, but she was too nervous to come into the presence of a stranger, and politely refused by saying that "she cannot do something so small for someone so precious". Munhee stepped out and offered to sew it instead. When they met, Kim Ch'un-ch'u and Munhee fell in love with each other. Kim Ch'un-ch'u started to visit Munhee more often, but Kim Yu-sin pretended not to be aware of their relationship. Eventually, Munhee became pregnant, however, Kim Ch'un-ch'u decided to keep it a secret in fear of causing trouble since he was already a married man. When Kim Yu-sin found out about it, he scolded his sister severely, then ordered their servants to spread the rumor of his sister's pregnancy and that he might kill her because of it in a plan to pressure Kim Ch'un-ch'u into marrying his sister.

Not long afterwards, Queen Seondeok decided to take a walk with her officials on the mountain Namsan. When he heard of it, Kim Yu-sin made a pile of dry logs and twigs in the garden outside of his house and set it on fire for the Queen to see. High up on the mountain, the Queen noticed the black smoke that was coming from Yushin's residence area, and asked those accompanying her if they knew the reason. No one dared to answer her, but simply looked at one another in embarrassment. When the Queen pressed on the issue, she finally learned from them about the rumor of Munhee's pregnancy out of wedlock and that Kim Yu-sin might burn her to death because of it. She was astonished with what they said and wondered "Who could the father be, to make Kim Yu-sin act like that". She then noticed the anxious look on Kim Ch'un-ch'u's face and asked if he knew anything about it. After the truth was revealed, the Queen ordered him to go and save Munhee's life by granting him the permission to marry her as his second wife, to become his lawful spouse when his first wife died.

Munhee officially became his wife after Kim Ch'un-ch'u's wife (Boryang) died of childbirth with their second child. She became his queen after he was crowned as the 29th King of Silla on year 654. Their child grew up to be King Munmu, who completed the unification of The Three Kingdoms of Korea, 29 years after Queen Seondeok's death. Kim Yu-sin became the most powerful man in the court during King Muyeol's reign and eventually became a '' Sangdaedeung'', six years later. His sister Bohee also became one of King Muyeol's wives.

Reign

He was well acquainted with the Emperor Gaozong of the Tang dynasty, for he and the Emperor were friends before Gaozong became an Emperor. King Muyeol was a great support to the Emperor, and the Emperor returned the support to King Muyeol. He constantly pleaded with the Tang for reinforcements to destroy Baekje, to which the Tang finally acquiesced in 660, sending 130,000 troops under General Su Dingfang. Meanwhile, Kim Yu-sin set out from Silla with 50,000 soldiers and fought the bloody Battle of Hwangsanbeol leaving Baekje devastated and unprotected. King Uija of Baekje finally surrendered, leaving only Goguryeo to face Silla as an adversary on the Korean peninsula.

In June of the following year King Muyeol died, leaving his son Munmu of Silla to assume the throne.

His tomb is currently located in Gyeongju. It is the only Silla-era tomb for which the owner's identity is known with certainty.

Family

Parents
*Father: Kim Yong-su (Hanja: 金龍春 or金龍樹, Hangul 김용춘 or 김용수)( 578–647)
**Grandfather: King Jinji of Silla
**Grandmother: Lady Jido of the Bak clan ()
*Mother: Princess Cheonmyeong ()
**Grandfather: King Jinpyeong of Silla
**Grandmother: Queen Maya
Consorts and their respective issue:
#Princess Bora () of the Gyeongju Seol clan ()
##Lady Gotaso (627 – 642) (고타소랑, Hanja: 古陀炤娘)
##Second daughter
#Queen Munmyeong () of the Gimhae Gim clan
##King Munmu of Silla (626 – 681)
##Kim In-mun (629 – 694)
##Lady Jiso ()
#Kim Po-hui (), Lady Yeonchang () of the Gimhae Kim clan
##Kim Kaejimun ()
##Kim Cha-tŭk ()
##Kim Ma-tŭk ()
##Princess Yoseok ()
##Kim In-t'ae ()
#Unknown consortsIt is certain that Kim In-t'ae, Kim Kaejimun, and Kim Ma-tŭk were the sons of concubines. The identity of Kim Mun-wang, Kim No-ch'a, Kim Chi-gyŏng, and Kim Kae-wŏn's mothers are uncertain. According to the ''Samguk yusa'', they were sons of Queen Munmyeong, but the ''Samguk sagi'' lists them as the sons of concubines.
##Kim Mun-wang (; 629 – 665)
##Kim No-ch'a ()
##Kim Chi-gyŏng ()
##Kim Kae-wŏn ()

Ancestry

Popular culture

* Portrayed by Lee Ho-seong in 2003 movie ''Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield''.
*Portrayed by Kim Byung-se in the 2006 SBS TV series ''Yeon Gaesomun.''
*Portrayed by Yoo Seung-ho and Jung Yun-seok in the 2009 MBC TV series ''Queen Seondeok''.
* Portrayed by Lee Dong-kyu in the 2011 MBC TV series ''Gyebaek''.
* Portrayed by Choi Soo-jong and Chae Sang-woo in the 2012–2013 KBS1 TV series ''Dream of the Emperor''.
*Portrayed by Park Jun-hyuk in the 2017 KBS TV series ''Chronicles''.

See also

* History of Korea
* Rulers of Korea
* Bone rank system

References

External links

Kim Ch'un-ch'u
(in Korean)

{{Authority control

Silla monarchs
603 births
661 deaths
7th-century Korean monarchs