The Battle of Gwiju, which occurred in 1019, was the major battle during the Third Goryeo–Khitan War (1018-1019), fought between the Khitan-led

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

of China and the

Goryeo dynasty Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

of Korea. After crossing the Aprok River, the Liao dynasty troops invaded the Goryeo dynasty. The Goryeo general

Gang Gam-chan Gang Gam-chan (; 22 December 948 – 9 September 1031) was a medieval Korean government official and military commander during the early days of Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392). Even though he was a career scholar and government official, he is best ...

dammed a stream and released it as the Liao troops were crossing. Despite suffering significant casualties, some Liao troops marched to

Gaegyeong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...

, the capital of Goryeo. During their campaign, general Gang Gam-chan cut the supplies of the Liao troops and harassed them relentlessly. Exhausted, the Liao troops decided to retreat hastily northward. Monitoring the movement of their troops, general Gang Gam-chan attacked them in the vicinity of Gwiju, ending in a complete victory for the Goryeo dynasty.

Aftermath

After the battle, peace negotiations followed and the Liao dynasty did not invade Korea again. Korea entered in a long and peaceful period with its foreign neighbours across the

Yalu River The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between ...

. The victory at the Battle of Kuju is regarded as one of the three greatest military victories (other victories are

Battle of Salsu The Battle of Salsu was a major battle that occurred in the year 612 during the second campaign of the Goguryeo–Sui War between Goguryeo of Korea and Sui of China. Goguryeo won an overwhelming victory over the numerically superior Sui forces ...

and

Battle of Hansando The Battle of Hansan Island and following engagement at Angolpo took place from 8 July 1592. In two naval encounters, Korean Admiral Yi Sun-sin's fleet managed to destroy roughly 100 Japanese ships and halted Japanese naval operations along th ...

) in Korean history. It is said through texts in the ''

Goryeosa The ''Goryeosa'' (), or ''History of Goryeo'', is the main surviving historical record of Korea's Goryeo dynasty. It was composed nearly a century after the fall of Goryeo, during the reign of King Sejong, undergoing repeated revisions between ...

'' and ''Goryeo Dogyeong'' that tens of thousands of Liao soldiers held prisoners during the battle were relocated to Namgyeong, today's

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, while some worked as engineers in the nation's silk industry and booming economy.

References

{{coord missing, North Korea Guju Guju Goryeo Khitan history Kuju History of North Pyongan Province Kuju 11th century in Korea 1019 in Asia

Aftermath

See also

References