Munmu of Silla (626–681; reigned 661–681) was the 30th king of the

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

n kingdom of

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms o ...

. He is usually considered to have been the first

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

of the

Unified Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla (, ), is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, after 668 CE. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alliance conquered Baekje and the southern part of Goguryeo in the ...

period. Munmu was the son of

King Muyeol King Taejong Muyeol (604–661), born Gim Chunchu, 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 ...

and Munmyeong, who was the younger sister of Gim Yu-sin. 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. He was born Prince Beopmin (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The l ...

: 법민

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 法敏), 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''.

Family

*Father : King Muyeol *Mother: Queen Munmyeong (Hangul: 문명왕후, Hanja: 文明王后) of the

Gimhae Kim The Gimhae Kim clan () is one of the Korean clans. This clan traces their origin to Suro of Geumgwan Gaya. King Suro was the founder of Gaya confederacy, and his descendant, Kim Yu-sin is renowned for unifying the Silla polity. It was considered ...

clan *Spouse: Queen Jaeui, of the Kim Clan (자의왕후 김씨; d.681) **Son: Prince Somyeong (?-665) **Son: Prince Jeong-myeong–who became

King Sinmun Sinmun of Silla (r. 681–692) was the thirty-first king of Silla, a Korean state that originated in the southwestern Korean peninsula and went on to unify most of the peninsula under its rule in the mid 7th century. He was the eldest son of Sil ...

, 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 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder J ...

and

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled mos ...

, shortly after General Gyebaek and Baekje had been defeated at Sabi by General Gim Yu-sin 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 and attempted to place the entire

Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

, including Silla, under its rule. To prevent this, Munmu forged alliances with Goguryeo resistance leaders such as Geom Mojam and Anseung, 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 Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) ...

and fostered resistance against them. Emperor

Gaozong Gaozong () is the temple name of several Chinese monarchs. It can refer to: * Emperor Yuan of Han (reign: 49 BC–33 BC) * Emperor Gaozong of Tang (reign: 649–683) * Emperor Gaozong of Song (reign: 1127–1162) * Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dyna ...

, in anger, arbitrarily declared King Munmu's brother, Gim Inmun, the king. However, King Munmu formally apologized and offered tribute, and Emperor Gaozong ordered a withdraw and recalled Gim Inmun. 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 te ...

(

: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 ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

entirely and moved the Protectorate General to Pacify the East 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 (Chosŏn'gŭl: ) 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: Strengthenin ...

. 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."

did as his father asked, and scattered his ashes over Daewangam (the Rock of the Great King), a small rocky islet a hundred metres or so 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 great King Munmu. In a dream, King Munmu and the famous general Gim 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 Gim 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 nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

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

Popular culture

* Portrayed by

Baek Seung-hyeon Baek Seung-hyeon (born Baek Seung-wook on March 1, 1975) is a South Korean actor. Baek has starred in supporting roles in television series such as ''Cain and Abel In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain ''Qayīn'', in pausa ''Qāyīn''; ...

in the 2006 SBS TV series '' Yeon Gaesomun.'' *Portrayed by Moon Hee-won in the 2006 KBS TV series '' Dae Jo Yeong.'' *Portrayed by Park Joo-hyeong in the 2011 MBC TV series '' Gyebaek.'' *Portrayed by Lee Jong-soo in the 2012-2013

KBS1 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, ...

TV series '' The King's Dream''. * In the 2016

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

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

Chronicles of Korea Chronicles may refer to: * ''Books of Chronicles'', in the Bible * Chronicle, chronological histories * ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', a novel series by C. S. Lewis * ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', the collected works of Raphael Holinshed * ''The Idhu ...

References

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