King Sosurim of Goguryeo (died 384) (r. 371–384) was the 17th ruler of

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 most ...

, the northernmost of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

. He was the son of King Gogugwon.

Family

*Father: King Gogukwon (고국원왕, 故國原王) **Grandfather: King Micheon (미천왕, 美川王) **Grandmother: ''Queen'', of the Ju clan (왕후 주씨, 王后周氏) *Unknown wife – No issue.

Background and Rise to the throne

Born as Go Gu-Bu, King Sosurim was the first son and successor of King Gogugwon. He assisted his father in leading the country and strengthening royal authority, which had been severely weakened due to humiliation brought upon by the Later Yan, who dug up the grave of King Micheon. Prince Gu-Bu was made crown prince in 355.

Reign

He became king in 371 when his father King Gogugwon was killed by the

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 Jum ...

King Geunchogo's assault on

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

Castle. Sosurim is considered to have strengthened the centralization of authority in Goguryeo, by establishing state religious institutions to transcend tribal factionalism. The development of centralized government system was largely attributed to reconciliation policy of Sosurim with its southern opponent,

. In 372, he received

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

through travelling monks of

Former Qin The Former Qin, also called Fu Qin (苻秦), (351–394) was a dynastic state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese history ruled by the Di ethnicity. Founded by Fu Jian (posthumously Emperor Jingming) who originally served under the Later ...

and built temples to house them. It is said the king of Former Qin during

Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded by ...

period sent Monk Sundo with images and scriptures of Buddha and; Monk Ado, native Goguryeo returned two years later. Under full-pledged support of royal family, it is said the first temple, Heungguk monastery of Korean kingdoms was supposedly constructed around the capital. Though there are several evidences that Buddhism was established before the year of 372 such as mid-4th century mausoleum styles under the Buddhist influence, it is well accepted that Sosurim consolidated Buddhist footprints not only on Korean people’s spiritual world but also in terms of bureaucracy systems and ideology. The year 372 held its critical importance in Korean history not only for Buddhism but also for Confucianism and

Daoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

. Sosurim also established the

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

institutions of Taehak (태학, 太學) to educate the children of the nobility. In 373, he promulgated a code of laws called (율령, 律令) which stimulated the institutionalized law systems including penal codes and codified regional customs. In 374, 375, and 376, he attacked the Korean kingdom of

to the south, and in 378 was attacked by the Khitan from the north. He died in 384 and was buried in Sosurim, which was probably a forest around its second capital,

Gungnae Gungnae (Korean) or Guonei (Mandarin) City was the capital of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, which was located in Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula. The perimeter of its outer fortress measures 2,686m. It is located in present day Ji'an ...

Legacy

Most of King Sosurim's reign and life was spent trying to keep Goguryeo under control and also strengthening royal authority. Although he was not able to avenge the death of his father and previous Goguryeo ruler, King Gogugwon, he did play a major role in setting up the foundations that made the great conquests of his nephew and later ruler of Goguryeo, King Gwanggaeto the Great achieve reckless subjugations.

Depiction in arts and media

* Portrayed by Jun Sung-hwan in the 2007 MBC TV series '' The Legend.'' * Portrayed by Jin Sung and

Jung Yun-seok Jung Yoon-seok (born April 30, 2003) is a South Korean actor. He won Best Young Actor award in 2009 SBS Drama Awards for his role in '' Temptation of Wife''. Early life and education Born to Korean-Chinese parents, Jung began his acting c ...

in the 2010-2011 KBS TV series ''

The King of Legend ''The King of Legend'' (; literally ''King Geunchogo'') is a 2010 South Korean historical drama based on King Geunchogo of Baekje. Besides historical information from Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa, it was also inspired by a novel written by Lee M ...

.''

References