Go Royal Family (Reigned from 37 BC to 668 AD) was the

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

that founded and ruled over the ancient

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 o ...

n kingdom 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 ...

. Its founder,

Jumong Chumo (Hangul: 추모, Hanja: 鄒牟), posthumously Chumo the Holy (Hangul: 추모성왕, Hanja: 鄒牟聖王), was the founding monarch of the kingdom of Goguryeo, and was worshipped as a god-king by the people of Goguryeo and Goryeo. ''Chumo ...

(), broke away from another ancient Korean kingdom called

Dongbuyeo Eastern Buyeo, also rendered as Dongbuyeo or Eastern Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that developed from Northern Buyeo (Northern Fuyu), until it was conquered by Goguryeo. According to the ''Samguk Sagi'', it was established when the Buyeo king ...

to start his own kingdom. The

Taewang Imperial titles were used in various historical Korean states before the 14th century and at the turn of the 20th century: Early Korean states used "great king", "greatest king", and "holy king"; later Korean states used "emperor". Korean monarc ...

s were all members of the Go Royal Family.

Ancestry of Jumong

Jumong was the 4th generation descendant of

Hae Mosu Hae Mo-su () was the founder of Bukbuyeo, Buyeo. According to the ''Samguk Sagi'', Hae Mo-su was the father of Goguryeo's founder, King Dongmyeong of Goguryeo, Jumong (). According to the ''Samguk Yusa'', Hae Mo-su was the son of heaven, riding i ...

, as the grandson of Hae Mosu's second son, King Go Jin, the ruler of Gori. This explains why Jumong was able to rise to the throne of

Bukbuyeo Buyeo or Puyŏ (Korean language, Korean: 부여; Korean pronunciation: Help:IPA/Korean, u.jʌ or 扶餘 ''Fúyú''), also rendered as Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It ...

The Founding

The Go Royal Family (

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 let ...

: 고씨 왕족), The Han Royal Family (

: 한씨왕족) was founded and descended from one

common ancestor Common descent is a concept in evolutionary biology applicable when one species is the ancestor of two or more species later in time. All living beings are in fact descendants of a unique ancestor commonly referred to as the last universal comm ...

, who was Jumong, also the first ruler of Goguryeo. Jumong was the son of Go Mosu and

Lady Yuhwa Habaengnyeo () or Habaengnyeorang () was the daughter of Habaek (), and the mother of Chumo the Holy of Goguryeo, the founder of the kingdom of Goguryeo. She was also given the name Yuhwa () in ''Samguk Sagi'' and ''Samguk Yusa''. Mythological ...

(). Lady Yuhwa was the daughter of

Habaek Habaek () is the Goguryeo god of the Amnok River or, according to an alternative interpretation, the sun god Haebak (). According to legend, his daughter Yuhwa married Haemosu and gave birth to Jumong, the founder of Goguryeo. Mythological overvi ...

(), the god of the

Amnok 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 China–North Ko ...

or, according to an alternative interpretation, the sun god Haebak (). Go Mosu was a descendant of

Haemosu Hae Mo-su () was the founder of Buyeo. According to the ''Samguk Sagi'', Hae Mo-su was the father of Goguryeo's founder, Jumong (). According to the ''Samguk Yusa'', Hae Mo-su was the son of heaven, riding in a chariot of five dragons, to establi ...

, the founder of

, or North Buyeo, and was also said to have been a direct descendant or successor to the Emperors of Ancient Joseon (also known as

Gojoseon Gojoseon () also called Joseon (), was the first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula. According to Korean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary founder named Dangun. Gojoseon possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean Pen ...

). As a descendant of Haemosu, Jumong was driven by the goal of reuniting all of Gojoseon's ancient territory into one whole empire and one whole nation. With this goal in mind, he set off from

and began building the foundations for his kingdom. After three years, he had already conquered several of the neighboring kingdoms and was ready to go into the final phase of constructing his kingdom. He completed this phase by holding hands with

Jolbon Holbon () was the first capital of Goguryeo, which arose in the north of the Korean Peninsula. Holbon is thought to have been in modern Wunü Mountain, Liaoning. In 37 BC, Jumong had fled from Dongbuyeo to avoid death at the hands of Dongbuyeo's ...

and bringing it under his control. In 37 BC, Jumong finally established his kingdom and named it 'Goguryeo' (

: 고구려). He also changed his last name from 'Hae' to 'Go,' which means 'high.' Goguryeo progressed and continued to grow stronger under Go Jumong's reign of 19 years. His first wife and their son, Yuri, soon to be Emperor

King Yuri King Yuri (38 BCE – 18 CE, r. 19 BCE – 18 CE) was the second ruler of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the eldest son of the kingdom's founder Chumo the Holy. As with many other early Korean rulers, the e ...

, fled from Dongbuyeo and came to Goguryeo during the last year of Jumong's reign. Jumong proclaimed Yuri his successor and

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

(

: 태자) before dying five months later.

Complete Transition of the family name

King Yuri rose to the throne in 19 BC and ruled until his death in 18 AD. During his reign, the royal family had absolute power and all power was in the hands of the reigning emperor. Under Yuri, the kingdom was able to grow powerful enough to fight the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

. After King Yuri, Daemusin, Mobon, and Minjung, the young prince Gung took the surname "Go" (

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, wh ...

: 高) for the first time in 3 generations. From King Taejo to King Bojang, the rulers of Goguryeo kept their ancestor's surname "Go" and "Han". According to the ''

Samguk Sagi ''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...

'', the Goguryeo royal family claimed descent from the mythical god Gao Yang, who was the grandson of the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

, and thus took the surname of "Go" (高); however, this legend was discredited in the commentaries () by

Kim Busik Kim Bu-sik, or Gim Busik (; 1075–1151) was a statesman, general, Confucian scholar and writer during Korea's Goryeo period. He was a scion of the Silla royalty and a member of the Gyeongju Kim clan. Later he was the supreme chancellor from 1136 ...

, the compiler of the ''Samguk Sagi'', who concluded that both Baekje and Goguryeo originated from Buyeo.

Height of Imperial power

Goguryeo's height of power came in the reign of Taewang

Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo Gwanggaeto the Great (374–413, r. 391–413) was the nineteenth monarch of Goguryeo. His full posthumous name means "Entombed in ''Gukgangsang'', Broad Expander of Domain, Peacemaker, Supreme King", sometimes abbreviated to ''Hotaewang'' ...

, who created and strengthened Goguryeo's cavalry and naval units to pacify the south and the north. Gwanggaeto the Great attacked and conquered

Buyeo Buyeo or Puyŏ (Korean: 부여; Korean pronunciation: u.jʌ or 扶餘 ''Fúyú''), also rendered as Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It is sometimes considered a Korean ki ...

, Biryu-guk, the

Later Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Later Yan (; 384 – 407 or 409) was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xianbei people, located in modern-day northeast China, during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. All rulers of the Later Yan declared them ...

Malgal The Mohe, Malgal, or Mogher, or Mojie, were an East Asian Tungusic people who lived primarily in the modern geographical region of Northeast Asia. The two most powerful Mohe groups were known as the Heishui Mohe, located along the Amur River, a ...

, and the Ainu tribes. Goguryeo's height of power finally came, but the bringer of glory died at the young age of 39.

Decline of Imperial power

King Munjamyeong continued to expand Goguryeo's territories after receiving the full surrender of the ancient Korean state of Buyeo in 494. After the reign of King Munjamyeong, his son Heung-An became King Anjang. King Anjang continued to attack the southern kingdoms and weaken their power, further establishing the empire's power over both 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 o ...

and

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

. After King Anjang, his son became King Anwon.

Fall of Goguryeo

Goguryeo's 27th ruler, King Yeongryu, submitted to the newly-risen

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, despite the overwhelming victories that Goguryeo had achieved over the Sui. King Yeongryu was assassinated by

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 militar ...

(연개소문), who was ''Dae Magniji'' (대막리지/Grand Prime Minister) of Goguryeo until 666 CE. King Bojang, the nephew of King Yeongryu, rose to the throne and ruled until 668 CE, when Goguryeo was destroyed.

References

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