Yun Gwan (윤관, 尹瓘; 12 July 1040 – 15 June 1111) was a general of

Goryeo 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 unificat ...

who was known for training the Byeolmuban and leading it to victory against the Jurchen tribes.

Family

* Grandfather ** Yun Geum-kang (윤금강, 尹金剛) * Father ** Yun Jib-hyeong (윤집형, 尹執衡) *Wife ** Lady Lee of the

Incheon Lee clan The Incheon Yi clan (Hangul: 인천 이씨, Hanja: 仁川李氏) is a Korean clan. Historically known as the Gyeongwon Lee clan or Inju Lee clan, it was one of the most powerful clans in the early Goryeo period due their status as in-laws of th ...

(인천 이씨, 仁川李氏) *** Father-in-law - Lee Seong-gan (이성간, 李成幹) * Issue **Son - Yun Eon-in (윤언인, 尹彦仁) *** Grandson - Yun Deok-cheom (윤덕첨, 尹德瞻) **Son - Yun Eon-sun (윤언순, 尹彦純) *** Grandson - Yun Jong-cheom (윤중첨, 尹仲瞻) **** Great-Granddaughter - Lady Yun of the Papyeong Yun clan (파평 윤씨) **** Great Grandson-in-law - Bang Seo-ran (방서란, 房瑞鸞) **Son - Yun Eon-am (윤언암) **Son - Yun Eon-sik (윤언식, 尹彦植) (? - 1149) *** Daughter-in-law - Lady Hawongun of the Jeongju Ryu clan (하원군 류씨, 河源郡君柳氏);

Queen Myeongui Queen Myeongui of the Jeongju Yu clan (; d. 8 August 1112) was a Korean queen consort as the first and primary wife of King Sukjong of Goryeo and the mother of most of his children. Biography Marriage and Palace life She married Sukjong when he ...

’s younger sister ** Son - Yun Eon-yi (윤언이, 尹彦頤) (? - May 1149) *** Grandson - Yun In-cheom (윤인첨, 尹鱗瞻) *** Grandson - Yun Ja-go (윤자고, 尹子固) *** Grandson - Yun Don-shin (윤돈신, 尹敦信) *** Grandson - Yun Ja-yang (윤자양, 尹子讓) *** Grandson - Yun Don-ui (윤돈의, 尹敦義) *** Grandson - Yun Don-hyo (윤돈효) *** Granddaughter - Lady Yun of the Papyeong Yun clan (파평 윤씨) *** Granddaughter - Lady Yun of the Papyeong Yun clan (파평 윤씨) *** Granddaughter - Lady Yun of the Papyeong Yun clan (파평 윤씨) *** Granddaughter - Lady Yun of the Papyeong Yun clan (파평 윤씨) **Son - Yun Eon-min (윤언민, 尹彦旼) (1095 - 23 April 1154) **Daughter - Lady Yun of the Papyeong Yun clan *** Son-in-law - Hwang Won-do (황원도) **Daughter - Lady Yun of the Papyeong Yun clan *** Son-in-law - Im Won-hu (임원후, 任元厚) (1089 - 1156) **** Granddaughter - Queen Gongye of the

Jangheung Im clan Jangheung Im clan () is one of the Korean clans. Their Bon-gwan is in Jangheung County, South Jeolla Province. According to the research in 2015, the number of Jangheung Im (or Yim) clan was 37,584. Goryeo Dynasty Their founder is Im Ho (Hang ...

(공예왕후 임씨) (2 October 1109 - 2 December 1183) **** Granddaughter - Lady Im of the Jangheung Im clan (장흥 임씨, 長興任氏) **** Grandson - Im Geuk-chong (임극충, 任克忠) **** Grandson - Im Geuk-jeong (임극정, 任克正) **** Grandson - Im Bu (임부, 任溥) **** Grandson - Im Geuk-in (임극인, 任克仁) (1149 - 1212) ***** Great-Grandson - Im Gyeong-suk (임경숙, 任景肅) ***** Great-Grandson - Im Gyeong-gyeom (임경겸, 任景謙) ***** Great-Grandson - Im Hyo-sun (임효순, 任孝順) ***** Great-Grandson - Im Gyeong-sun (임경순, 任景恂) **** Grandson - Im Hang (임항, 任沆) (? - November 1191)

Early life

Yun was born as a descendant of Yun Shin-dal. He passed the civil service exam during the reign of Munjong. In 1087, Yun became a Chulchusa, and inspected

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial offic ...

Cheongju Cheongju () is the capital and largest city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. History Cheongju has been an important provincial town since ancient times. In the Cheongju Mountains, specifically in the one where Sangdang Sanseong is ...

, and

Chungju Chungju (충주시) is a city in North Chungcheong province, South Korea. Uamsan is a mountain located within the outskirts of the city. The city is famous for the annual martial arts festival held in October. Also of note, former UN Secretary ...

. When

Sukjong Sukjong () is the temple name of several Korean kings. It can refer to: * Sukjong of Goryeo (1095-1105) * Sukjong of Joseon Sukjong of Joseon (7 October 1661 – 12 July 1720) was the 19th King of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, ruling from 1674 un ...

became the new King, Yun was sent to

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 ...

to notify Sukjong's coronation. In 1098, Yun went to an ambassador of

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

, and told the information Sukjong's coronation.

The Jurchen Expedition

Jurchen Jurchen may refer to: * Jurchen people, Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century ** Haixi Jurchens, a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty ** Jianzhou Jurchens, a grouping of ...

tribes lived to the north of

. The Jurchens always rendered tribute to the Kings of Goryeo, but the Jurchen tribes grew strong, and were soon united under

Wanyan The Wanyan (; Manchu: ''Wanggiyan''; Jurchen script: ) clan was among the clans of the Heishui Mohe tribe living in the drainage region of the Heilong River during the time of the Khitan-led Liao dynasty. Of the Heishui Mohe, the clan was coun ...

. They began to violate the Goryeo-Jurchen borders, and eventually invaded Goryeo. Goryeo, however, did not have a powerful army at that time, due in part to a century of peaceful existence. With the invasion of the Jurchen, King Sukjong ordered all available soldiers into battle, but this ended in defeat. General Yun Gwan convinced the Jurchen leaders to pull their troops back, and this ended the invasion of the Jurchen.

Victory over the Jurchen

After experiencing the invasion by the Jurchen, Yun Gwan realized that Goryeo lacked efficient cavalry units, and requested permission from King Sukjong to train and reorganize the current Goryeo military into a professional army that would contain decent and well-trained cavalry units. Finally, in 1107, General Yun led the newly formed Goryeo army, a force of approximately 170 thousand men called Byeolmuban, and attacked the Jurchens tribes. Though the war lasted for several years, the Jurchen were ultimately defeated, and surrendered to Yun Gwan. To mark the victory, General Yun built nine fortresses to the northeast of the Goryeo-Jurchen borders (

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 ...

:동북 9성,

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, ...

:東北九城). In 1108, however, General Yun was given orders to withdraw his troops by Goryeo's new ruler, King Yejong. After the war, Yun brought 346 prisoners, 96 horses, and about 300 cows. Due to manipulation and court-intrigue from opposing factions, he was discharged from his post. Along with this, the opposing factions fought to make sure that the new nine fortresses were returned to the Jurchens. Soon after, Yun Gwan was released from his prison in 1110, and was offered a chance to return to his duties as general, but he gently refused and returned to his hometown. A year later, in 1111, Yun Gwan died.

Aftermath

After the death of Yun Gwan, the Jurchen destroyed the

, and established the Jin dynasty. With the rise of the Jin, Goryeo was no longer able to trade with the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

or any of the other neighboring nations, and became isolated, which contributed to the weakening of the kingdom.

Dispute

The extent of Yun Gwan's military campaigns has been in dispute for centuries. While the general belief is that his nine fortresses were built in present-day

Hamheung Hamhŭng (''Hamhŭng-si''; ) is North Korea's second-largest city, and the capital of South Hamgyŏng Province. It has an estimated population of 768,551. Located in the southern part of the South Hamgyong province, Hamhung is the main and most ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

, a number of historical sources seem to indicate that Yun took parts of

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 M ...

for Goryeo, temporarily claiming the land of Goryeo's ancestors,

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 ...

Family Feud

Due to wars and invasions, the location of Yun Gwan's tomb was lost until the 18th century. Yun Gwan's tomb was located near another tomb belonging to the Sim clan. Because of this a family feud erupted between the Yuns and Sims lasting 300 years.

References

External links

South Korean Cultural Heritage Administration

Quest for perfect grave keeps Korean feud alive

Feuding Korean clans end 400-year fight over graves

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yun, Gwan 12th-century Korean people Korean generals 1040 births 1111 deaths Papyeong Yun clan