Yeongnyu (?–642) was the 27th monarch of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

, the northernmost of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea The Three Kingdoms of Korea or Samhan (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla) competed for hegemony over the Korea, Korean Peninsula during the ancient period of History of Korea, Korean history. During the Three Kingdoms period (), many states and statele ...

, from 618 to 642.

Background

He was the younger half-brother of the 26th monarch Yeong-yang, and son of the 25th king Pyeongwon. He assumed the throne when Yeong-yang died in 618.

Reign

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

was followed by the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

in 618, the year of Yeongnyu's ascension. Goguryeo was recovering from the

Goguryeo–Sui War The Goguryeo–Sui War were a series of invasions launched by the Sui dynasty of China against Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, between AD 598 and AD 614. It resulted in the defeat of the Sui and was one of the pivotal factors in ...

, and the new Tang emperor was still completing its internal unification. Neither being in a position for new hostilities, Goguryeo and Tang exchanged emissaries and upon Tang's request, conducted a prisoner exchange in 622. In 624, Tang officially presented

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

to the Goguryeo court, which sent scholars the following year to study Taoism and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. However, as Tang gained strength, in 631, it sent a small force to destroy a monument to Goguryeo's victory over the Sui. In response, Goguryeo built the Cheolli Jangseong defensive wall along the western border, a 15-year project begun in 631 under the supervision of

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 mili ...

. During this time, Goguryeo continued its battles to recover lost territory from the southern Korean kingdom

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

. Silla's

Kim Yu-sin Kim Yu-sin (; 595 – 21 August 673) was a Korean military general and politician in 7th-century Silla. He led the unification of the Korean Peninsula by Silla under the reign of King Muyeol and King Munmu. He is said to have been the great ...

took Goguryeo's Nangbi fortress in 629.

Fall, death and succession

Yeongnyu and some of the government officials planned to kill some of the more powerful military officers. They planned first to kill

, whose power and influence were rapidly overtaking the throne's. The young man eventually discovered the plot, and immediately went to Pyongyang to kill the plotters, including the king. Yeongnyu was killed in 642. Yeon Gaesomun placed Yeongnyu's nephew, Bojang, on the throne.

Family

*Father: King Pyeongwon () **Grandfather: King Yangwon () *Unknown wife **Son: Prince Hwangwon () **Son: Prince Bokdeok () **Daughter: Lady Muyeong () **Daughter: Lady Sukyeong ()

In popular culture

* Portrayed by

Choi Jong-hwan Choi Jong-hwan (; born September 24, 1964) is a South Korean actor. Choi won Producer's Award for his role in ''Gyebaek (TV series), Gyebaek'' and ''The Duo'' at the 2011 MBC Drama Awards, MBC Drama Awards in 2011. Filmography Television serie ...

in 2006–2007 SBS TV series ''

''. * Portrayed by Kim Yeong-cheol in 2013

KBS2 KBS 2TV is a South Korean free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen ...

TV series ''

The Blade and Petal ''The Blade and Petal'' (; lit. "Sword and Flower") is a 2013 South Korean television series that aired on KBS2 from July 3 to September 5, 2013, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes. Kim Ok-vin and Uhm Tae-woong play star-crosse ...

''. *Portrayed in the 2017 KBS TV series ''.''

References