Yŏn Namgŏn (淵男建, 연남건) (635 ~ ?연개소문의 맏아들인 연남생이 634년에 탄생했고 막내아들인 연남산이 639년 출생했으므로 적어도 1년 이상 차이가 난다.) was the second son of the

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 ...

military leader and dictator

Yŏn Kaesomun Yŏn KaesomunSome Chinese and Korean sources stated that his surname was Yŏngae () 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 milit ...

(Unknown-666), and third Tae Mangniji of Goguryeo during the reign of Goguryeo's last ruler, King Bojang.

Fall of Goguryeo

Following the death of his father in 666, Namgŏn became embroiled in a power struggle with his elder brother

Yŏn Namsaeng Yŏn Namsaeng (; 634–679) was the eldest son of the Goguryeo ' (대막리지, 大莫離支; highest-ranking official or dictator; "prime minister") Yŏn Kaesomun (603? – 665). In 665, Yŏn Namsaeng succeeded his father and became the 2nd Tae ...

. Namgŏn and his younger brother Namsan staged a coup against their older brother when he was inspecting all of the fortresses of Goguryeo to prepare for war against the Tang. Namgŏn and Namsan's coup forced Namsaeng to surrender to the Tang, and ultimately led to the destruction of

. Namgŏn appointed himself ''Tae Mangniji'' (대막리지, 大莫離支) and seized control of the government. During Tang's subsequent invasion of 668, Namgŏn led armed resistance to the Chinese forces near the

Amnok River The Yalu River () or Amnok River () is a river on the border between China and North Korea. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between China and North Korea. Its valle ...

and continued to resist the Tang forces all the way to

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

. With Goguryeo's defeat, Namgŏn found himself a prisoner of war and was transported to China and later banished to

Qianzhou Qianzhou may refer to: * Qianzhou (in modern Jiangxi) (虔州) *Qianzhou (in modern Chongqing and Guizhou) (黔州) * Qianzhou (in modern Liaoning) (黔州) Chinese subdistricts * Qianzhou Subdistrict, Wuxi (前洲街道), a subdistrict of Huis ...

(黔州), in what is today China's

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

province, where he apparently died. The tomb

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

s of Namgŏn's siblings Namsaeng and

Namsan Namsan () is a peak in Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. It was also known as Mongmyeoksan () in the past. It offers some hiking, picnic areas and views of downtown Seoul's skyline. The N Seoul Tower is located at the summit of Namsan. The ...

are extant but offer no particulars regarding the life of Namgŏn. Had Namgŏn and his brothers united to work together, Goguryeo would have lasted for a much longer period of time, but Silla sent their spies into the brothers' inner circle of advisors to try and create a rift between the brothers.

Popular culture

* Portrayed by Ahn Hong-jin in the 2006-2007 KBS TV series '' Dae Jo-Yŏng''. * Portrayed by Kim Hong-pyo in 2006-2007 SBS TV series ''

''.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yŏn, Namgŏn 7th-century government officials 7th-century Korean people

Fall of Goguryeo

Popular culture

See also

Notes