Battle of Hwangsanbeol

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Battle of Hwangsanbeol (Korean:황산벌 전투) was a battle that took place between forces of Silla and Baekje in 660. By the time King Muyeol was able to gain the support of the Tang Emperor, King Uija had led Baekje into demise as his parties and dissipation caused neglect for state affairs. In 660, Kim Yu-Shin of Silla set out with fifty-thousand strong to rendezvous with the Tang army of thirteen thousand which was being shipped over the sea. When King Uija heard of this crisis, he had already lost support from his ministers and only managed to rally up five thousand men. He quickly appointed General Gyebaek as the commander of the armed forces, and sent him out to face Kim Yu-Shin in battle.

The Beakje army arrived at Hwangsanbeol first. Gyebaek set up camp and rallied his troops to make a heroic speech. He reminded the soldiers of the armies of antiquity when Gou Jian defeated a seven hundred-thousand force with a mere five thousand. With this speech, the Beakje forces regained their strength, and prepared for a face off with the Silla forces.

Kim Yu-Shin soon arrived, and the Silla forces attempted a full attack on the Baekje forces. However, fighting to the death, the Baekje forces soon repelled the enemy, and victored over all five skirmishes. The Silla forces gradually lost morale, and the General Kim Pumil sent his young Hwarang son Ghan chang to single-handedly go out and fight the enemy. Ghan chang was captured by the Beakje forces at first and was released by Gyebaek. The young hwarang then returned to the Silla base only to once again charge out at the enemy. Gyebaek captured him once more, and because he respected his young enemy, he executed Ghan Chang and sent his body to the Silla base.

Through Ghan Chang's matyrdom, the Silla forces renewed their morale and Kim Yu-shin released a full attack on the dwindling Beakje forces. In the end, Kim Yu-Shin's Silla forces victored and Gyebaek died in battle. Kim later stated that his enemy was a man of honor and bravery.

As this battle was the last Beakje resistance to Silla/Tang forces, Beakje soon fell when Kim Yu-Shin and the Chinese general So Jung-Bang surrounded Gongju and King Uija surrendered.

[edit] Modern depiction

The 5000-man army of the ancient kingdom of Baekje was defeated by a 50,000-strong force led by General Kim Yu-shin of Silla. There is a Korean comedy/war film about this battle, called Hwangsanbeol, starring Park Joong-hoon(박중훈) and Chung Jin-young(정진영).