Yeongnyu of Goguryeo

Yeongnyu of Goguryeo
Hangul 영류왕
Hanja 榮留王
Revised Romanization Yeongnyu-wang
McCune–Reischauer Yŏngnyu-wang
Birth name
Hangul 건무 or 성
Hanja 建武 / 成
Revised Romanization Geonmu / Seong
McCune–Reischauer Kŏnmu / Sŏng
Monarchs of Korea
Goguryeo
  1. Dongmyeong 37-19 BCE
  2. Yuri 19 BCE-18 CE
  3. Daemusin 18-44
  4. Minjung 44-48
  5. Mobon 48-53
  6. Taejo 53-146
  7. Chadae 146-165
  8. Sindae 165-179
  9. Gogukcheon 179-197
  10. Sansang 197-227
  11. Dongcheon 227-248
  12. Jungcheon 248-270
  13. Seocheon 270-292
  14. Bongsang 292-300
  15. Micheon 300-331
  16. Gogug-won 331-371
  17. Sosurim 371-384
  18. Gogug-yang 384-391
  19. Gwanggaeto the Great 391-413
  20. Jangsu 413-490
  21. Munja 491-519
  22. Anjang 519-531
  23. An-won 531-545
  24. Yang-won 545-559
  25. Pyeong-won 559-590
  26. Yeong-yang 590-618
  27. Yeong-nyu 618-642
  28. Bojang 642-668

King Yeongnyu of Goguryeo (b. ??? - 642, r.618 — 642) was the 27th king of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.

Contents

Background

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

Reign

In China, the Sui Dynasty was followed by the Tang Dynasty in 618, the year of Yeongnyu's ascension. Goguryeo was recovering from the Goguryeo-Sui War, 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 to the Goguryeo court, which sent scholars the following year to study Taoism and Buddhism.

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 16 year project begun in 631 under the supervision of Yeon Gaesomun.

During this time, Goguryeo continued its battles to recover lost territory from the southern Korean kingdom Silla. Silla's Kim Yu-sin 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 Yeon Gaesomun, 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 the Yeongnyu's nephew, Bojang, on the throne.

See also