Kim Beop-min

Biography

Family Background and Early Years Kim Beop-min was born in 626, the forty-third year of Geonbok under King Jinpyeong of Silla. His father was the true-bone aristocrat Kim Chunchu, and his mother Kim Munhui was a descendant of the royal house of Geumgwan Gaya, which had been conquered by Silla in 532. His maternal uncle was the later celebrated Silla general and pillar of the state, Kim Yu-sin. Historical sources record that Kim Beop-min received instruction in poetry and ritual from childhood, possessed learning spanning ancient and contemporary matters, and was accomplished in both martial and civil affairs. In 642, the ninth year of Inpyeong under Queen Seondeok, Baekje captured Daeya Fortress, an important Silla stronghold in the west, in present-day Hapcheon County of North Gyeongsang Province. The fortress commander Kim Pumseok was killed. His wife Gotaso, Kim Chunchu's daughter and Kim Beop-min's younger sister, also died in the disorder. Kim Chunchu and his son were deeply grieved and swore to destroy Baekje in revenge for both state and family. Kim Chunchu first sought aid from Goguryeo without success and then turned to Tang, helping bring Tang and Silla closer together. Kim Beop-min also took an active part in the diplomacy with Tang led by his father. ### Mission to Tang and Years as Crown Prince In 650, the first year of Yonghui, Queen Jindeok sent Kim Beop-min as an envoy to the Tang dynasty. Officially he was to report Silla's major victory over Baekje in the previous year, but the mission's practical purpose was to further strengthen relations with Tang. He presented the Embroidered Hymn of Great Peace, composed by Queen Jindeok in praise of Tang's achievements. Emperor Gaozong of Tang, who had only recently ascended the throne, was greatly pleased and appointed Kim Beop-min Court of Imperial Treasury Minister. In 654, the fifth year of Yonghui, Queen Jindeok died, and Kim Chunchu was acclaimed by the ministers and ascended the throne as King Taejong Muyeol. In the following year, Kim Beop-min, as the eldest legitimate son, was invested as crown prince. In 660, the fifth year of Xianqing, Tang finally responded to Silla's request and sent Su Dingfang with 130,000 troops across the sea to attack Baekje. Kim Chunchu was also appointed by Tang as commander-general of the expedition route responsible for coordinating the Silla forces. Rather than personally leading troops into battle, Kim Chunchu had Crown Prince Kim Beop-min and the general Kim Yu-sin go to the front in his stead. Kim Beop-min was first sent to Deokjeok Island in present-day Gyeonggi Province to meet Su Dingfang, where they agreed on a date for joining forces at the Baekje capital Sabi, in present-day Buyeo County, South Chungcheong Province. He then returned to the Silla headquarters at Nancheon Ting, in the area of present-day Daejeon, and led 50,000 elite troops together with Kim Yu-sin. They defeated the Baekje army in a fierce battle at Hwangsanbeol in present-day Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, enabling them to join the Tang forces. On the thirteenth day of the seventh lunar month, King Uija of Baekje fled and the prince Buyeo Yung surrendered. Kim Beop-min ordered Buyeo Yung to kneel before his horse and angrily reproached him for the death of Kim Beop-min's sister, declaring that the grievance had caused him pain for twenty years and that Buyeo Yung's life was now in his hands. On the eighteenth day of the month, King Uija surrendered, and Baekje fell. Soon after Baekje's fall, Kim Chunchu and Kim Beop-min again led forces to suppress the Baekje restoration movement. On the eighteenth day of the tenth lunar month of 660, they captured Eollye Fortress in the region of present-day South Chungcheong Province. More than twenty nearby Baekje cities then surrendered, and Silla installed officials and incorporated them into its territory. The army returned in triumph to Geumseong on the twenty-second day of the eleventh lunar month. ### Early Reign and the Destruction of Goguryeo In the sixth lunar month of 661, the first year of Longshuo, Kim Chunchu died and Crown Prince Kim Beop-min succeeded him as King Munmu. Soon after his accession, his younger brother Kim Inmun, who had been serving as a hostage at the Tang court, returned to Silla and conveyed Emperor Gaozong's edict ordering Silla to send troops to cooperate in destroying Goguryeo, emphasizing that the order could not be disobeyed even while the king was in mourning. King Munmu therefore personally led a large army north. At Ongsan Fortress, in the area of present-day Gyejoksanseong, he encountered resistance from remaining Baekje forces and captured the fortress on the twenty-seventh day of the ninth lunar month. Before setting out, King Munmu had sent an official named Muncheon to contact the Tang commander Su Dingfang. Su requested that Silla quickly deliver military grain to the Tang forces besieging Pyongyang. Because a Tang envoy bearing condolences and investiture was also about to arrive in Silla, King Munmu delegated command of the army to Kim Yu-sin and Kim Inmun and returned to Geumseong on the twenty-ninth day of the tenth lunar month to receive the Tang envoy. Emperor Gaozong also sent Liu Demin, commander-general of the Hanzi route, with an order for Silla to supply grain to Pyongyang. King Munmu prepared 2,000 carts, 4,000 seok of rice, and more than 22,000 seok of grain and had Kim Yu-sin and others deliver them to the Tang camp at Pyongyang. In the first lunar month of 662, King Munmu was formally invested by Tang as Kaifu Yitong Sansi, Shang Zhuguo, Prince of Lelang Commandery, and King of Silla. Although Silla fulfilled Tang's assigned grain-transport mission, Tang did not succeed in subduing Goguryeo in this campaign. Meanwhile the Baekje restoration movement remained vigorous and had support from Wa. On the seventeenth day of the seventh lunar month of 663, King Munmu personally led Kim Yu-sin, Kim Cheonjon, and others in cooperation with Tang forces under Sun Renshi and Liu Renyuan against remaining Baekje forces. After defeating them on land, the Silla force joined Liu Rengui, who arrived with naval forces, and on the thirteenth day of the eighth lunar month captured Juryu Fortress, also called Dusol Fortress, the principal stronghold of the Baekje resistance. The Baekje general Jisu Sin, however, continued to resist at Imjon Fortress in the region of present-day Yesan County. The Tang–Silla allied forces were unable to take it for a long time. To preserve his strength, King Munmu withdrew on the twenty-first day of the tenth lunar month and returned to Geumseong on the twentieth day of the eleventh lunar month. Soon afterward Liu Rengui used surrendered Baekje generals including Heukchi Sangji to capture Imjon Fortress. Jisu Sin fled to Goguryeo, ending the Baekje restoration movement. During the Tang–Silla destruction of Baekje and suppression of its restoration movement, however, the seeds of conflict between the two allies had already been planted. Silla had long coveted former Baekje territory, but Tang reorganized it as five area commands, including Ungjin, and appointed surrendered Baekje personnel headed by Buyeo Yung to offices there. Silla regarded this as a serious obstacle. Tang even demanded that King Munmu and Buyeo Yung conclude an alliance and swear mutual nonaggression between Silla and Baekje. King Munmu resisted and asked that the alliance be postponed on the ground that Imjon had not yet fallen. By 664, the first year of Linde, Imjon had apparently already been captured, and Emperor Gaozong rebuked Silla for failing to comply. Lacking further grounds to refuse, King Munmu sent Kim Yu-sin and Kim Cheonjon to Ungjin in the second lunar month to conclude the alliance with Buyeo Yung. Tang was evidently dissatisfied that King Munmu did not appear personally. In the eighth lunar month of 665, under Tang pressure, he finally attended in person and, under the supervision of the Tang envoy Liu Degao, built an altar at Chwiri Mountain and concluded an alliance with Buyeo Yung, the same former Baekje prince who had once knelt before his horse and been rebuked by him. Before this, in 663, Tang had declared Silla to be the Jilin Area Command and made King Munmu its grand commander, a move that naturally made him fear that Silla might suffer the same fate as Baekje. Silla nevertheless still needed Tang power to defeat Goguryeo and complete its own strategic goals, and for the time being did not openly break with Tang. In the fourth lunar month of 666, King Munmu sent Kim Hanlim, son of the senior minister Kim Cheonjon, and Kim Samgwang, son of Kim Yu-sin, to Tang as palace-guard hostages and requested troops against Goguryeo. At that time Goguryeo's strongman Yeon Gaesomun had died, his sons were struggling for power, and the eldest son Yeon Namsaeng had surrendered to Tang. Tang therefore accepted Silla's request and in the twelfth lunar month appointed Li Ji commander-general of the Liaodong expedition route, renewing the attack on Goguryeo. In the seventh lunar month of 667, Tang sent Liu Renyuan and others to Silla to requisition troops for the campaign. King Munmu personally led a large army out in the eighth lunar month and reached Hanseong in the ninth to await word from Li Ji. Li Ji sent Jiang Shen with orders for the Silla army to proceed directly to Pyongyang. On the eleventh day of the eleventh lunar month, when King Munmu had reached Jangsae in the region of present-day Suan County, North Hwanghae Province, he learned that Li Ji had withdrawn and therefore withdrew as well. In the twelfth lunar month Liu Renyuan again pressed Silla to send troops and delivered the general's banners granted by Emperor Gaozong, but King Munmu appears to have held his position. In the sixth lunar month of 668 Liu Renyuan again came to Silla to demand troops. On the twenty-seventh day of the month King Munmu went once more to Hanseong to direct operations. Silla forces under Kim Yu-sin, Kim Cheonjon, Park Duru, and others defeated the army of Yeon Namgeon on the field of Sacheon outside Pyongyang, and in the ninth lunar month joined Tang forces in surrounding Pyongyang, bringing about Goguryeo's destruction. King Munmu had intended to advance from Hanseong to Pyongyang to assist in the attack, but on the way he learned that Pyongyang had already fallen and returned to Silla. On the twenty-second day of the tenth lunar month he rewarded officers and soldiers who had distinguished themselves. On the fifth day of the eleventh lunar month he entered Geumseong, and on the following day led civil and military officials in reporting the victory at the ancestral temple, declaring that he had carried out his predecessors' will by joining Tang in raising a righteous army against Baekje and Goguryeo, that the chief offenders had submitted to punishment, and that the state was now at peace. On the twenty-first day of the second lunar month of 669, he assembled the ministers and proclaimed a general amnesty on the ground that the two enemies had been pacified and the four quarters were at peace, formally announcing the end of the long conflict among the Three Kingdoms. ### Silla–Tang War and the Unification of the Three Kingdoms Peace did not arrive as quickly as King Munmu expected. With Baekje and Goguryeo destroyed one after the other, the underlying conflict between Tang and Silla rapidly came to the surface. During the attack on Goguryeo, Liu Renyuan had reproached Silla for failing to arrive according to schedule. After Goguryeo fell, when Kim Yu-sin and other Silla men of merit went to Tang to receive rewards, Li Ji said that Silla had made no contribution. Silla also took the opportunity to occupy Bireol Fortress, formerly a Silla possession but then part of Goguryeo territory in present-day Anbyeon County, Kangwon Province, and Tang ordered Silla to withdraw. Tang's establishment of the Andong Protectorate at Pyongyang caused even greater anxiety. Rumors spread within Silla that ships Tang claimed to be building for an attack on Wa were actually intended for the destruction of Silla. In 669, as relations between Tang and Silla became increasingly tense, King Munmu on the one hand sent Kim Heumsun and Kim Yangdo to Tang to apologize, while on the other hand he accepted Anseung of the Goguryeo royal house, Go Yeonmu, and 4,000 households of Goguryeo refugees. In the third lunar month of the following year he sent Seol Oyu and Go Yeonmu, each with 10,000 elite troops, to aid the Goguryeo rebel Geom Mojam. They even crossed the Yalu River before encountering a large Tang force and withdrawing to Hanseong in the region of present-day Jaeryeong County, South Hwanghae Province. King Munmu settled Anseung at Geummajeo, present-day Iksan in North Jeolla Province, and in the seventh lunar month sent Sumi-san to invest him as King of Goguryeo, continuing to use Goguryeo refugees to harass Tang. His intention was clearly to employ these Goguryeo remnants as a means of tying down Tang forces. King Munmu also improved relations with Wa. During suppression of the remaining Baekje forces he had released all Wa captives, and after Goguryeo's fall he exchanged frequent missions with Wa, later called Japan, in order to create a more favorable international environment for Silla. King Munmu's principal objective, however, remained former Baekje territory. It was then governed under Tang's loose control by the Ungjin Area Command. Its commander Buyeo Yung had not yet taken up office, while surrendered former Baekje officials and Tang troops remained in place. Despite the Chwiri Mountain alliance, relations between Ungjin and Silla remained deeply contentious. During the initial suppression of Baekje, Silla had already occupied Eollye Fortress and other Baekje cities. Ungjin hoped Tang would force Silla to return these territories. Emperor Gaozong therefore became angry at Silla's unauthorized seizure of Baekje lands and detained the apologetic envoys Kim Heumsun and Kim Yangdo; Kim Heumsun was soon released and returned home, while Kim Yangdo died in prison. In these circumstances King Munmu first sent Kim Yudon to Ungjin under the pretext of seeking peace in order to probe its intentions. When an Ungjin military official paid a return visit, King Munmu detained him on the pretext that he had come to spy. King Munmu then personally led a large army against the Ungjin Area Command. In the seventh lunar month of 670, the first year of Xianheng, the Silla–Tang War began. After roughly a year of fighting, Silla annexed former Baekje territory from Tang and established Soburi Province there. Even while entering into conflict with Tang in order to protect and expand Silla's interests, King Munmu never intended to sever Silla's tributary relationship with Tang. He therefore pursued a relatively flexible diplomatic policy. According to the source, when attacking the Ungjin Area Command in 670 he prepared a full report of events and sent an envoy to Tang, but adverse winds, cold weather, and rough seas prevented the envoy from arriving. In 671, when the Tang general Xue Rengui sent a letter demanding an explanation, King Munmu replied that his father Kim Chunchu had received a gracious promise from Emperor Taizong of Tang that, after Goguryeo and Baekje were pacified, territory south of Pyongyang would be given to Silla. He used this claim to legitimize his seizure of all former Baekje territory and part of former Goguryeo territory. At the same time he emphasized Silla's sacrifices for Tang and its loyalty, blaming the harshness of the Tang commander Liu Renyuan and accusations by former Baekje officials serving the Ungjin Area Command, and presented Silla as having suffered injustice. In the ninth lunar month of 672, King Munmu sent a second mission to Tang to apologize, returned officials of the Ungjin Area Command and Tang prisoners, and presented large quantities of gold, silver, copper, needles, bezoar, cloth, and other goods as tribute. The Goguryeo rebels supported by Silla were then destroyed in the fifth lunar month of 673 by Tang forces under Gao Kan and Li Jinxing, and surviving Silla auxiliaries and Goguryeo rebels fled to Silla. King Munmu was deeply worried by the defeat and strengthened defenses along the western coast and northern frontier. Emperor Gaozong did not accept Silla's apologies. In the first lunar month of 674, after Tang had dealt with problems in the Western Regions, Emperor Gaozong settled accounts with Silla: he stripped King Munmu of his offices and titles, named his younger brother Kim Inmun, then serving as a palace-guard hostage in Tang, as King of Silla, and sent Liu Rengui with 200,000 troops to attack Silla. Liu Rengui heavily defeated Silla at Chiljung Fortress in present-day Paju, but was soon recalled. In the second lunar month of 675 King Munmu sent a third mission to Tang to apologize. Emperor Gaozong accepted the opportunity to pardon him and restored his offices and titles. Before the pardon edict had reached the front, Silla forces attacked Tang troops stationed there in the ninth lunar month. Because Tang's main military attention was focused on Tibet, it had to contract its policy in the eastern region. In 676 Tang moved the Andong Protectorate from Pyongyang to Liaodong and recalled Chinese officials serving in the area. This marked Tang's effective withdrawal from the Korean Peninsula and King Munmu's completion of Silla control over the central and southern peninsula south of the Pae River, the Taedong River. Emperor Gaozong remained dissatisfied and in 678 again considered an eastern expedition against Silla. The chancellor Zhang Wenguan remonstrated that Tibet was currently threatening Tang and troops were being sent west, while Silla, though said to be disobedient, had never violated Tang's frontier. Emperor Gaozong accepted the advice. Thereafter Tang and Silla had no further conflict. ### Later Years and Death After completing the unification of the Three Kingdoms, King Munmu turned from warfare to civil government and devoted himself to administration. Taxes and corvée were reduced, and the source describes households as adequately supplied, the people living in security, the realm free from danger, granaries piled high, and prisons overgrown with grass. Silla thus entered a period of peaceful development. In this prosperous setting, in 679 King Munmu rebuilt the palace complex on a grand scale and excavated Anapji Pond as a landscaped royal pleasure garden. On the first day of the seventh lunar month of 681, the second year of Yonglong, King Munmu died of illness at the age of fifty-six. His testament ordered that he be cremated according to Buddhist rites and that his ashes be interred among rocks in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. The rock came to be called Daewangam, or Great King's Rock. Crown Prince Kim Jeongmyeong succeeded him as King Sinmun.

Major Activities

Military Activities King Munmu's military career ran through the entire process of the wars of Three Kingdoms unification. In 660, as crown prince, he led 50,000 elite Silla troops to join the Tang commander Su Dingfang and helped destroy Baekje. After ascending the throne in 661, he personally led a large army to capture Ongsan Fortress and suppress remaining Baekje resistance. In 663, he again personally led Kim Yu-sin, Kim Cheonjon, and others in cooperation with Tang forces to capture Juryu Fortress, largely ending the Baekje restoration movement. In 668, he sent Kim Yu-sin and others to join Tang forces in surrounding Pyongyang and destroying Goguryeo. In 670, he personally led a large army against the Ungjin Area Command, beginning the Silla–Tang War. After about a year of fighting, Silla annexed former Baekje territory. In the ninth lunar month of 675, Silla forces attacked Tang troops stationed in the area, further consolidating control over former Baekje lands. ### Diplomatic Activities King Munmu's diplomacy was equally significant. In 650 he went to Tang as an envoy and presented the Embroidered Hymn of Great Peace, helping lay the foundation for the Tang–Silla alliance. After ascending the throne, while relying on Tang power to destroy Baekje and Goguryeo, he also actively expanded relations with Wa by releasing captives and exchanging frequent missions, thereby seeking a favorable international environment. During the Silla–Tang War he sent three missions to Tang to apologize, flexibly managing the tributary relationship with Tang and ultimately contributing to Tang's withdrawal from the Korean Peninsula. ### Unification King Munmu's greatest historical achievement was the completion of Silla's unification of the Three Kingdoms. Continuing the ambitions of his father Kim Chunchu, he first allied with Tang to destroy Baekje, then joined Tang in destroying Goguryeo, and afterward fought the Silla–Tang War to force Tang power out of the area south of the Taedong River. In 676 Silla thereby achieved control over the central and southern Korean Peninsula and opened the Unified Silla period. ### Domestic Administration After unification, King Munmu turned toward civil governance, reduced corvée and taxation, and led Silla into a period of peaceful development. In 679 he rebuilt the palace complex and excavated Anapji Pond as a landscaped royal pleasure garden, reflecting the image of the newly unified kingdom.

Personal Relations

• Mother: Kim Munhui, Queen Munmyeong, younger sister of Kim Yu-sin
• Queen: Queen Jaui, daughter of Seonpum, holder of the pajinchan rank
• Son: Kim Jeongmyeong, King Sinmun
• Younger brother: Kim Inmun, who served as a palace-guard hostage in Tang and was once appointed by Emperor Gaozong of Tang as King of Silla in place of King Munmu
• Younger sister: Gotaso, wife of Kim Pumseok, commander of Baekje's Daeya Fortress; she died when Baekje captured Daeya Fortress in 642 ### Teachers, Friends, and Colleagues - Kim Yu-sin: maternal uncle and father-in-law; renowned Silla general and King Munmu's most important military pillar
• Kim Cheonjon: senior minister who participated in suppressing the Baekje restoration movement and in the war that destroyed Goguryeo
• Kim Inmun: younger brother who served as a hostage in Tang and later returned to assist King Munmu ### Ruler–Minister Relations - Emperor Gaozong of Tang: Tang emperor; his relationship with King Munmu was complex. They first cooperated in destroying Baekje and Goguryeo, later fought the Silla–Tang War over territorial disputes, and ultimately Tang accepted Silla's control south of the Taedong River
• Su Dingfang: Tang general who led the campaign that destroyed Baekje and cooperated militarily with King Munmu
• Liu Rengui: Tang general who campaigned against Silla and heavily defeated Silla forces at Chiljung Fortress
• Xue Rengui: Tang general who sent a letter calling King Munmu to account; King Munmu replied in his own defense ### Conflicts - Buyeo Yung: Baekje prince who surrendered to King Munmu, later became the Tang-appointed commander of the Ungjin Area Command, and concluded an alliance with King Munmu at Chwiri Mountain
• Geom Mojam: Goguryeo rebel whom King Munmu once supported with troops; the rebellion was later defeated
• Anseung: member of the Goguryeo royal house whom King Munmu invested as King of Goguryeo and used to contain Tang

Historical Assessment

Tang and Contemporary Assessments - Emperor Gaozong of Tang once stripped King Munmu of his offices and titles and expressed anger at his seizure of former Baekje lands, but eventually pardoned him and restored his titles. (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, juan 202, Tang Annals 18)

• The Tang general Xue Rengui sent a letter accusing King Munmu of taking Baekje territory, while King Munmu's reply emphasized Silla's sacrifices and loyalty and blamed the Tang commander Liu Renyuan and former Baekje officials. (Samguk Sagi, juan 7, Annals of Silla 7)
• The later Silla historical record Samguk Sagi described King Munmu as outstanding in bearing, intelligent, and rich in strategic wisdom, affirming his achievement in the unification of the Three Kingdoms. (Samguk Sagi, juan 6, Annals of Silla 6) ### Song and Yuan Periods - Northern Song historian Sima Guang recorded King Munmu's conflict with Tang in the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government and preserved the observation that Silla, though described as disobedient, had not violated Tang's border, a statement that provided some defense of Silla's conduct. (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, juan 202, Tang Annals 18)
• Goryeo historian Kim Busik recorded King Munmu's life in detail in the Samguk Sagi, treating him as a key figure in Silla's unification of the Three Kingdoms and often affirming his military talent and political judgment.
• Yuan commentator Hu Sanxing, in his annotations to the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, commented on King Munmu's diplomacy and regarded him as skilled at using Tang's weaknesses while managing the relationship of a smaller state toward a larger power. ### Ming and Qing Periods - Ming scholar Wang Shizhen mentioned Silla's unification of the Three Kingdoms in the Yanzhou Shanren Sibu Gao and expressed admiration for King Munmu's military ability.
• Qing scholar Gu Zuyu, discussing Korean Peninsula geography in the Dushi Fangyu Jiyao, referred to the war between Silla and Tang under King Munmu and considered him adept at warfare and capable of seizing opportunities for territorial expansion.
• Qing scholar Zhao Yi, discussing Tang relations with surrounding peoples in the Notes on the Twenty-Two Histories, analyzed King Munmu's external strategy and considered him skilled at exploiting Tang's weaknesses while dealing with a larger power. ### Modern Assessments - Korean historian Lee Ki-baik, in A New History of Korea, described King Munmu as the completer of Unified Silla, arguing that through war with Tang he successfully drove Tang power out of the Korean Peninsula and laid the foundation for the Unified Silla period.
• Chinese scholar Feng Lijun, in The Tang Dynasty and East Asia, analyzed Tang–Silla relations under King Munmu in detail and argued that his diplomacy both protected Silla's national interests and maintained its tributary relationship with Tang, demonstrating considerable political skill.
• Japanese historian Inoue Hideo, in Fundamental Studies of Silla History, examined King Munmu's military activities and regarded his performance in the Silla–Tang War as successful in achieving Silla's strategic goals.