Restorer of the realm
To people who always believed themselves as meek, the image of a great conqueror can be very uplifting, and psychologically gratifying. To such people, an image of a SINGLE great hero can instill pride in their hearts and aggrandize their national and self- image along with it, Ivan the Terrible and Mikhail Kutuzov for the Russians, for example. Until now, Koreans never believed they ever had a great military conqueror in their history, thanks to the skewed academia which seemed not able to improve on their past studies. However, late president and dictator Park Chung-hee brought back to life military men in Korean history for obvious reasons. Now figures such as Admiral Yi Sun-shin, General Ulji Mundok, Kim Yushin Etc, are the most spoken-about heroes of the past. A nation of downtrodden and dispirited people was the last thing Park needed when he needed to carry on his economic policies. Although not in the same light as the above mentioned figures, there was another military man who is also talked of as a great leader, none other than the 19th ruler of Koguryo, King Kwanggaeto, THE EXPANDER OF THE REALM. With all do respect, the more proper title for this great man is, THE RESTORER OF THE REALM. Even the present historical view sees that the achievements of King Kwanggaeto were no petty deeds. Taking sixty-four enemy fortresses and fourteen-hundred villages or settlements, at the same time smashing the Khitans, Wa, Later Yen, East Puyo, and Paekche through sheer bravery and brilliant strategic maneuvering. Single-handedly rebuilding waning Koguryo as a military superpower, all within a breadth of twenty-one years. Expanding the realm of Koguryo to never before seen proportions, using his own reign title, building a powerful state that even China could not ignore. These achievements seem more than enough to breathe a breath of pride and greatness into the mind of the Koreans. Much of this is supposedly from the interpretation of the stele erected in his honor, located in Jian, Jilin province in the northeast of China. This monument is already being considered among the Koreans as sacred, because it is the first-hand account of a historical figure great enough to be their national badge of honor, but still, something is missing. What is missing is that the seemingly awesome achievements of king Kwanggaeto is already an edited version and the nature of his "conquests". Not too long ago in the seventies, a Koguryo tomb was unearthed near the vicinity of Pyongyang. It was a tomb of a figure named Jin, and his title inscribed in the tomb was "Yuju Jasa", or Supervisor-general of Yuju Region. Along with the title, the painting depicted governors of thirteen provinces all reporting to this figure. According to Yoksa Kwahak, a North Korean scholarly journal, reported that these thirteen provinces extended all the way from present Beijing and its vicinity all the way to Inner Mongolia. That achievement seems to be backed up by Handan Kogi (a text time and time again has been accused of as being a modern amateurist history), which list the great ruler's conquests extending not only to Beijing, but Shandong, Shanxi, and eastern Shaanxi to the west; the northern realm expanded into all of Manchuria and the Maritime Provinces under the Amur river. According to a recent newspaper article (Sept. 5, 1994. Hanguk Ilbo), Koguryo fortress sites were discovered in EASTERN MONGOLIA, and I would assume that it was the actions of this great conqueror who led his troops there which made it possible. The text refers to this man as Yongnak Daeje, or Great Emperor Yongnak. I am inclined to believe it was true, because in the East Asian tradition, only emperors were able to use Yonho, or reign title, and kings never ever could. Moreover, the Sui Shu records that the grandson of Wi-gung (personal name of King Sansang), was called Soyuljae, or the emperor of multitudes. Also, the seemingly tireless military campaigns he commanded were not really new conquests, but a vigorous exercise of a Koguryo tradition known as Damul, or recovering lost realms. The reader might say, when did Koguryo ever lose territory? But the territory I'm referring to here is not the ones Koguryo lost, but the old realm of the Old Chosun Empire. He not only regained and maintained Koguryo prestige, but made Koguryo's traditional dreams into reality. I have seen the stele with my own eyes, and thinking back to all the things this great man did for his nation, I unconsciously bowed three times to the Great Emperor's monument. The keeper of the stele did not consider it strange, saying that she had seen many Koreans from the south act in a similar manner. That is a testimonial to the awesome achievements of the man, and even with the edited version of history, many Koreans felt awestruck by the monument that recorded the great ruler's achievements. How would they act if they knew the man's achievements were far more greater that they have ever imagined? I'd say they will literally go and worship in front of the monument, much like the Mongols pay homage to and worship at Genghis Khan's tomb. Up to now, Koreans revered the Great Emperor because he was a shining star upon their otherwise disgraceful history. Now they will worship him for his absolute greatness, hoping that they would relive it some day.
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History of Korea 