Merit Land (Yeokbunjeon) Granted

Having reunified the Later Three Kingdoms, Taejo Wang Geon granted land to those who had served in the wars, by merit and character.

In 940 Taejo gave yeokbunjeon to the officials and soldiers who had helped reunify the Later Three Kingdoms. Grants were scaled not by office but by the size of one’s merit and by character. It was largely a reward to win over local lords and meritorious subjects, and it marked the start of the Goryeo land system, leading to the first jeonsigwa (976), which weighed rank and character together.