Volta
Person1192 – 1259

King Gojong of Goryeo

Twenty-third king of Goryeo, who reigned through the Mongol invasions from Ganghwa Island

He spent most of his reign under the Choe military regime of Choe Chung-heon, Choe U and Choe Hang. After the first Mongol invasion of 1231, Choe U moved the capital to Ganghwa in 1232, and resistance continued across the country, from Park Seo's defence of Gwiju to Kim Yun-hu's stands at Cheoinseong and Chungju. From 1236 the Tripitaka Koreana was carved in hope of Buddha's help against the Mongols, and around this time the Sangjeong gogeum yemun was printed with metal type. When the Choe regime fell in 1258, he sent the crown prince (later Wonjong) to the Mongols to make peace.

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5 related events

  1. 1
    1215Gakhun Compiles the Haedong goseungjeonmonarch

    The monk Gakhun, by order of King Gojong, wrote the Haedong goseungjeon, biographies of eminent monks of the Three Kingdoms.

  2. 2
    1231Park Seo’s Defence of Gwijumonarch

    In the first Mongol invasion Park Seo and Kim Gyeong-son held Gwiju against repeated Mongol assaults, opening the gates only when the court, having made peace, ordered them to.

  3. 3
    1232Moving the Capital to Ganghwamonarch

    To fight a long war against Mongol domination, Choe U moved the capital from Gaegyeong to Ganghwa Island, where the court remained for 39 years until 1270.

  4. 4
    1236 – 1251Carving the Tripitaka Koreanamonarch

    Hoping the Buddha’s power would drive out the Mongols, Goryeo set up a Tripitaka directorate on Ganghwa and spent 16 years carving more than 80,000 woodblocks, now kept at Haeinsa in Hapcheon.

  5. 5
    1236Publication of the Hyangyak gugeupbangmonarch

    During the Mongol invasions the Tripitaka Directorate published the Hyangyak gugeupbang, a collection of emergency remedies using native herbs — the oldest surviving Korean medical book.

People who appear alongside

  • Choe U1249

    Son of Choe Chung-heon who set up the Jeongbang personnel office and moved the court to Ganghwa in 1232

  • Gakhun

    Goryeo monk under King Gojong who wrote the Haedong goseungjeon by royal order

  • Park Seo

    Northwestern commander who held Gwiju fortress against the Mongols for over a month in 1231

  • Sartai1232

    Mongol general who invaded Goryeo in 1231 and 1232 and was killed by an arrow at Cheoin

  • Yi Gyu-bo1168 – 1241

    Writer of the Lay of King Dongmyeong whose collected works record the metal-type printing of the Sangjeong gogeum yemun

Themes this person appears in

  • Writing Korean HistoryAD 375 – 1931

    From the Seogi, Guksa and Sinjip to the Joseon sanggosa — history-writing as royal display, Confucian record, assertion of independence and nationalist scholarship

  • Printing and Documentary HeritageAD 751 – 2011

    From the Dharani Sutra to the May 18 archives — woodblock and metal-type printing, and the records inscribed on the Memory of the World

  • Ganghwa Island1000 BC – 2011

    From dolmens to the Treaty of Ganghwa — Goryeo’s refuge capital and the stage of Korea’s opening, the island the kingdom fell back on in every crisis