Person1168 – 1241

Yi Gyu-bo

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

In 1193 he wrote the Lay of King Dongmyeong, an epic poem on Jumong, founder of Goguryeo, expressing Goryeo's sense of descent from Goguryeo. He rose to high office under the Choe regime. His collected works, the Donggukisanggukjip, record that the Sangjeong gogeum yemun was printed with metal type on Ganghwa and include the prayer of king and officials explaining that the Tripitaka was carved to drive off the Mongols.

Where they went

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3 related events

  1. 1

    Yi Gyu-bo retold the story of King Dongmyeong (Jumong), founder of Goguryeo, as a long narrative poem.

  2. 2

    Yi Gyu-bo’s collected works record that, after the move to Ganghwa, 28 copies of the ritual code Sangjeong gogeum yemun were printed with metal type. No copy survives.

  3. 3
    1236 – 1251Carving the Tripitaka Koreanarelated figure

    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.

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

  • King Myeongjong1131 – 1202

    Nineteenth king of Goryeo, enthroned by the generals; his reign saw military infighting and uprisings until Choe Chung-heon deposed him

  • King Gojong of Goryeo1192 – 1259

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

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