Jang Bogo Establishes Cheonghaejin
With King Heungdeok’s leave, Jang Bogo founded the Cheonghae garrison on Wando, cleared the seas of pirates and dominated trade among Silla, Tang and Japan.
Rheo1905 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Jang Bogo, an officer in Tang’s Wuning army, saw Silla people kidnapped by pirates and sold as slaves. Returning home, he persuaded King Heungdeok to let him build Cheonghaejin with 10,000 men. The garrison swept pirates from the southwest seas and controlled the carrying trade with Tang and Japan, to which Jang sent his own trade missions.
Silla communities (Sillabang) with their own offices and temples dotted Shandong and the Huai River. The Beophwawon temple Jang founded at Chishan in Shandong is described in the Japanese monk Ennin’s travel diary. Silla’s main foreign trade ports were Ulsan and Danghangseong.