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PersonAD 948 – 1031

Gang Gam-chan

Commander-in-chief who won the Battle of Gwiju in 1019 and proposed the outer wall of Gaegyeong

When Xiao Paiya invaded with 100,000 troops in 1018, Gang Gam-chan broke a stream dammed with cowhides at Heunghwajin and routed the enemy. In 1019 he crushed the Khitan army at Gwiju as it withdrew after approaching Gaegyeong (the Battle of Gwiju). The war brought a balance of power among Goryeo, Song and the Khitan, and on his advice an outer wall was built around Gaegyeong in 1029.

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2 related events

  1. AD 993 – 1019Khitan Invasions of Goryeocommander

    The Khitan Liao invaded Goryeo three times between 993 and 1019. Goryeo repelled them through Seo Hui’s diplomacy and Gang Gam-chan’s victory at Gwiju.

  2. 1
    1019Battle of Gwijucommander

    Goryeo forces under Gang Gam-chan crushed a 100,000-strong Khitan army at Gwiju.

Related works

  • TV drama: Korea–Khitan WarDramatizedTV drama · 2023 · KBS2
  • Documentary: History Special: Time Traveler Episode 2: The Final Battle of Goryeo and the Khitan — the Battle of GwijuDocumentary · 2025 · KBS
  • TV episode: History Journal: The Day Episode 442: The Goryeo–Khitan War, Part 5 — A Strange War, the Battle of GwijuTV episode · 2024 · Jeong Dong-hun · KBS1

Dramatized works (films, dramas, novels) may differ from the historical record.

People who appear alongside

  • King SeongjongAD 960 – AD 997

    Sixth king of Goryeo, who adopted Choe Seung-ro’s 28-article memorial and built a Confucian central and local administration

  • King HyeonjongAD 992 – 1031

    Eighth king of Goryeo, who weathered the second and third Khitan invasions and began the first Tripitaka

  • Seo HuiAD 942 – AD 998

    Statesman who negotiated with Xiao Sunning in 993 and won the six garrisons east of the Yalu

  • Yang Gyu1011

    Defender of Heunghwajin who harried the retreating Khitans in 1011, freeing some 30,000 captives before he fell

  • Emperor Shengzong of LiaoAD 971 – 1031

    Khitan emperor who personally led 400,000 troops into Goryeo in 1010, using Gang Jo’s coup as a pretext

Themes this person appears in

  • Song, Ming and Samurai JapanAD 960 – 1500

    The age when the civil-minded Song bought peace from Liao, Western Xia and Jin while the lower Yangtze boomed and Neo-Confucianism took shape, and the Ming, having driven out the Yuan, rebuilt the East Asian order through imperial autocracy, the sea ban and tribute — as Japan passed through the Kamakura and Muromachi warrior governments into the Warring States era, and Korea from Goryeo to Joseon