Volta
PersonAD 603 – AD 661

King Muyeol (Kim Chun-chu)

Twenty-ninth king of Silla, who forged the Tang alliance, became the first jingol king and conquered Baekje

A grandson of King Jinji, he married Kim Yu-sin’s sister Munhui and allied with Kim Yu-sin’s faction. After losing his daughter and son-in-law at Daeya Fortress in 642, he went to Goguryeo for help and was detained; in 648 he crossed to Tang and concluded the Silla–Tang Alliance with Emperor Taizong. When Queen Jindeok died in 654, Alcheon, whom the nobles had first chosen, stood aside for him. He revised the laws of the Ibangbu into some sixty articles. The chief minister (sijung) of the Jipsabu gained power at the expense of the sangdaedeung, and the period in which his direct descendants held the throne through King Hyegong is called Middle Silla. He was the first king given the temple name Taejong.

Show on the map

Where they went

Open the full map

OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors

5 related events

  1. 1
    AD 642Baekje Takes Daeya Fortressrelated figure

    King Uija seized some forty Silla fortresses and sent General Yunchung to take Daeya; Kim Chun-chu’s daughter and son-in-law died there.

  2. 2
    AD 647Bidam’s Rebellionparticipant

    The chief minister Bidam rebelled, claiming a queen could not rule, and was crushed by Kim Yu-sin and Kim Chun-chu.

  3. 3
    AD 648Silla–Tang Alliancediplomat

    Kim Chun-chu travelled to Tang and concluded a military alliance with Emperor Taizong: once Baekje and Goguryeo fell, Silla would have the land south of Pyongyang.

  4. 4
    AD 654Accession of King Muyeolmonarch

    On Queen Jindeok’s death Kim Chun-chu took the throne — the first king from the jingol rank after the seonggol line died out.

  5. 5
    AD 660Fall of Baekjemonarch

    Allied Silla and Tang forces took the capital Sabi, and King Uija surrendered, ending Baekje.

Related works

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

People who appear alongside

  • Kim Yu-sinAD 595 – AD 673

    Silla general of Geumgwan Gaya royal descent who defeated Gyebaek and led the unification wars

  • Queen JindeokAD 654

    Twenty-eighth ruler and last "hallowed-bone" monarch of Silla, enthroned during Bidam’s revolt, under whom the Silla–Tang alliance was made and the Jipsabu set up

  • King UijaAD 660

    Last king of Baekje, who took Daeya Fortress from Silla but surrendered to the Silla–Tang allies

  • BidamAD 647

    Silla chief minister whose revolt against the queen was crushed by Kim Yu-sin

  • Queen SeondeokAD 647

    Twenty-seventh ruler and Silla's first queen, under whom Cheomseongdae and the nine-storey pagoda of Hwangnyongsa were built

  • Emperor Taizong of TangAD 598 – AD 649

    Second Tang emperor whose 645 invasion of Goguryeo stalled at Ansi Fortress

  • Su DingfangAD 592 – AD 667

    Tang general who crossed the sea with 130,000 troops to attack Baekje

Themes this person appears in

  • Wars of Korean UnificationAD 598 – AD 676

    From Goguryeo's wars with Sui and Tang to Silla's unification — eighty years of East Asian war on the peninsula

  • Sui, Tang and the East Asian WorldAD 317 – AD 979

    From the divided Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Gupta age through the Sui and Tang empires to the founding of the Song — the age when an East Asian world sharing law codes, Buddhism, Confucianism and Chinese characters took shape, and Korea and Japan built their states on its model

  • GongjuAD 475 – 1894

    From Ungjin, Baekje’s second capital, to Ugeumchi — the town on the Geum River that became the heart of Chungcheong

  • Buyeo2000 BC – 1376

    From the Songguk-ri village to Sabi, Baekje’s last capital — the Geum River town where Baekje culture bloomed and fell