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PersonAD 626 – AD 681

King Munmu

Thirtieth king of Silla, who destroyed Goguryeo, expelled Tang and completed unification

The eldest son of King Muyeol, he came to the throne in 661. In 663 he defeated the Baekje restoration forces and the Wa relief army, and in 668 destroyed Goguryeo together with Tang. When Tang tried to make Silla itself a Tang protectorate, he began the Silla–Tang War in 670 by backing the Goguryeo restoration forces, settling the Goguryeo prince Anseung at Geummajeo (Iksan) as king of Goguryeo. He retook Sabi in 671 and made it Soburi Province, and won at Maeso Fortress in 675 and Gibeolpo in 676, holding the land south of a line from the Taedong River to Wonsan Bay. He is said to have vowed to become a dragon after death to guard against Japanese raiders, and his son King Sinmun completed Gameunsa.

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8 related events

  1. 1
    AD 663Battle of Baekgangmonarch

    A Wa fleet sent to aid the Baekje rebels was crushed by the Silla–Tang allies at the mouth of the Baek River; 400 ships burned.

  2. 2
    AD 668Fall of Goguryeomonarch

    Allied Silla and Tang forces took Pyongyang and King Bojang surrendered, ending Goguryeo.

  3. 3
    AD 670Goguryeo Restoration Movementrelated figure

    Geom Mo-jam rose at Hanseong (Jaeryeong, Hwanghae) with the Goguryeo prince An Seung as king; Silla later installed An Seung as king of Bodeok at Geummajeo (Iksan).

  4. AD 670 – AD 676Silla–Tang War and Unificationmonarch

    Silla drove out the Tang armies that sought to rule the peninsula and unified the land south of a line from the Taedong River to Wonsan Bay.

  5. 4
    AD 675Battle of Maeso Fortressmonarch

    Silla defeated the 200,000-strong Tang army of Li Jinxing camped at Maeso Fortress, capturing some 30,000 horses.

  6. 5
    AD 676Uisang Founds Buseoksamonarch

    Uisang, who had studied Hwaeom (Huayan) Buddhism in Tang, founded Buseoksa at Yeongju by royal command; it became the centre of the Hwaeom school in Silla.

  7. 6
    AD 676Battle of Gibeolpomonarch

    The Silla navy under Sachan Sideuk defeated Xue Rengui’s Tang fleet at Gibeolpo on the Geum estuary, the last major battle of the war.

  8. 7
    AD 682Completion of Gameunsa and the Manpasikjeok Fluterelated figure

    King Sinmun completed Gameunsa, begun by his father Munmu; the legend of the Manpasikjeok, a flute received from the dragon of the East Sea, dates from this time.

People who appear alongside

  • Buyeo Pung

    Son of King Uija, brought back from Wa as king by the Baekje restoration forces, who fled to Goguryeo after the defeat at Baekgang

  • King BojangAD 682

    Last king of Goguryeo, enthroned by Yeon Gaesomun, who surrendered in 668

  • Geom Mo-jamAD 670

    Leader of the Goguryeo restoration movement who in 670 raised Anseung as king at Hanseong (Jaeryeong, Hwanghae)

  • Anseung

    Goguryeo royal raised as king by Geom Mo-jam, whom he killed before going over to Silla and becoming king of Goguryeo (later Bodeok) at Geummajeo (Iksan)

  • Kim Yu-sinAD 595 – AD 673

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

  • UisangAD 625 – AD 702

    Silla monk who brought Hwaeom (Huayan) Buddhism from Tang, founded Buseoksa, wrote the Hwaeom ilseung beopgyedo and spread devotion to Avalokitesvara

  • King SinmunAD 692

    Munmu's son and 31st king of Silla, who crushed Kim Heum-dol's revolt and strengthened royal power through the National Academy, the nine provinces and office-land grants

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

  • Changes in PagodasAD 634 – 1467

    From Baekje stone pagodas copying timber ones and Silla pagodas copying brick ones, to Unified Silla three-story pagodas and stupas, Goryeo multi-sided pagodas and Yuan-influenced marble towers

  • Intangible and World Heritage2000 BC – 1850

    From the dolmens to Namhansanseong on the World Heritage List, from Jongmyo ritual music to ssireum on the Intangible Heritage lists — where each came from and when it was inscribed

  • Pyongyang194 BC – 2007

    From Wanggeom-seong of Gojoseon to the inter-Korean summits — capital of Goguryeo, Western Capital of Goryeo, the great city on the Taedong

  • Buyeo2000 BC – 1376

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

  • Gyeongju57 BC – 1860

    Silla’s capital for a thousand years — tombs, pagodas, temples and bells from every age of Silla, and the birthplace of Donghak