From the Seogi, Guksa and Sinjip to the Joseon sanggosa — history-writing as royal display, Confucian record, assertion of independence and nationalist scholarship
Salamander724 · Public domain · Source
| Work | Period / author | Features (view, form) |
|---|---|---|
| Seogi | Baekje, Geunchogo / Go Heung | First Baekje history; lost |
| Guksa | Silla, Jinheung (545) / Geochilbu | Proposed by Isabu; royal display; lost |
| Yugi → Sinjip | Goguryeo, Yeongyang (600) / Yi Mun-jin | 100-volume Yugi cut to 5-volume Sinjip |
| Annals of Seven Reigns | Goryeo, Hyeonjong–Deokjong / Hwang Ju-ryang | Rebuilt records burned by the Khitan; lost |
| Samguk sagi | Goryeo, Injong (1145) / Kim Bu-sik | Oldest extant; annals-biographies; Confucian; Silla line |
| Dongmyeongwang-pyeon | Goryeo, Myeongjong (1193) / Yi Gyu-bo | Heroic epic; Goguryeo succession |
| Haedong goseungjeon | Goryeo, Gojong (1215) / Gakhun | Lives of Three Kingdoms monks |
| Samguk yusa | Goryeo, Chungnyeol (c. 1281) / Iryeon | First Dangun record; Buddhist lore; 14 hyangga |
| Jewang ungi | Goryeo, Chungnyeol (1287) / Yi Seung-hyu | Dangun as founder; equal to China; Balhae included |
| Saryak | Late Goryeo / Yi Je-hyeon | Neo-Confucian view; lost |
| Goryeosa / Goryeosa jeoryo | Joseon, Munjong (1451, 1452) / Jeong In-ji, Kim Jong-seo | Annals-biographies / chronological |
| Annals of the Joseon Dynasty | Joseon, Taejo–Cheoljong / annals office | Chronological; historians’ drafts; Memory of the World |
| Dongguk tonggam | Joseon, Seongjong (1485) / Seo Geo-jeong | Chronological history, Gojoseon to Goryeo |
| Dongsa gangmok | Late Joseon (1778) / An Jeong-bok | Outline-detail form; own legitimacy line; critical |
| Balhaego | Joseon, Jeongjo (1784) / Yu Deuk-gong | Coined "North–South States"; Balhae as Korean |
| Yeollyeosil gisul / Haedong yeoksa | Late Joseon / Yi Geung-ik, Han Chi-yun | Topical narrative / 500+ foreign sources |
| Doksa sillon | Korean Empire (1908) / Sin Chae-ho | Nation-centred history begins; serialised |
| Hanguk tongsa | Colonial era (1915) / Park Eun-sik | National soul; history of Japanese aggression |
| Joseon sanggosa | Colonial era (1931) / Sin Chae-ho | History as "self vs. non-self"; ancient history |
Under King Geunchogo, the scholar Go Heung is said to have compiled the Seogi, a record of Baekje’s history.
Under King Jinheung, on Isabu’s advice, Geochilbu and others compiled the Guksa, a history of Silla.
Under King Yeongyang, the Taehak scholar Yi Mun-jin condensed the 100-volume Yugi, Goguryeo’s early history, into the five-volume Sinjip.
After Gaegyeong burned in the second Khitan invasion and the records were lost, the annals of the seven kings from Taejo to Mokjong were compiled anew from Hyeonjong’s reign and completed under Deokjong.
By order of King Injong, Kim Bu-sik and others compiled the Samguk sagi, a 50-volume annals-and-biographies history of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla and the oldest surviving Korean history.
Yi Gyu-bo retold the story of King Dongmyeong (Jumong), founder of Goguryeo, as a long narrative poem.
The monk Gakhun, by order of King Gojong, wrote the Haedong goseungjeon, biographies of eminent monks of the Three Kingdoms.
The monk Iryeon compiled the Samguk yusa, recording the Dangun founding legend of Gojoseon, Buddhist history, folk tales and hyangga songs — an assertion of Korean historical identity under Yuan domination.
Yi Seung-hyu wrote the Jewang ungi, a verse history of China and Korea, and presented it to King Chungnyeol. It made Dangun the founder of Korean history.
Under King Taejong the Annals of King Taejo were compiled, beginning the practice of compiling each king’s annals after his death. They cover 472 years, from Taejo to Cheoljong, in chronological form.
Under King Munjong, Jeong In-ji, Kim Jong-seo and others completed the Goryeosa, a history of Goryeo in annals-and-biographies form. The chronological Goryeosa jeoryo followed the next year.
Under King Seongjong, Seo Geo-jeong and others published the Dongguk tonggam, a chronological general history from Gojoseon to the end of Goryeo.
An Jeong-bok completed the Dongsa gangmok, a history from Gojoseon to the end of Goryeo in outline-and-details form that set out an independent line of legitimacy for Korean history.
In Balhaego, Yu Deuk-gong placed Balhae in Korean history and first called the age of Silla and Balhae the “Northern and Southern States”.
Sin Chae-ho serialised the Doksa sillon ("A New Reading of History") in the Daehan Maeil Sinbo, beginning a history centred on the nation.
In Shanghai Park Eun-sik published the Painful History of Korea, tracing Japanese aggression since the opening of the ports. He argued that if the nation’s spirit survived, the country could be regained.
Sin Chae-ho’s Ancient History of Joseon was serialized in the Chosun Ilbo. It saw history as "the struggle between self and non-self" and stressed the autonomy of Korea’s ancient past.
Twenty-fifth king of Goryeo and the first to marry a Yuan princess; Goryeo was drawn into the invasions of Japan
Nationalist historian who wrote the Ancient History of Joseon and the Declaration of the Korean Revolution; died in Lüshun Prison
Thirteenth king of Baekje, who absorbed Mahan and attacked Pyongyang in its golden age
Baekje erudite under King Geunchogo who is said to have compiled the history Seogi
Twenty-fourth king of Silla, who took the Han River basin and Daegaya, raised border steles and organized the hwarang
Silla general who subdued Usan-guk with wooden lions and later conquered Daegaya
Silla minister and general under King Jinheung who compiled the history Guksa and took ten districts of the upper Han River from Goguryeo in 551
Goguryeo scholar of the Taehak under King Yeongyang who condensed the 100-volume Yugi into the five-volume Sinjip
Eighth king of Goryeo, who weathered the second and third Khitan invasions and began the first Tripitaka
Confucian aristocrat of Gaegyeong who crushed Myocheong’s revolt and compiled the Samguk sagi in 1145
Seventeenth king of Goryeo, who faced the revolts of Yi Ja-gyeom and Myocheong and commissioned the Samguk sagi