Many people think that the most powerful monarch in the history of Korea was King Gwanggaeto the Great, who controlled the entire Northeast Asian region. But there was another powerful monarch in Korea whose achievements were just as impressive: King Geunchogo, the 13th king of the Baekje Kingdom. During his reign, Baekje crushed Goguryeo in the north, the Mahan tribes in the south and Gaya in the southeast. It also established ties with Japan. King Geunchogo was the first among Baekje monarchs to appear in the historic records of China and Japan, which attests to his great presence in Asia and his achievements in bolstering Baekje’s status.

King Geunchogo was the second son of King Biryu. He was presumably born in the early 4th century. Few historic records mention his name. Even the “History of the Three Kingdoms,” known as “Samguk Sagi,” doesn’t specify the oldest son of King Biryu or why the second son ascended the throne. But there is plenty of evidence of King Geunchogo’s historic contributions. His military accomplishments began in 369, when he won the Battle of Chiyang against Goguryeo. He crushed the army of 20,000 troops led by King Gogukwon, the 16th king of Goguryeo, who tried to invade Baekje territory.

At the time, King Geunchogo was extending Baekje’s reach southward by annexing the Mahan tribes and the Gaya Kingdom. Baekje had powerful weapons thanks to its advanced ironware technologies. Its soldiers could fight on horseback, whereas the armies of Mahan and Gaya consisted mostly of infantrymen. First, Baekje crossed the Sobaek Mountains to conquer seven small states of the Gaya Kingdom, and went on to subjugate four regions of today’s Jeolla Province and even the Mahan tribes. King Geunchogo strengthened his royal power using military force, which gave him confidence and inspired him to turn his eyes northward to Gogureyo.

Two years after King Geunchogo’s army crushed Gogureyo in the Battle of Chiyang, Goguryeo attempted to invade Baekje yet again but it was defeated by Baekje forces. In the winter of the same year, King Geunchogo led an army of 30,000 to attack Pyongyang, the capital-city of Goguryeo, and killed King Gogukwon. His army even advanced to the Daifang Commandery in modern-day China. It was the largest territorial expansion in the history of Baekje.

In 371, Baekje turned its eyes overseas. The following year, Baekje established diplomatic ties with Dongjin of China to lay a springboard for its overseas expansion. Baekje advanced into the Yoseo area during a tumultuous period for China and set up a trade base. It spread Chinese characters and Confucian teachings and grew into the new trade center of Northeast Asia with a flourishing political system, economy, military and culture. It was King Geunchogo who helped Baekje achieve prosperity. Before he died in 375, the king had one of his scholars write the historic book “Seogi,” which chronicled Baekje’s achievements. But the book was lost when Baekje collapsed, leaving many facts about the glorious life of King Geunchogo shrouded in mystery.