Gung Ye, Was He a Revolutionary King or a Tyrant?

The waning years of the Unified Silla Kingdom between 768 and 887 were in turmoil. Endless power struggles amongst aristocrats led to as many as 20 uprisings, and plunderers were rampant throughout the country with tax burdens ever increasing. Many people suffered from hunger and disease due to the long-lasting drought.

In those times of turbulence, a historical figure appeared to give hope to the people in distress, with the firm belief that if the world is hell on earth, it should be destroyed.

He was Gung Ye, who is known as one of the three heroes of the Later Three Kingdoms period, along with Wang Gun, the founder of the Goryeo Dynasty, and Gyeon Hwon, the king of Later Baekje.

Historians are poles apart in evaluating Gung Ye. He was an innovative leader who advocated the equality of man to reform the society, which was plagued by contradictions and public discontent. But his relentless efforts to realize an ideal world, even calling himself Maitreya—the the Buddha of the future— were too radical, and some historians describe him as a tyrant. How can we interpret the conflicting evaluations? To find the answer, let’s explore Gung Ye’s tumultuous life.


A Hero with Cruel Fate

Gung Ye was born as the son of King Gyeong-mun, the 48th ruler of the Silla Dynasty, presumably in 857. Although he was of royal blood, Gung Ye faced a severe hardship right after birth. An oracle predicted that the child would cause great harm to the nation, and the king issued an order to kill the infant.

The nanny could not bear to obey the order and escaped the palace, holding the baby in her arms. Unfortunately, she accidentally poked the baby’s eye, causing Gung Ye to lose sight in one eye.

With the indelible scar, Gung Ye became a Buddhist monk at Sedal Temple. With revolts breaking out across Silla in decline, Gung Ye first served Gi Hwon, the leader of one of the local rebellion forces in 891, and joined another rebel group led by Yang Gil in 892. Commanding Yang Gil’s army, Gung Ye attacked central regions of the Korean Peninsula. In doing so, he had a large number of soldiers under his command. He was also able to achieve economic power thanks to cooperation from local aristocrat Park Ji-yun and the Wang Gun clan, which dominated maritime trade.

Based on military and economic power, Gung Ye defeated Yang Gil in 898 and established his own base in Song-ak, which is present-day Gaeseong, before founding a new state of Later Goguryeo in 901. The name apparently contains his wish for the revival of the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo. Three years later, he changed the nation’s name to Majin and moved the capital to Cheorwon.


Dream of Rich, Peaceful Utopia

Cheorwon, located right in the middle of the Korean Peninsula, was a strategic point for defeating Silla in the south and restoring the old territory of Goguryeo in the north.

The region was so fertile and rich that one plentiful year would guarantee people’s livelihood for the next seven years. There, the breadbasket of the nation, Gung Ye sought to build an ideal world of abundance and peace. He reformed Silla’s ranking system, known as Golpum, to appoint many talented people, who had previously been bound to the rigid caste system and had to give up their dreams. Referring to himself as Maitreya Buddha, he fought against social conflicts with his strong determination and tried to build an orderly society that was free from discrimination.

However, Gung Ye was working toward his envisioned ideal world step by step, and this made him become increasingly despotic, even killing Silla people who surrendered. The authoritarian tyrant continued brutal political purges, going as far as killing his own wife Kang and his two sons in 915. In 918, Gung Ye’s generals crowned Wang Gun as their new king. Pursued by Wang Gun’s forces, Gung Ye was killed by a group of peasants in Pyeonggang and met a tragic end.


Hero’s Failed Dream

Wang Gun changed the nation’s name to Goryeo, moved the capital to Song-ak in 919 and unified the Later Three Kingdoms. His dynasty lasted for 500 years. But Gung Ye, who cherished the same dream Wang Gun had, faded into history. In times of chaos, people have diverse dreams.

When a peaceful era arrives, however, the path toward a new world narrows again and heroes give up their ambitions and disappear into the wilderness. A thousand years ago, Gung Ye dreamed of one unified nation. And he followed the same path of countless heroes who emerged and vanished in history.