Stele Honoring Expedition of King Jinheung Discovered

Prominent calligrapher and scholar Kim Jeong-hui from the 19th century Joseon Korea, known as his unique calligraphic style called ‘Chusache,’ was also well versed in epigraphy, which is a study of inscriptions on ancient monuments made of iron or stone. In 1816, Kim discovered an old stele behind the Seunggasa(승가사) Temple in Mt. Bukhan.

The stele didn’t seem to have any inscriptions at first, with its surface covered in thick moss. While inspecting it carefully, however, Kim was greatly surprised to discover something unexpected.

While many parts of the text inscribed in the stele were hard to identify, it turned out to be the monument honoring the expedition of King Jinheung of the Silla Dynasty, who secured the Han River basin after fighting the neighboring kingdom of Baekje in the year 555. It was a historical monument commemorating Silla’s glorious territorial expansion.

Succeeding to the Throne at the Age of Seven

King Jinheung’s last name is Kim and his first name is Sammaekjong(삼맥종) or Simmaekbu(심맥부). He was born in 534 as the grandson of Kin Jijeung(지증), who conquered the small tribal territory of Usanguk(우산국), which is present-day Ulleung Island and Dokdo islets. His father was King Galmun(갈문), the younger brother of King Beopheung(법흥).

He succeeded the throne in 540 at the tender age of seven when his predecessor and uncle, King Beopheung, died without a legitimate son. Jinheung was too young to rule the nation, and his mother, Lady Jiso, acted as regent for ten years.

During that period, Lady Jiso appointed General Isabu, who had conquered Usanguk, as the head of military affairs and helped transfer power to the king from the Hwabaek(화백) system, which was a consultative body of representative aristocrats.

She completed the construction of the first state-level temple, Heungryunsa(흥륜사) Temple, and promoted Buddhism by allowing commoners to become Buddhist monks. On the basis built by his mother, King Jinheung began to rule independently in 551 at the age of 18.

King of Conquest

King Jinheung changed the name of the chronological era of his nation to “Gaeguk(개국),” meaning “Silla has been reborn as a new kingdom.” He inspected local provinces to show his keen attention to his territory.

In 551, he embarked on what no Silla king had ever done before. At the time, the northern state of Goguryeo couldn’t afford to pay any attention to the two southern kingdoms, Silla and Baekje, since it was busy dealing with the invasion of the nomadic Turkic Empire from the north. Using the situation, King Jinheung allied with Baekje to attack Goguryeo. As a result, Baekje secured the lower reaches of the Han River, while Silla occupied ten fortresses in the upper region of the river. The king was a man of sharp judgment as he figured out exactly how to use Goguryeo’s weakness.

Two years later, the king attacked Baekje. In fact, he accepted Goguryeo’s suggestion that the region occupied by Silla remain intact. But only as long as Silla would no longer attack Goguryeo, and instead invade Baekje in collaboration with Goguryeo. Baekje, which had been exhausted from fighting Goguryeo, could not keep off Silla forces. In the end, Silla was able to obtain the Gyeonggi area on the lower Han River, which had previously been occupied by Baekje.

King Seong of Baekje then allied with Daegaya(대가야), another ancient kingdom, and stood in the vanguard himself to attack Silla’s Gwansan(관산) Fortress in 554. Having detected King Seong’s movement, however, Silla caught the Baekje king and killed him.

Buoyed by a series of victories, King Jinheung had nothing to fear. In 555, the young king established a province in the Changnyeong(창녕) area that had belonged to the Gaya Federation. The following year, he expanded his territory to the north and set up an administrative district in the Anbyeon(안변) region in South Hamgyeong Province. Six years later, the king overthrew Daegaya kingdom and incorporated Gaya’s territory into Silla’s.

Laying Foundation for Unifying Three Kingdoms

King Jinheung tripled the size of Silla’s territory. His remarkable achievements are comparable to those of King Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo. In 568, King Jinheung changed the name of the chronological era to “Taechang (태창),” which means “prosper greatly,” and visited his newly expanded land to set up territorial monuments that described his achievements.

Internally, the king was focused on the livelihood of the general public, as he changed the name of the era once again in 572 to “Hongje(홍제),” meaning “save extensively.” In the same year, he held a memorial event to pray for the souls of fallen soldiers. In 574, the king built a 5-meter-high statue of the Buddha at Hwangryongsa(황룡사) Temple. In 576, he created the Hwarang(화랑) System to nurture young talents who would excel in both scholarship and martial arts.

Unfortunately, the king died in that year at the age of 43. But the Hwarang system proved to be the driving force behind Silla’s unification of the three kingdoms. King Jinheung was definitely the king of conquest, but he is remembered more as a great leader who provided a solid basis for unifying the three kingdoms.