Dongseong of Baekje

Dongseong(?–501, r. 479–501) was the24th kingofBaekje,one of theThree Kingdoms of Korea.

Dongseong of Baekje
Hangul	동성왕
Hanja	Đông thành vương
Revised Romanization	Dongseongwang
McCune–Reischauer	Tongsŏngwang

Background

He was the son ofBuyeo Gonji,the younger brother of the 22nd kingMunjuwho returned to Baekje fromYamatoJapan in 477 after hearing of the fall of the Baekje capital. Gonji died that same year, and like Munju, he may have been murdered byHae Gu.Dongseong appears to have been promoted to the throne by the Jin clan, which prevailed over Hae Gu's rebellion. After Samgeun died without children, the throne passed to Dongseong.

Reign

He worked to strengthen the court's power after the move of the capital from the present-daySeoularea toUngjin.He built several fortresses and castles to build out the new capital. He incorporated the local Sa, Yeon, and Baek clans into the court to counter the entrenched aristocracy from the former capital.

Dongseong sent a tribute mission to theSouthern Qiin 484, reopening Baekje's ties with southern China after a long hiatus.

He established an alliance withSillathrough his marriage of a Silla noblewoman in 493, and the two countries united in attacking Goguryeo in 495.

In 498, the Baekje army subjugatedTamna,the kingdom onJeju Islandwhich had formally accepted Baekje rule twenty-two years before, because it failed to send tributes.

TheBook of Qistates that Dongseong sent armies toLiaodongandLiaoxi(요서 Liêu Tây ) in China to defeatGoguryeoforces.

Death

Beginning in 499, the country was stricken by famine, but according to theSamguk sagithe king was unresponsive. He continued to live an indulgent lifestyle while brigandage spread.

By the end of Dongseong's rule, the local clans of the new capital had eclipsed the traditionally powerful Hae and Jin clans, and even pressured the throne. Dongseong sought to contain them by exilingBaek Gato an outlying castle. This caused great resentment, and Baek Ga's forces assassinated Dongseong while he was hunting.

Family

• Father:Buyeo Gonji(son of the 21st King,Gaero of Baekje)
• Mother: unknown
  • • Queen: unknown
  • Son:Buyeo Sama/Buyeo Yung( đỡ dư tư ma / đỡ dư long, 462–523) – 25th King of Baekje,Muryeong of Baekje
    • Concubine: unknown – from theJin clan
    • Concubine: unknown – from Lee clan ofSilla( y 飡 so trí nữ 를), married 493
      • Daughter:Princess Bogwa(보과공주;Bảo quả công chúa) – consort of the 23rd King ofSilla,Beopheung of Silla.

Popular culture

• Portrayed byJung Chanin the 2013MBCTV seriesThe King's Daughter, Soo Baek-hyang.

See also

• History of Korea
• List of Monarchs of Korea

References

• Content in this article was copied fromSamguk Sagi Scroll 23at the Shoki Wiki, which is licensed under theCreative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license.