Taejo of Goryeo
Founder of the Goryeo Dynasty, unifying the Korean Peninsula.
Chronology: 0877-01-31 – 0943-07-04
Origins & Early Life
Taejo (Korean: 태조; Hanja: 太祖; 31 January 877 – 4 July 943), personal name Wang Kŏn (왕건; 王建), also known as Taejo Wang Kŏn (태조 왕건; 太祖 王建; lit. ''Great Progenitor Wang Kŏn''), was the founder of the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea. He ruled from 918 to 943, achieving unification of the Later Three Kingdoms in 936. == Background == Wang Kŏn was born in 877 to a powerful maritime merchant family of Goguryeo descent based in Songak (modern Kaesong) as the eldest son of Wang Ryung.
Pivotal Works & Achievements
According to the Pyeonnyeon tongnok (편년통록; 編年通錄), quoted in the Goryeosa, Wang Kŏn's grandfather Chakchegon was the son of Emperor Suzong of Tang. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture and the Doosan Encyclopedia, this is hagiographical. The Pyeonnyeon tongnok (c. late 12th century) said: While on a sea voyage to meet his father, Emperor Suzong of the Tang dynasty, 16-year-old Chakchegon encountered a dragon king, slew a shape-shifting fox, and married a dragon woman; the dragon woman later transformed into a dragon and went away. According to the Seongwollok (성원록; 聖源錄), quoted in the Goryeosa, the "dragon woman" was a daughter of Tu Ŭn-chŏm from Pyongju (modern-day Pyongsan County).
Enduring Legacy & Impact
The story that Wang Kŏn was...
Source: Wikipedia