Kyon Hwon

Records say that Kyon Hwon was born with the surname Yi, not Kyon. Most accounts agree that Kyon Hwon's father was Ajagae, a farmer surnamed Yi, and that he was born in what is today Gaeun-eup in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang province, as the oldest of six children. However, Kyon Hwon later changed his family name to Kyon. Some argue that he changed his surname to start afresh as the founder of the new state of Later Baekje. Kyon Hwon is considered the progenitor of the Hwanggan Kyon clan. His sons, Singŏm, Yanggŏm, Yonggŏm and Kŭmgang, used the surname Kyon (or Chin), not Yi.[3]

His mother was from the Gwangju area, but her exact identity is not known;[5] Ajagae had two wives, Lady Sangwon and Lady Namwon, and Kyon Hwon was born to his first wife. Legends state that his mother was from Gwangju and gave birth to her firstborn son after having physical contact with a worm disguised as a man, and that Kyon Hwon grew up drinking the milk of a tiger.[6][7]

The Silla court of Queen Jinseong was heavily corrupt and embroiled with political confusion. Widespread famine ravaged the country, driving many of the people into rebel forces. Village headmen, and new military forces arose and created power bases all over the country. The government who had tried to implement a forceful taxation plan found itself in the face of rebellions led by bandits, local nobles, and rebel leaders. It was during this time that Kyon Hwon's father Ajagae led a local peasant revolt and set up base in Sangju.[7][8][9]

Kyon Hwon is said to have left home at 15 to join the Silla army and became the commander of Silla forces in the Jeolla region.[10] While his father grabbed power in the Sangju region, he independently marshalled local peasants to his cause, and soon gathered many followers. In 892, Kyon Hwon seized the cities of Wansanju and Mujinju, taking over the old territory of Baekje and winning the support of the people in the area who were hostile to Silla.[11]

Kyon Hwon declared himself the king of Hubaekje ("later Baekje") and established his capital at Wansanju in 900. He established government, made diplomatic ties with China, and continuously pursued the expansion of his kingdom amidst much conflict with Kung Ye of Hugoguryeo.[3]

After crowning himself as ruler of Hubaekje, Kyon Hwon sent his army to present-day Hapcheon, southwest of the Silla capital Gyeongju, but the campaign failed and the army retreated. Then in 910, when Wang Kon, the general of the rival kingdom of Hugoguryeo, attacked and captured the city of Naju, the very city in which Kyon Hwon had started his rebellion, he made an attempt to retake the city from Wang but failed.[7]

In 918, Kung Ye, who had been maintaining his rule by acts of terror, was dethroned and murdered by his own army commanders. General and chief minister Wang Kon was crowned as their new ruler, marking the beginning point of Goryeo.[12]

Kyon Hwon sent another major expedition to Hapcheon in 920 and finally succeeded in taking over the region, forcing King Gyeongmyeong into an alliance with Goryeo. Then he invaded the present-day Andong area, but his troops were defeated by local Silla guards. Kyon Hwon was forced to make peace with Goryeo after the battle, through a hostage exchange of royal family members. However, when his nephew Chin Ho died, he killed the Goryeo hostage Wang Shin, cousin of Wang Kon, and resumed war against Goryeo.[7]

In 927, Kyon Hwon led his army himself and directly attacked the Silla capital of Gyeongju. King Gyeongae was unprepared for this attack, and he chose suicide over capture by the invading army of Hubaekje. Kyon Hwon then established Kim Pu (who became King Gyeongsun) as the next Silla king. On his way back, he was met by the forces led by Wang Kon, and easily defeated the Goryeo army, killing many of Wang's notable generals and warriors, with Wang barely escaping through the daring self-sacrifice of his general Sin Sung-gyŏm and Kim Nak. One year later he took over the city of Jinju from Silla.[7]

Hubaekje and Goryeo were in constant state of hostilities without one being completely dominant over the other. However, in 930, the Hubaekje troops faced a heavy defeat at the Battle of Gochang (present-day Andong) and was unable to recover from the loss. Kyon Hwon attempted to reverse the current by sacking the Goryeo capital of Gaeseong, but his army suffered another defeat in 934.[3][4][7]

Not only was Hubaekje reeling from military defeats, the kingdom was in internal disarray. In 935, Kyon Hwon's eldest son Singom, who had been slighted as heir to the throne in favor of his younger brother Kumgang, overthrew Kyon Hwon with the aid of his brothers Yanggom and Yonggom. Singom killed Kumgang and confined Kyon Hwon to Geumsan Temple, but Kyon Hwon escaped and fled to Goryeo and his old enemy Wang Kon, who welcomed him and provided him with land and slaves.[7]

King Gyeongsun of Silla formally surrendered to Goryeo in 935. The following year, at Kyon Hwon's request, he and Wang Geon led a massive Goryeo army to Hubaekje and the kingdom fell.[3][4][7]

Kyon Hwon died the same year of an inflamed tumor.[7]

Unlike his rival Kung Ye, Kyon Hwon was active in diplomacy; he was formally confirmed by the Chinese kingdoms of Wuyue and Later Tang as the legitimate ruler of Hubaekje. In addition, he sought an alliance with the newly formed Liao Dynasty in the north, which was founded by the Khitans, in order to surround Goryeo from both north and south. Kyon Hwon also sent envoys to Japan during his reign for mainly commercial reasons; the Jeolla region, where Kyon Hwon began his kingdom, was the center of trade in East Asia during the period and had already served as the base for traders such as Chang Pogo.[7]

However, despite all of his diplomatic, military and trade abilities Kyon Hwon lacked the political astuteness to found a viable state; his Hubaekje government system was not very much different from the one of Silla, which had been proven to be ineffective in centralizing the power of the local landlords and merchants. In the end, Hubaekje was not able to exercise influence over many of its people, paving the way for Goryeo to incorporate the kingdom and unify the Korean peninsula.[7]

• Later Baekje
• Kung Ye
• Wang Kon
• Later Three Kingdoms
• History of Korea