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Yuri of Goguryeo
Hangul	유리왕 or 유리명왕
Hanja	瑠璃王 or 瑠璃明王
Revised Romanization	Yuri-wang or Yurimyeong-wang
McCune–Reischauer	Yuri-wang or Yurimyŏng-wang
Birth name
Hangul	해유리 or 유류 or 누리
Hanja	解類利 or 儒留 or 累利
Revised Romanization	Hae Yuri or Yuryu or Nuri
McCune–Reischauer	Hae Yuri or Yuryu or Nuri

Monarchs of Korea Goguryeo

Dongmyeong 37-19 BCE Yuri 19 BCE-18 CE Daemusin 18-44 Minjung 44-48 Mobon 48-53 Taejo 53-146 Chadae 146-165 Sindae 165-179 Gogukcheon 179-197 Sansang 197-227 Dongcheon 227-248 Jungcheon 248-270 Seocheon 270-292 Bongsang 292-300 Micheon 300-331 Gogug-won 331-371 Sosurim 371-384 Gogug-yang 384-391 Gwanggaeto the Great 391-413 Jangsu 413-490 Munja 491-519 Anjang 519-531 An-won 531-545 Yang-won 545-559 Pyeong-won 559-590 Yeong-yang 590-618 Yeong-nyu 618-642 Bojang 642-668

King Yuri (? - 18 CE, r. 19 BCE - 18 CE) was the second ruler of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the eldest son of the kingdom's founder King Dongmyeongseong. As with many other early Korean rulers, the events of his life are known largely from the Samguk Sagi.

Contents 1 Background 2 Reign 3 Personal information 4 Succession 5 Theories regarding King Yuri 5.1 Son of Jumong Theory 5.2 Usurpation theory 6 References 7 See also

[edit] Background

Yuri was the son of Jumong, the founder of Goguryeo. Yuri was raised where his father grew up by his mother. Yuri's mother, Lady Ye, and Yuri went to Goguryeo in 19 BCE, to go see his father.

King Jumong proclaimed Yuri to be the Crown Prince of Goguryeo. Onjo and Biryu (the sons of Soseono) became insecure. Soseono took her sons and traveled south to found the kingdom of Baekje, and the latter died at Michuhol. Yuri became King upon Jumong's death later.

[edit] Reign

Yuri is described as a powerful and militarily successful king. He conquered a Xiongnu tribe in 9 BCE. In 3 BCE, Yuri moved the capital from Jolbon Fortress to Gungnae Fortress.

Goguryeo's neighbor, the Han dynasty of China, was overthrown by Wang Mang, who established the Xin Dynasty. Wang Mang sent a messenger to Goguryeo to ask for troops to assist in a conquest of the Xiongnu during 12 CE, the 31st year of his reign. Yuri rejected the request and instead attacked Xin.^[1]

He had six sons and among them were Hae-Myung, and Muhyul. Hae-Myung was proclaimed the crown prince of Goguryeo after the death of Dojul, who was King Yuri's eldest son, but Yuri found him to be too reckless and disobedient. Yuri replaced him with the younger son Muhyul in 14 CE, his son with the daughter of Songyang. Muhyul ruled later as King Daemusin of Goguryeo.

A poem Yuri is said to have written for his favored concubine Chihui has survived to this day. It is titled Hwangjoga (황조가/黃鳥歌), meaning "Song of the Yellow Bird."

[edit] Personal information

• Father:
  • King Dongmyeongseong.
• Mother:
  • Lady Ye.
• Wife:
  • Unknown daughter of Songyang.
• Concubines:
  • Hwahyi.
  • Chihui.
• Children:
  • Hae Dojul, Crown Prince (died 01 CE).
  • Hae-Myung, Crown Prince (created 01 CE, deposed 14 CE).
  • Hae Muhyul, Crown Prince (created 14 CE), later King Daemusin of Goguryeo.
  • Hae Yuh-Jin, (drowned around 18 CE).
  • Hae Saek-Ju (??-48), later King Minjung of Goguryeo.
  • Go Jaesa, the head of the Go house of the Gyeru lineage, father of the King Taejo of Goguryeo, died after 53 CE.

[edit] Succession

King Yuri died in 18 CE, after ruling for 37 years. He was succeeded by his oldest remaining son, Muhyul, who became King Daemusin.

[edit] Theories regarding King Yuri

[edit] Son of Jumong Theory

The traditional view of Yuri places him as the son of Jumong and Lady Ye. A traditional explanation to the different surnames of father and son is, Jumong's original surname was "Hae", but he changed it to "Go" when he established Goguryeo. Jumong's changing of his surname is mentioned in Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa.

[edit] Usurpation theory

In recent studies, some historians have made a series of observations regarding Goguryeo's establishment that led them to think of the possibility that Hae Yuri may not have been the son of Go Jumong, but an usurper.

The observations that led to this conclusion were Jumong's early death, the difference in surnames, Yuri's harsh behavior toward some of Jumong's most prized subjects, and the differences in the styles of rule. Jumong died at the age of 40, which is quite early compared to that of some of his successors and predecessors. Very few of the rulers of that time period died before the age of 40. The difference in surnames may signify dynastic change from the Go family to the Hae family.

Another startling point to consider is the fact that most of Jumong's most trusted subjects were exiled or resigned. An example is Hyeob-bo, who was among Jumong's first three followers. According to the first Goguryeo volume of the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms (Samguk Sagi), Hyeob-bu continually disagreed with the way King Yuri continually left the palace to go on hunting trips and strongly urged the King to be more attentive to matters of the kingdom.

However, Yuri grew annoyed and forced Hyub-Bo to resign from his office. However, this claim may be proven counteracted with the fact that not all of Jumong's subjects were removed. General Bu Bun-no and Oi served Goguryeo through most of King Yuri's reign and played active roles in the kingdom. Goguryeo under Yuri did not display the strict expansionist policy that existed under Jumong. A final observation is the mentioning of a broken sword in the legend.

Some historians have inferred that Yuri finding a piece of Jumong's broken sword and using it as a claim signifies the collapse of Jumong's regime, and Yuri's rise to the throne. Overall, the fact that Jumong died five months after the arrival of Yuri caused the suspicion of these select historians. However, this is merely a theory and no assumptions can be made.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• History of Korea
• Three Kingdoms of Korea
• List of Korean monarchs