Gwanggaeto of Goguryeo - Death and Legacy

Death and Legacy

King Gwanggaeto died of unknown disease in 413, at the age of thirty-nine. Although Gwanggaeto ruled for only twenty-two years and died fairly young, his conquests are said to mark the high tide of Korean history. Except for the period of 200 years beginning with his son and successor, King Jangsu, and the later kingdom of Balhae, Korea never before or since ruled such a vast territory. There is evidence that Goguryeo's maximum extent lay even further west, in present-day Mongolia, bordered by the Rouran and Göktürks. Gwanggaeto is also given credit for establishing the reign titles that were recorded for the first time in Korean history, a symbolic gesture elevating Goguryeo monarchs as equals to their Chinese counterparts.

Today, King Gwanggaeto the Great is one of two rulers of Korea who were given the title 'Great' after their name (the other one being King Sejong the Great of Joseon, who created the Korean alphabet). He is regarded by Koreans as one of the greatest heroes of their history, and is often taken as a potent symbol of Korean nationalism. Recently, the People's Republic of China launched its program of attempting to incorporate the history of Goguryeo within the context of Chinese history, which has been met with indignation from Koreans.

The Gwanggaeto Stele, a six-meter monument erected by Jangsu of Goguryeo in 414, was rediscovered in Manchuria in 1875 by a Chinese scholar. Although the stele gives us a great amount of information of his reign, it also caused a controversy about historical view. This is because it contains several references to Japan. Those stories of Wa (Japan) are:

• in 391 Wa (Japan) crossed the sea and defeated Baekje and Silla and made them subjects.
• in 399 allied armies of Baekje and Wa invaded into Silla. Silla asked Goguryeo for help.
• in 400 Goguryeo expelled Wa from Silla to southern Korea.
• in 404 Wa lost the battle against Goguryeo in the southern Lelang (South Pyongan).

Among them, the story of the year 391 became very controversial as the text of the stele is not clear and it mentions Japan's presence in the Korean Peninsula in the 4th century, which Korean scholars reject. Also, Japan's presence in Korean peninsula with power in 391 is not possible for every Silla and Baekje based historical literature indicates that this did not occur. Most people find it odd that an artifact dedicated to the great achievements of Goguryeo would mention a Japanese achievement not related to Goguryeo or King Gwanggaeto. Also, historians indicate the substantial technological difference between Japan and Korea at that time. It would have been impossible for Japan to have subjugated a country which had superior technology over an ocean barrier. Korean scholars claim that the stele was intentionally damaged by the Imperial Japanese Army to provide historical precedent for the Japanese occupation of Korea. This is highly possible since Japan has manipulated several historical documents during its Imperial era in early 20th century. The Korean scholars claim that the passage should be interpreted as:

• in 391 Wa (Japan) crossed the sea. However, Goguryeo defeated Baekje and Wa (Japan) and made them subjects.

It is currently almost impossible to have consensus over this issue between Korean and Japanese scholars due to nationalism. This disagreement subsequently affected the project of writing a common history textbook among Korea, Japan, and China.