Gwanggaeto of Goguryeo - Birth and Background

Birth and Background

At the time of Gwanggaeto's birth, Goguryeo(고구려)was not as powerful as it once had been. Just prior to his birth, Geunchogo of Baekje of Baekje had soundly defeated Goguryeo, slaying Gogukwon of Goguryeo. Sosurim of Goguryeo, who succeeded Gogukwon upon the latter's death in 371, kept his foreign policy as isolationist as possible so as to rebuild a state gravely weakened by the Baekje invasion of 371. Gogukyang, who succeeded Sosurim, maintained a similar policy, opting to focus on the rehabilitation and remobilization of Goguryeo forces.

After defeating Goguryeo in 371, Baekje had become a one of the most dominant power in East Asia, whose influence was not limited to the Korean peninsula. That state's King Geunchogo seized several coastal cities of China, notably in Liaoxi and Shandong, to retain its superiority over Goguryeo and a variety of southern Chinese dynasties, which had arisen within the context of extended civil wars caused by the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE and the concomitant invasions of foreign tribes, including but not limited to the Xiongnu and Xianbei (Wu Hu). Baekje under Geunchogo's leadership also seems to have had a close relationship with parts of Wa (Japan) and established good relations with that archipelago's natives. Thus Goguryeo, surrounded by a powerful Baekje's forces to its south and west, was inclined to avoid conflict with its peninsular neighbor while cultivating constructive relations with the Xienpei and Rouran, in order to defend itself from future invasions, and even the possible destruction of its state.