Is it the cause of Goguryeo's collapse, internal strife or foreign invasion?

 Kim Youngha (Professor of Humanities at Sungkyunkwan University)  

 1. On the first day of the New Year's Eve in 666, and the first day of the New Year's Eve, the first day of the New Year's Eve of Taesan Mountain in Shandong, the east of China, was swept away by a sharp wind. Bongseon was being held at the top of Mountain Taesan Mountain in the middle of the mountain, which soared on the red clay land. In China, Bongseon was originally one of the most important ceremonies for the heavenly and mountain streams for the heavenly and mountain streams to inform the whole world of his legitimacy. This Taesanbongseon was so large that it was unprecedented. It was an event held a year and a half after King Dang Gojong issued a record on Bongseon in July 664. Royal families and envoys from various states in Korea, from Persha in the west to Japan in the east, participated.    In 665, Yeon Gaesomun, who led the war against the political situation and the party at the end of Goguryeo, died. There is no doubt about his death because he was not yet old enough, but the political situation in Goguryeo has changed significantly anyway. Prince Boknam, sent by King Bojang, who had been hidden by the authority of Yeongaemun Gate so far, also joined envoys from each country. He attended this Bongseon separately from envoys of Silla, Baekje, Tamna, and Japan led by Yu In-gwe. This was the result of the party's separate measures to attend Goguryeo, which has yet to resolve tensions. In his head, which was immersed in all kinds of thoughts, the past war between Goguryeo and the party passed by like a flash of lightning. However, Boknam never dreamed that his attendance in Bongseon would be related to the fall of Goguryeo three years later. It wouldn't have been just because of the biting cold weather.        Bongseon was entrusted with politics by King Gojong of the Tang Dynasty in 660 and was requested by Empress Cheonmu, who beat King Gojong and exercised power in 664, and in the actual process of ritual, he led it substantially enough to hold Aheonrye following King Gojong's Cho Heonrye. She deposed her son, King Zhongjong, and then crowned King Yejong, and was the only female emperor in Chinese history who finally established Zhu and ascended the throne. Instead of paying a lot of attention to internal affairs, Ji Cheon-mu was generally known as neglecting external affairs, but Goguryeo was destroyed by the party while she was in control of political power.    Goguryeo not only frequently attacked the outskirts of the party's fluctuation, which began in 644, but also blocked two direct attacks on Pyongyang, the capital, which was immediately promoted after Baekje collapsed in 660 and Ji Cheon-mu took power. In particular, the party was defeated by Yeon Gaesomun in the Battle of Pyongyang Castle in 662 and was forced to step down. Since then, the energy of peace has flowed between the two countries for some time, but unfortunately, the party resumed its last expedition to Goguryeo in the wake of the Taesanbongseon. Against this background, it seemed that Bongseon, led by Wu Chen-mu, had a special meaning not only at home and abroad but also for Goguryeo.  

 2. Was the cause of Goguryeo's collapse internal strife? The cause of a country's collapse is the combination of internal and foreign exchange. Still, the description and education of history vary greatly depending on what the main cause is to be identified. Let's take a look at the relevant part of the current national history textbook for high schools that describes the fall of Goguryeo. Because it is a national textbook, it is something that Koreans should not know, and its instructive meaning is by no means small.         After the fall of Baekje, the Nadang Allied Forces attacked Goguryeo on both sides of the land, but failed due to Goguryeo's strong resistance. However, as Goguryeo's national power weakened due to the internal strife of the ruling class, the Nadang Allied Forces did not miss this gap and attacked Goguryeo again. Thus, Pyongyang Castle of Goguryeo finally fell.    As shown in the brief above, Goguryeo was described as collapsing due to the internal strife of the ruling class.  It is known that the internal strife is generally due to the dictatorship of Yeon Gaesomun, resulting from Goguryeo's own conflict between his post-control. It is a matter of perception of history to mention internal strife or pay attention to shouting as the cause of Goguryeo's fall. However, paying attention to the dictatorship of Yeon Gaesomun again as the background of the internal strife also has a instructive function in history that makes you realize the negative meaning of dictatorship as a citizen of a democratic society.    Apart from the fact of these contents, the long-term war between Goguryeo and Tang has attracted the attention of historians from Korea, China, and Japan since early on. This was because the impact of this war on the three countries of East Asia in the 7th century was so great. In China, in the midst of the war between Goguryeo and Tang, a side dancer appeared in politics, and in Korea, Silla integrated Baekje and Balhae was founded in the Goguryeo highlands. Meanwhile, in Japan's dialogue coordination, civil war broke out and aimed for a new national system based on laws. Due to the war between the two countries, the late 7th century of East Asia was engulfed in a whirlwind of political affairs, war, and civil war.    The first to study the war between Goguryeo and Tang as a method of modern history was the Japanese academia. During the Japanese colonial period, the field that Japanese oriental historians paid great attention to was the history of the Manchuria region. This is a trend in academia to respond to the continental expansion policy of Japanese imperialism, and it turned out to be the so-called Mansun Historical History to historically justify the colonial management of Manchuria and Joseon. The military officer identified Manchuria and Joseon as subjects and objects in an inseparable relationship, respectively, and from the standpoint of Korean history, it was to evangelize the guests.    This Manseonsa Temple attributed various countries in history that existed in the Manchuria area to the history of Manchuria. Its practical purpose was to give historical legitimacy to Manchuria, which was founded by the Japanese imperialism. According to this logic, the history of Manchuria was bound to be excluded from the category of Chinese history as well as Korean history. In this case, the most problematic part of Korean history was the history of Goguryeo and Balhae. Japanese colonial history emphasized the unification of the three kingdoms of Silla to turn the history of these two countries into the history of Manchuria. The emphasis on the unification of the Silla Three Kingdoms was nothing more than an intention to limit the spatial scope of Korean history to less than the central and southern parts of the Korean Peninsula.    Japanese colonial history spared no academic efforts to meet the real continental expansion policy by integrating Korean history into those under the influence of Manchuria. Its representative achievement was published as a vast Manseon Geographic History Research Report on the geography and history of Manchuria and Joseon. As part of this Manseonsa Temple, the history of Manchuria, including Goguryeo history, which spanned two regions, was studied. In particular, Ikeuchi Hiroshima, who represented Japan's oriental history at the time, published a series of papers on the process of Goguryeo's collapse. What he paid attention to was none other than Goguryeo's internal strife.    He found the background of Goguryeo's destruction even if it eventually collapsed due to the invasion of the party in the internal strife between the brothers Namsaeng, Namgeon, and Namsan after the death of Yeon Gaesomun. He paid attention to the fact that Namsaeng, who was chased by Nam Geon, fled to the party and became the direction of the party's military and destroyed his home country. This historical narrative may have been based on another sense of purpose pursued by Japanese colonial history. In other words, the perception of reality to grasp Japan's merger with Korea as a result of requests by internal strife, not as a strength by shouting, could have been a perception projected into past history. In fact, Japanese colonial history emphasized internal strife in Korean history, such as partisan disputes in the Joseon Dynasty.      This perception of the cause of Goguryeo's fall did not change significantly in Korean academia after liberation. There could of course be many reasons for this. However, from a national-centered point of view, one of the reasons may have been the formal logic that forced Goguryeo to attribute the cause to internal strife when it finally collapsed despite its successful anti-Dang war. Even if it is the same internal division theory, there was a difference in the implications of Japanese colonial history and Korean academia after liberation.    Moreover, while the military dictatorship that refracted modern Korean history continued, the discussion took a step further as the internal strife mentioned as the cause of Goguryeo's fall stems from the dictatorship of Yeon Gaemun. Considering that history does not have the role of a mirror in light of today, it could have been possible to recognize history. First of all, I will cite a group of such descriptions in a high-quality opening letter on the ancient history of Korea.     In addition, what was more disadvantageous was the fact that when Yeon Gaesomun died, a serious regime struggle took place within the ruling class due to the aftermath of his dictatorship. In other words, Namsaeng, the eldest son, was chased by his younger brother Nam Geon and Namsan, and went to the old Seoul, Naeseong Fortress, and sent his son Heonseong to the enemy party to borrow his power. And in the same year, Yeon Gaesomun's younger brother, Yeonjeongto, surrendered to Silla with 12 castles, and Silla troops were deployed in these castles. In this way, internal solidarity was collapsing. This was like a signal to hasten Goguryeo's fate.'   As can be seen above, Goguryeo was destroyed by the dictatorship of Yeon Gaemun, the resulting struggle for power between self-control, and the cooperative efforts of the Na-Party coalition forces promoted following the exile of the Jaje Party and Silla. The internal conflict between self-control, which is cited as the cause, was also identified as a problem within Goguryeo resulting from the dictatorship of Yeon Gaemun. In the end, Japanese colonial history discussed Goguryeo's internal strife as part of its logic to mislead Korea's strengths, and Korean academia paid attention to the dictatorship of Yeon Gaesomun Gate again to emphasize the negative meaning of dictatorship.

3. Goguryeo's internal strife is an extension of the cry. Despite historical lessons that awaken the negative meaning of dictatorship, its impact on history could be even worse if it is not true. History is a study that can be interpreted in various ways according to changing constitutional conditions, and a new interpretation of historical data has another instructive meaning corresponding to it. This logic can also be applied to examine the cause of Goguryeo's collapse. Unless the cause lies in internal strife, it is inevitable to emphasize the theory of shouting again, which does not by any means mask the dictatorship of Yeon Gaemun.   The changes in the situation in East Asia in the 7th century unfolded centering on the hostile relationship between Goguryeo and the Sudang. The number of people who overcame the period of division of the North and South Korean Articles and unified China invaded Goguryeo several times to establish a neutralization order externally while establishing legitimacy internally. However, this expedition was blocked by Goguryeo's effective defense and failed repeatedly, as well as the uprising of farmers due to excessive appearance, leading to the collapse of the number.   The position of the party that founded the country following the number was basically the same as that of the number. However, he only took the fall of Sue as a mirror and dealt with it more carefully. Tang Tae-jong began his last expedition to Goguryeo from 644 after subjugating the Dongdolgung (630) of Makbuk, the native spirit (635) and Gochang (640) of the West, while recovering the domestic public sentiment dispersed by the peasant uprising. This war continued until Goguryeo collapsed in 668, which can be largely divided into three stages according to changes in the party's strategy. The reason why the party had to change its strategy was because of Goguryeo's strong and successful battle.   First, Goguryeo is in the stage of neutralizing the party's attack on the fluctuating regions. Tang Tae-jong went on an expedition to Goguryeo based on the internal preemptive measures to deal with the public sentiment scattered by the fall of the number and the external justification for the murder of King Yeongryu. These two conditions were nothing more than a premise to justify the war against Goguryeo, where large-scale manpower mobilization was inevitable. There was no such meticulous preparation in the party's foreign expedition, all of which were due to the lessons of defeat and destruction of numbers. Prior to the expedition, Tang Tae-jong promised the safety of his descendants who participated in the war to the elderly in Jangan, and presented the requirements for soldiers to win, unlike the case of the prisoner.   Tang Tae-jong, fully prepared, finally began his Goguryeo home in 645. The party was organized in two directions of landing. It was an operation in which the naval forces entered Pyongyang, the Army moved to a fluctuation, and the two forces joined. With this operation, he was able to achieve a criminal record of defeating various castles such as Hyeonto, Gaemo, Bisa, Liaodong, and Baekam. However, the party forces, which had a considerable criminal record in the early days of the war, also faced difficulties in the battle of Ansi Province. A fierce battle broke out over Ansi Castle, but the party was forced to step down due to strong resistance from Goguryeo forces. As a result, the party's strategy to occupy Goguryeo in the short term ended in failure. Unlike when he started, Tang Tae-jong, who is said to have lost one eye in this battle, returned with great regret over his mother's   Even after the party withdrew from the military, tensions between the two countries did not ease. King Bojang and Yeon Gaesomun sent envoys to apologize and offer beauty, but Tang Taejong did not accept it. After his mother's failure, the party shifted to a long-term strategy to consume Goguryeo's capabilities. In 647, Lee Juck went through the divinity, went to Namsoseong Fortress and Mokjeoseong Fortress, and fought against Goguryeo forces, but failed to win. Seol Man-cheol attacked Park Jak-seong at the mouth of the Yalu River in 648 and returned with considerable results. As such, the party's attack on the fluctuations north of the Yalu River was aimed at consuming Goguryeo's capabilities through looting of residents and voluntarily subjugating Goguryeo.   After using this strategy, Tang Tae-jong began preparing for a large-scale expedition to occupy Goguryeo in the short term, but it was stopped due to his death. King Gojong, who succeeded King Taejong, also inherited the long-term consumption strategy for fluctuations. In 655, Jeong Myung-jin and So Jeong-bang defeated Goguryeo troops in the sacred city, but Jeong Myung-jin was unable to beat Goguryeo troops in the battle of Jeokbongjin in 658. In 659, Gye Pil-ha-ryeok attacked the fluctuation, but it also ended without visible results. The party had no choice but to revise its previous strategy when even the consumption strategy for fluctuations was neutralized by Goguryeo.          Next, Goguryeo is at the stage of frustrating the party's direct attack on Pyongyang. The party constantly targeted the fluctuations by using strategies of short-term occupation and long-term consumption in two directions, but failed to achieve the expected results. This contained the party's strategic limitations coupled with Goguryeo's strong defense. One was the party's sole operation, and the other was the inefficiency of only fluctuating attacks. The strategy to overcome these two limitations turned out to be a direct attack on Pyongyang, which was promoted after the Baekje expedition by the Na Party Alliance.   King Uija of Baekje strengthened his royal power and launched a catastrophic attack on Silla in 642 by creating a pro-Japanese coup. King Taejong Muyeol of Silla, who faced an internal and external crisis due to Baekje's attack, finally asked the party to strike Baekje based on the strategic alliance of the Na-Dang Alliance in 659. This military diplomacy took place in a different international situation than before. It was a time when a new strategy was needed at a time when the limit of the party's solo operation was already revealed. As a result, the party's passive position on Baekje turned in an active direction, and as a result, the expedition of the Na-Party Alliance to Baekje began.   The Baekje expedition of the party, led by Sojeongbang and Yoo Baek-young, was organized after a battle with Goguryeo in Liaodong in 659. The following year, Baekje was destroyed by joining the Silla army to capture Sabiseong Fortress. This fact was that the party's expedition to Baekje was an extension of the Goguryeo expedition, and it showed a shift in strategy from the party's solo attack on fluctuations to Pyongyang's direct attack through a coalition with Silla. In the end, the party's expedition to Baekje was part of a detour strategy to secure a base in the rear to occupy Goguryeo.   The party that destroyed Baekje immediately made So Jeong-bang, Yoo Baek-young, and Gye Pil-ha-ryeok, who participated in the Baekje expedition, hit Goguryeo. In 661, King Gojong of the Tang organized a large-scale expedition army with small businesses, Im A-sang, Gye Pil-ha-ryeok, and Sojeongbang to attack Pyongyang again, but his parents were stopped due to dissuasion. In this expedition, Bang Hyo-tae almost exterminated the entire army by a counterattack by Yeon Gaesomun in the Battle of Susaesu, and Sojeongbang, which surrounded Pyongyang Castle, also stepped down without results. Now, even the party's strategy to directly attack Pyongyang has been thwarted, and the Ungjin Dodokbu of the Baekje Highlands, reorganized by the party's taste policy, has switched to a rear base to occupy Goguryeo.   

4. Both the Taesanbongseon, the attack on fluctuations promoted by the Jeonju Gokdang of the fall of Pyongyang Castle, and the Pyongyang direct workers failed, but the party's willingness to occupy Goguryeo was not defeated. After Pyongyang's direct workshop returned to nothing in 662, a lull was created between the two countries until the party resumed its expedition to Goguryeo in December 666. This atmosphere was a very unusual phenomenon in light of the previous urgent war trend between the two countries. In the meantime, the party completed the control of taste in Silla, which aims to integrate Baekje's old land, and reviewed a new strategy to weaken Goguryeo's capabilities as a final step. It became a reality with the resumption of internal strife and expeditions against Goguryeo.   Yeon Gaesomun of the new noble forces, who took control of the real power through political affairs in 642 and led a hard line against the party, ended his turbulent life in 665. Namsaeng, the eldest son who took office as Taemakji after his father's death, sympathized with the royal power of King Bojang and the old noble forces who restored their royal authority for the first time in a long time. However, his second son, Nam Geon, continued his father's policy and adhered to a strong line toward the party. In the end, the internal strife between the self-controls that occurred after the death of Yeon Gaesomun Gate was expressed as a result of the participation of the Taesanbongseon between political forces, which had been implicit in the long-term women's-party war.   After issuing a record on Taesanbongseon, the party seems to have made considerable efforts to attend Goguryeo, unlike Silla, Baekje, Tamna, and Japanese raiders led by Yu In-gwe. The record stipulated that envoys from neighboring countries should gather in Nakyang, the eastern province, by October 665. The prince Boknam of King Bojeong went to Nakyang on October 25 and joined the temple, and four days later, he left for Taesan Mountain with King Gojong on the 29th and attended the burial of the first day of the New Year in 666. It was impossible for Boknam to be able to move in time for the party's bongseon schedule without background control from the party. It was highly likely that the party made a plan to induce Goguryeo's attendance at the Bongseon, which was in a tense relationship, to plan internal strife, and to weaken Goguryeo's defense capabilities. Boknam, who does not know the inside story, would have been difficult to predict the impact of Lee Bong-seon in the future.   Goguryeo's attendance at Taesanbongseon did not change the party's basic strategy to occupy Goguryeo. Rather, the party resumed its expedition when Namsaeng fled due to internal strife caused by Goguryeo's attendance in Bongseon. Even the internal strife, which is mentioned as the cause of Goguryeo's collapse, was no different from a low-intensity strategy of diplomatic maneuvering made as an extension of military aggression. Just in time, there was also a request for Silla's expedition to integrate the place by turning the party's interest in Baekje to Goguryeo. Pyongyang, the capital city, finally fell in September 668 due to the internal response of Jung Shin-sung, who received the fate of Namsaeng in a situation where the party's amphibious forces and Silla's cheering forces were cooperating.   Here, you can see the true state of imperialism that has not changed in the past, and how to cope with it remains a lesson for us today.