19 Facts About Gyeon Hwon

Gyeon Hwon was the progenitor of the Hwanggan Gyeon clan.

Records say that Gyeon Hwon was born Lee, not Gyeon.

However, Gyeon Hwon later changed his family name to Gyeon.

Gyeon Hwon is the founder of the Hwanggan clan of the Gyeons.

Gyeon Hwon's mother was from the Gwangju area, but her exact identity is not known; Ajagae had two wives, Lady Sangwon and Lady Namwon, and Gyeon Hwon was born to his first wife.

However, legend says 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 Gyeon Hwon grew up drinking the milk of a tiger.

Gyeon 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.

In 892, Gyeon 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.

Gyeon Hwon declared himself the king of Hubaekje and established his capital at Wansanju in 900.

Gyeon Hwon established government, made diplomatic ties with China, and continuously pursued the expansion of his kingdom amidst much conflict with Gung Ye of Hugoguryeo.

Gyeon 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.

Gyeon Hwon was forced to make peace with Goryeo after the battle, through a hostage exchange of royal family members.

In 927, Gyeon Hwon led his army himself and directly attacked the Silla capital of Gyeongju.

Gyeon Hwon then established Kim Bu as the next Silla king.

Gyeon Hwon attempted to reverse the current by sacking the Goryeo capital of Gaeseong, but his army suffered another defeat in 934.

Gyeon Hwon died the same year of an inflamed tumor.

Unlike his rival Gung Ye, Gyeon Hwon was active in diplomacy; he was formally confirmed by the Chinese kingdoms of Wuyue and Later Tang as the legitimate ruler of Hubaekje.

Gyeon Hwon sent envoys to Japan during his reign for mainly commercial reasons; the Jeolla region, where Gyeon 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 Jang Bogo.

However, despite all of his diplomatic, military and trade abilities Gyeon 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.