-King Jinheung (Silla) dies in 576, but right before he died he converted to Buddhism, first Silla king to die as a Buddhist.
-His legacy: greatly expanding Silla's power and establishing the Hwarang caste.
-However, King Jinheung's true crown prince was killed (according to some accounts), so his second son, King Jinji, was enthroned.
-King Jinji sucked, probably just really corrupt and debauched, so he was overthrown by the nobility, one of whom was the royal concubine Lady Mishil.
-Lady Mishil was a hardcore socialite and probably banged a bunch of nobles, Hwarang, 3 Silla kings, and even a crown prince!!
-She was able to get her current lover, Prince Baek-jeong, on the throne. Thus, he became King Jinpyeong in 579 after King Jinji was dethroned.
-King Wideok (Baekje) died in 598. He was desperately trying to gain the support of the Chinese dynasties, but they were so unstable that they didn't give a fuck about Korea, so Baekje was SOL.
-However, he did have some success with Yamato.
-King Wideok was replaced by King Hye, but King Hye died the next year in 599.
-Baekje was in terrible shape.
-Lost more territory to Silla, Gogoryeo was taking over their trading posts, and China's new Sui dynasty took over Baekje's trading posts in China (probably in an effort to consolidate power).
-King Hye was replaced by King Beop.
-King Beop was a hardcore Buddhist, enforcing vegetarianism, a ban on hunting and butchering animals, etc. However, he died in 600.
-King Beop was replaced by King Wideok's son, King Mu.
-Meanwhile, Gogoryeo was actually doing OK!
-Led by King Pyeongwon between 559-590.
-Cut the royal budget and royal food surplus, and implemented new farming programs successfully.
-Defended the south, also benefited from Chinese civil wars.
-However, by 589, China was unified under the Sui dynasty, so that was bad news for Gogoryeo.
-King Pyeongwon died in 590, replaced by his son, King Yeongyang.
-Kicked off his reign by attacking Chinese territories.
-Also reached out to the encroaching Turk hordes for an alliance.
-The Sui dynasty were getting pissed off at Gogoryeo's growing power, so they sent out a monster force of like 300,000 to invade Gogoryeo.
-Unfortunately, the Sui army was so bloated and bogged down during the monsoon season rains that they were easily attacked by Gogoryeo forces and Turk horse archers.
-To make matters worse, when the Chinese finally got on their ships to invade the Korean peninsula, the sea was especially stormy, and many ships were destroyed or lost.
-Gogoryeo navy was able to fight off the rest.
-612- Apparently, the Sui were not quite ready to give up, and in 600 sent over an incredibly massive army of A MILLION troops to invade the Gogoryeo.
-618- King Yeongyang dies, same year as the Sui dynasty collapsed.
-King Yeongnyu, half-brother of King Yeongyang, replaced him.
-It was around this time that Taoism was introduced to Gogoryeo, but it wasn't that popular.
-Feeling good about driving off the massive Chinese armies, Gogoryeo attacked Baekje and Silla to reclaim the Han River basin.
-In China, the Tang dynasty came to power after the Sui fell in 618,
-Gogoryeo, exhaused from fighting with China, agreed to finally submit as a tributary to the Tang.
-Silla and Baekje soon submitted as well.
-However, soon after the kingdoms submitted, Tang raiders destroyed a Gogoryeo monument to the great general Eulji (the main dude responsible for fending off the Sui dynasty armies).
-Thus, King Yeongnyu began to build a huge wall, Donald Trump-style, in the west to help defend Gogoryeo from future invasions.
-Meanwhile in Baekje, King Mu had been renovating palaces and temples and shit since he was pretty devout and pious, but didn't spend enough on the military.
-Although he did win a series victories against Silla in 611, 616, 623, 624, and 626, in 627 he was forced to relent because Silla had allied itself with the Tang dynasty, so Baekje backed off.
-Meanwhile in Silla, King Jinpyeong had developed a huge love of Chinese culture, and that's how relations between the Tang dynasty and Silla became close.
-King Jinpyeong couldn't produce a male heir, so he named his daughter as crown princess.
-This pissed off a lot of the conservative nobility, because she's a GIRL.
-There was a conspiracy to stop this from happening, but the conspiracy was exposed and the conspirators were executed.
-King Jinpyeong died in 632, replaced by his daughter, QUEEN Seondeok!
-First time this ever happened in Korean recorded history!
-Huge patron of Buddhism, art, and science.
-Built what is recognized as the first observatory in East Asia (located in Gyeongju).
-Unfortunately, a bunch of idiots used superstition as an excuse to oppose a female ruler, and there was a rebellion by those who believed in the alleged ill omens that were said to be taking place during her reign.
-Luckily for Queen Seondeok, she had a badass military commander, a hwarang named Kim Yu-sin, leader of a hwarang crew called The Disciples of the Dragon Fragrance.
-Queen Seondeok died without a male heir in 647, so her cousin (niece?) Queen Jindeok came to the throne in 647.
-Continued to court favor with the Tang dynasty.
-She even wrote a poem and had it embroidered on an epic tapestry for Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, which was hugely successful.
-She also tried to get Gogoryeo to ally with Silla in order to invade Baekje, but Gogoryeo refused because they wanted to regain control of the Han River basin completely for themselves.
-Gogoryeo actually tried to get Baekje to ally with them against Silla, but this didn't pan out.
-Queen Jindeok died without a son in 654! Uh-oh!
-According to the Bone Rank caste system, there was no other suitable heir that had "sacred bones" or whatever, so they had to go to to the next step down in the rank.
-Kim Yu-sin endorsed his friend, which apparently was good enough for most people, so in 661 his friend took the Silla throne as King Muyeol.
-In Gogoryeo, the commander in charge of overseeing the western defenses, Yeon Gaesomun, was becoming really popular, so King Yeongnyu tried to have him killed. Yeon Gaesomun found out and killed King Yeong-nyu instead!
-THE FINAL KINGS:
-King Bojang of Gogoryeo- enthroned in 642, replaced his older brother, King Yeongnyu, who had been slain by Yeon Gaesomun. King Bojang was a puppet king, as Gogoryeo was actually under military rule by Yeon Gaesomun.
-King Uija of Baekje- eldest son of King Mu, enthroned in 641.
-Lots of crazy ill omens during his reign. Baekje seemed to know that the end was nigh!
-King Muyeol of Silla- the winner of the epic Three Kingdoms slugfest!!!
-THE FINAL BLOWOUT:
-643- The Tang dynasty informs Baekje and Gogoryeo to stop fucking around with Silla.
-The Tang Dynasty finally decides that enough is enough, and invades Gogoryeo in 645, but this time Emperor Gaozong decides to learn from Chinese past mistakes that occurred during their botched invasions of the last 500 years or so.
-Initially, the Chinese were successful, and won some major victories. Also, the Emperor Gaozong's goal was not to completely conquer Gogoryeo, but to make them truly commit to the Tang dynasty as a tributary state. However, these attacks ultimately failed in getting Gogoryeo to submit.
-Because of all the violence, migrants fleeing from the violence, Gogoryeo casualties in battle, etc., it's possible that Gogoryeo lost about 10% of its population during this time. Not to mention famine due to the destruction of crops, lack of farmers due to death or migration, etc.
-Meanwhile, Silla wanted to use its newfound power as an ally of the Tang dynasty by getting them to attack Baekje.
-King Uija of Baekje was also a shitty ruler, as he was unable to control the inner power struggles and decadence of his court.
-Everyone knew that Baekje's time was running out as Silla and the Tang dynasty hungrily eyed Baekje's lands, and many Baekje nobility began to GTFO by migrating to Japan.
-660- Baekje is invaded by 2000 Tang ships and Silla's army, led by Kim Yu-sin.
-Baekje was completely overwhelmed by this powerful alliance, but fought valiantly.
-Baekje's capital fell to Silla and the Tang dynasty later that year.
-One of the reasons why Emperor Gaozong was helping Silla in the first place was because they believed that after Baekje fell, it would be a Chinese commandery, but Silla wanted to try and flip the situation so that the territory would be a part of its own kingdom instead.
-661- King Muyeol (Silla) died, replaced by his son, King Munmu.
-After Baekje fell, the Tang requested Silla's assistance immediately in an invasion of Gogoryeo.
-However, Gogoryeo was able to repel these forces after they failed to capture Pyongyang.
-Also, there was still trouble in Baekje, as small resistance armies formed to fight off the invaders.
-In 661, Japanese forces arrived to liberate Baekje! A son of King Uija (Baekje) had gone to the Yamato to ask for help.
-This Japanese army was known as the Baekje Restoration Army.
-However, the Japanese navy was unsuccessful in fighting off the Tang ships, and Silla forces crushed the Yamato/Baekje resistance troops. Baekje's new resistance capital was taken, and Baekje was finally crushed once and for all!
-The Baekje prince fled to Gogoryeo, and it would be like 1000 years before Japan would try to ever fuck with Korea again.
-Much to Silla's dismay, Emperor Gaozong wasn't about to let Silla keep the Baekje territory, and he consolidated his troops there to defend the land, appointing a Baekje prince as governor of the region.
-Then, insultingly, Emperor Gaozong insisted that King Munmu was not a king, but actually only a governor of what they considered to be a future Chinese commandery as well, and forced both King Munmu and the Baekje prince to sign a truce as "governors".
-Meanwhile in Gogoryeo, Yeon Gaesomun died, and King Bojang couldn't keep it together.
-Silla and the Tang dynasty knew that the timing was perfect, so they invaded Gogoryeo in 668.
-Because Yeon Gaesomun wasn't there to maintain control, Gogoryeo was poorly organized.
-Pyongyang fell the same year. Gogoryeo had once been the most powerful kingdom in NE Asia, and now it had been conquered.
-Very impressive that Gogoryeo had managed to exist for roughly 600 years, considering it was thinly populated, had shitty weather, shitty trading opportunities, shitty agriculture, etc.
-Unfortunately, much of Gogoryeo's archaeology is still unknown since it's all in North Korea, which is obviously not very open to allowing access to its archaelogical sites or whatever else.
-Many Koreans see themselves as heirs to the cultural legacy of Silla, but it was actually Gogoryeo that was the true champion of Korea's cultural heritage and defense!
-Gogoryeo was the strongest and most independent, and defended Baekje and Silla for centuries. The glory goes to them, it seems.
-The Three Kingdoms period of Korea finally comes to an end in 668, and Silla is the last man standing!
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