Goryeo Is Founded, Giving Korea Its Name
A palace coup, a new capital, and the word the world would use for Korea ever after
Quick facts
- Founder
- Wang Geon (posthumous title: King Taejo)
- Founding year
- 918 CE
- Full unification
- 935 CE (Silla's surrender)
- Capital
- Songdo (modern Gaeseong)
What happened
By the early 10th century Unified Silla had fractured into the chaos of the Later Three Kingdoms period. A former Buddhist monk, Gung Ye, had declared a new Goguryeo state in the north in 901; his chief minister, Wang Geon, deposed him in 918 after Gung Ye's tyranny turned the population against him. Wang Geon took the throne, defeated the rival Later Baekje state, and accepted the surrender of the last Silla king, Gyeongsun, in 935, unifying the peninsula a second time under a new dynastic name: Goryeo, chosen to evoke the old Goguryeo kingdom. Wang Geon took the posthumous title King Taejo, Great Founder, and built his capital at Songdo (modern Gaeseong). World History Encyclopedia states plainly that Koryo, the dynasty's alternate romanization, is the origin of modern Korea's English name.
Why it matters
Every English-language use of the word Korea today traces back to this dynasty's name. Goryeo also went on to produce Korea's celebrated celadon pottery and the world's first book printed with movable metal type, making 918 the starting point for what most outsiders would come to think of as classical Korean culture.
How we know
Wang Geon's rise, the fall of Silla, and the founding of Goryeo are recorded in the Goryeosa and cross-referenced in the earlier Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa; the derivation of Korea's English name from Goryeo/Koryo is well established in Korean historical linguistics.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Goryeo · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (Brian Hogarth, Director of Education). Goryeo Dynasty Educator Workshop: Aspects of Goryeo Society · General sourceeducation.asianart.org · Cited as a "reference" source (no stronger domain match).
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