Goryeo military regime
Goryeo 고려 (高麗) Goryeo 무신 정권 (武臣政權) Musin Jeonggwon | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital | Main : Kaegyŏng Temporary : Ganghwa (1232–1270) | ||||||||
| Common languages | Middle Korean, Classical Chinese (literary) | ||||||||
| Ethnic groups | Korean | ||||||||
| Religion | Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shamanism | ||||||||
| Government | Military dictatorship later Hereditary dictatorship | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
• 1170–1197 | Myeongjong | ||||||||
• 1259–1274 | Wonjong | ||||||||
| Military dictator | |||||||||
• 1170–1174 | Yi Ŭi-bang (first) | ||||||||
• 1270 | Im Yu-mu (last) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Military coup d'état | 11 October 1170 | ||||||||
• Ch'oe family regency | 1196–1258 | ||||||||
| 1232–1258 | |||||||||
| 1270–1273 | |||||||||
| Currency | Goryeo coinage | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | North Korea South Korea | ||||||||
| Goryeo military regime | |
| Hangul | 무신 정권 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 武臣政權 |
| RR | Musin jeonggwon |
| MR | Musin chŏngkwŏn |
The Goryeo military regime (Korean: 무신 정권; Hanja: 武臣政權) refers to a period in Goryeo history when military generals wielded considerable power, overshadowing royal authority and disrupting Goryeo's system of civilian supremacy and severe discrimination against military personnel. It spanned roughly 100 years from a coup d'état in 1170 to the Sambyeolcho Rebellion of 1270. The military's despotic rule ended with Goryeo's vassalization by the Yuan dynasty.
Goryeosa describes a king, Sinjong, during the military regime that exemplifies the weakened royal authority compared to that of the military ruler:
Sinjong was put upon the throne by Ch'oe Ch'ung-hŏn, and all matters of life and death, decisions to accept or to reject, were in Ch'oe's hands. Sinjong stood above his subjects holding only empty authority. Alas, he was nothing but a puppet.
— Ki-baek Lee, Rule by the Military, A New History of Korea