Munjong (29 December 1019 - 2 September 1083) was the 11th monarch of the Goryeo Dynasty, who ruled Korea from 1046 to 1083.
King Munjong was born in 1019, and reigned from 1046 until his death in 1083. During his reign, the central government of Goryeo gained complete authority and power over local lords. Munjong, and later Kings, emphasized the importance of civilian leadership over the military. Munjong expanded Korea's borders northward to the Yalu and Tumen Rivers .
Munjong's fourth son, Uicheon (born 1055 ), became a Buddhist priest who founded the Cheontae as an independent school of Buddhism.
Goryeo, also known as Koryŏ (Hangul: 고려; hanja: 高麗; Korean pronunciation: [koɾjʌ]; 918–1392), was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by King Taejo. This kingdom later gave name to the modern exonym "Korea". It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean Peninsula until it was removed by the founder of the Joseon in 1392. Goryeo expanded Korea's borders to present-day Wonsan in the northeast (936–943), the Yalu River (993) and finally almost the whole of the Korean Peninsula (1374).
Two of this period's most notable products are celadon pottery and the Tripitaka Koreana—the Buddhist canon (Tripiṭaka) carved onto roughly 80,000 woodblocks and stored (and still remaining) at Haeinsa. Subjects and officials of Goryeo also created the world's first metal-based movable type in 1234; the oldest surviving movable metal type book, the Jikji, was printed in 1377.
In 668, Silla conquered Baekje and Goguryeo with an alliance with Tang China, but by the late 9th century it was tottering, its monarchs being unimaginative and pressed by the power of powerful statesmen. Many robbers and outlaws agitated and in 900 Gyeon Hwon revolted from Silla control in the Jeolla region as the state of Later Baekje; the year after, Gung Ye revolted from the northern regions as Taebong. A son of a regional lord, Wang Geon, joined Taebong as a general.
Koryo or Goryeo (Hangul: 고려; hanja: 高麗; RR: Goryeo; MR: Koryŏ) may refer to: