Yuri of Goguryeo

King Yuri (? - 18 CE, r. 19 BCE - 18 CE) was the second ruler of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the eldest son of the kingdom's founder King Dongmyeongseong. As with many other early Korean rulers, the events of his life are known largely from the Samguk Sagi.

Background

Yuri was the son of Jumong, the mythological founder of Goguryeo. Yuri was raised where his father grew up by his mother. Yuri's mother, Lady Ye, and Yuri went to Goguryeo in 19 BCE, to go see his father.

King Jumong proclaimed Yuri to be the Crown Prince of Goguryeo. Onjo and Biryu (the sons of Soseono) became insecure. Soseono took her sons and traveled south to found the kingdom of Baekje. Yuri became King upon Jumong's death later.

Reign

Yuri is described as a powerful and militarily successful king. He conquered a Xiongnu tribe in 9 BCE. In 3 BCE, Yuri moved the capital from Jolbon to Gungnae City.

The Han dynasty was overthrown by Wang Mang, who established the Xin dynasty. Wang Mang sent a messenger to Goguryeo to ask for troops to assist in a conquest of the Xiongnu during 12 CE, the 31st year of his reign. Yuri rejected the request and instead attacked Xin.

Goguryeo

Goguryeo (Hangul: 고구려; hanja: 高句麗; RR: Goguryeo; MR: Koguryŏ, Korean pronunciation: [koɡuɾjʌ], 37 BCE–668 CE), or Goryeo (Hangul: 고려; hanja: 高麗; RR: Goryeo; MR: Koryŏ, Korean pronunciation: [koɾjʌ]), was one of the ancient Three Kingdoms of Korea, located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of inner and outer Manchuria. Goguryeo was an active participant in the power struggle for control of the Korean peninsula and was also associated with the foreign affairs of neighboring polities in China and Japan.

The Samguk Sagi, a 12th-century text from Goryeo, indicates that Goguryeo was founded in 37 BCE by Jumong (hanja: 朱蒙 ), a prince from the Buyeo kingdom, who was enthroned as Dongmyeong of Goguryeo. There is archaeological and textual evidence from Chinese geographic monographs that suggests that Goguryeo may have been in existence since the second century BCEm around the fall of Gojoseon, an earlier kingdom which also occupied southern Manchuria and the northern Korean Peninsula.