Wars with the Khitan and the Jurchen
In 993 Seo Hui won six border districts for Goryeo with a single round of talks; in 1019 only a few thousand Khitan soldiers made it home from Gwiju.
North of Goryeo, two peoples built empires during its first two centuries. The Khitan united under Abaoji, who declared himself emperor in 916. They destroyed Balhae in 926, and their state adopted the name Liao in 947. Later the Jurchen, who had lived under Balhae and then between the Liao and Goryeo, united under the Wanyan clan and founded the Jin in 1115. Goryeo, which called itself the heir of Goguryeo and looked north, had to deal with both.
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Seo Hui talks the Khitan out
Goryeo then drove the Jurchen out of the land east of the Amnok and built forts there. These became the six garrison districts east of the river, Gangdong 6 ju: Heunghwa, Yongju, Tongju, Cheolju, Guju and Gwakju. Goryeo's border, which had stopped at the Cheongcheon River, now reached the Amnok.
Gang Gam-chan at Gwiju
The Khitan soon wanted the six districts back. They invaded again in 1010 and once more in the twelfth month of 1018, under Xiao Paiya. King Hyeonjong made Gang Gam-chan commander-in-chief, with Gang Min-cheom as his deputy, and gave them about 208,000 men. In the second month of 1019, as the Khitan army passed Gwiju, one of the six districts, Gang Gam-chan's army destroyed them; the records say only a few thousand returned home. After the war Goryeo built an outer wall around Gaegyeong, and from 1033 a long wall across its northern border, the Cheolli Jangseong.
Yun Gwan and the Jurchen
In the early 1100s the Wanyan Jurchen began pulling in tribes that had lived under Goryeo's influence, and clashes followed on the northeast frontier. After early defeats Goryeo formed a special force, the Byeolmuban. In 1107 Yun Gwan led an army of 170,000 against the Jurchen and built nine forts in the land he took. The Jurchen kept attacking and asked again and again for the land back, and in 1109 Goryeo returned the nine forts. In 1115 the Jurchen founded the Jin, destroyed the Liao in 1125 and took northern China from the Song. In 1126 Goryeo agreed to treat the Jin as its overlord.
Gangdong 6 ju: Heunghwa, Yongju, Tongju, Cheolju, Guju (Gwiju), Gwakju
| Seo Hui | Won the six districts by talks, 993 |
| Gangdong 6 ju | Six districts east of the Amnok River |
| Gang Gam-chan | Victor of Gwiju, 1019 |
| Cheolli Jangseong | Northern border wall begun 1033 |
| Byeolmuban | Special force formed against the Jurchen |
| Yun Gwan | Led 170,000 against the Jurchen and built nine forts, 1107 |
- The Khitan (Liao) invaded three times: 993, 1010 and 1018 to 1019.
- Seo Hui's talks in 993 won the six districts east of the Amnok.
- Gang Gam-chan crushed the Khitan at Gwiju in 1019; the long wall followed from 1033.
- Yun Gwan built nine forts in 1107 but they were returned in 1109; Goryeo accepted the Jin as overlord in 1126.
- In which year did Seo Hui negotiate with Xiao Sunning?
- What did the Khitan really want in 993?
- To cut Goryeo off from the Song
- To take Gaegyeong
- To get celadon
- To destroy Buddhism
- How did Seo Hui answer the claim that Goguryeo's land belonged to the Liao?
- Goryeo was Goguryeo's heir, as its name showed
- Goryeo had bought the land
- The land belonged to Song
- Nobody lived there
- Which of these was one of the six districts east of the Amnok?
- Gwiju
- Gaegyeong
- Gyeongju
- Ganghwa
- In which year was the Battle of Gwiju, according to the National Institute of Korean History?
- Who was Goryeo's commander at Gwiju?
- Gang Gam-chan
- Seo Hui
- Yun Gwan
- Kim Bu-sik
- Why do sources disagree on when the long wall was finished?
- They read the records differently: 1044 or 1041
- It was never built
- It was finished in 1019
- It was built by the Khitan
- Yun Gwan's army in 1107 numbered how many?
- The nine forts were built in 1107 and returned in 1109. How many years did Goryeo hold them?
- Put these in order.
Sources for this course (11)
- 국사편찬위원회 우리역사넷 (contents.history.go.kr): 한국사 연대기 고려 「후삼국의 통일」「노비안검법」「광종」「최승로」「최승로 시무28조(고려사)」「귀주대첩」「천리장성 수축」「윤관의 9성 설치」「여진족이 건국한 금의 팽창」「거란(요)의 건국과 발전」「발해 멸망」「이자겸의 난」「무신정변」「교정도감」「만적의 난」「몽골의 고려침입」「처인성 전투」「김윤후」「삼별초」「쌍성총관부」「공민왕」「직지심체요절」「진포대첩」「요동 정벌」「위화도회군」「삼국사기」「명 태조 주원장」, 교과서 용어 해설 「강동 6주」「천리장성」「송상」「위화도 회군」, 고등학교 국사 7차 「거란의 침입과 격퇴」「이자겸의 난과 서경 천도 운동」「무신 정권의 성립」, 재미있는 초등역사 「서희」「고려청자」, 신편 한국사 15권 「금과의 통교」 17권 「≪삼국사기≫의 편찬」, 한국문화사 「상감청자의 제작」
- 한국민족문화대백과사전 (encykorea.aks.ac.kr): 개경, 후삼국 통일, 서희, 시무28조, 천리장성, 묘청의 난, 만적의 난, 삼별초항쟁, 기철, 청자 상감 운학문 매병
- 국립중앙박물관 (museum.go.kr) 큐레이터 추천 소장품 「청자 상감동채 모란무늬 매병」
- 유네스코 국제기록유산센터 (unescoicdh.org) 「백운화상초록불조직지심체요절 하권」
- 국가기록원 「직지와 흥덕사지」 (theme.archives.go.kr)
- 금성출판사 티칭백과 「합천 해인사 대장경판」(문화재청 2015년 8월 경판 수 81,352장 발표 인용)
- Where sources disagree: Battle of Gwiju 1019 (우리역사넷, 7차 교과서) vs 1018 (3차 초등 교과서, the year the invasion began)
- completion of the Cheolli Jangseong 1044 (우리역사넷) vs 1041 (한국민족문화대백과)
- Tripitaka Koreana 81,258 blocks (colonial-era count, includes Joseon recarvings) vs 81,352 (Cultural Heritage Administration recount, 2015)
- inlaid celadon from the mid-12th century (우리역사넷 초등역사) vs common only from the late 12th century (한국문화사)
- start of Yuan interference 1259 or 1270.
Checked: 2026-10-17