Birth name
Korean name
Hangul	광종
Hanja
Revised Romanization	Gwangjong
McCune–Reischauer	Kwangjong
Hangul	왕소
Hanja
Revised Romanization	Wang So
McCune–Reischauer	Wang So
Posthumous name
Hangul	홍도선열평세대성대왕
Hanja
Revised Romanization	Hongdoseonyeolpyeongsedaeseongdaewang
McCune–Reischauer	hongdosŏnyŏlp‘yŏngse taesŏng taewang

Monarchs of Korea Goryeo
Taejo 918–943 Hyejong 943–945 Jeongjong 945–949 Gwangjong 949–975 Gyeongjong 975–981 Seongjong 981–997 Mokjong 997–1009 Hyeonjong 1009–1031 Deokjong 1031–1034 Jeongjong II 1034–1046 Munjong 1046–1083 Sunjong 1083 Seonjong 1083–1094 Heonjong 1094–1095 Sukjong 1095–1105 Yejong 1105–1122 Injong 1122–1146 Uijong 1146–1170 Myeongjong 1170–1197 Sinjong 1197–1204 Huijong 1204–1211 Gangjong 1211–1213 Gojong 1213–1259 Wonjong 1259–1269 Yeongjong1269 Wonjong 1269–1274 Chungnyeol 1274–1308 Chungseon 1308–1313 Chungsuk 1313–1330 1332–1339 Chunghye 1330–1332 1339–1344 Chungmok 1344–1348 Chungjeong 1348–1351 Gongmin 1351–1374 U 1374–1388 Chang 1388–1389 Gongyang 1389–1392

Gwangjong (925 – 4 July 975), personal name Wang So was the fourth king of Goryeo.

When Gwangjong ascended the throne in 949 at the age of 25, the kingdom of Goryeo was unstable: to unify the Later Three Kingdoms, his father Taejo made alliances with powerful families, and, as a consequence, those clans were vying for control of the government. As he witnessed the struggle between his brothers for the throne, he felt the need to consolidate the power of the king and rewarded all those who contributed to the progress of Goryeo, also making much effort to maintain good diplomatic relations with neighboring countries. He studied Taizong of Tang's book Difan to better understand what to do, as he found many similarities between his situation and that of Taizong. After a regularization of tax rates in 949, he launched a series of reforms to promote a stable and royal-centered political system, and to expand economy and military.

His first reform was in 956, when he weakened wealthy families by confiscating private slaves through the law of emancipation of slaves (노비안검법, 奴婢按檢法, Nobiangeombeop): this reform won his government the support of the people, as freed slaves were commoners taken as prisoners of war, and also helped the economy because former slaves now had to pay taxes to the state like ordinary citizens through services provided on the land or premises of feudal lords. He then reorganized and expanded military to face the Khitan and Jurchen, building twelve garrisons along the northeast and northwest borders, and replaced lords in the capital and in the provinces with officials appointed by the crown. In 963 he set up relief centers in the capital.

With the institution of the national civil service examination in 958 (과거, Gwageo), Gwangjong was able to expel from the court people from powerful clans and replace them with civil officials recruited by merit, giving everyone, not only the rich and powerful people, the opportunity to work for the state. The civil service examination was suggested to the king by former Chinese envoy Ssanggi, and was based on the Tang civil service exam and the Confucian classics. In 960, he introduced different colours for court robes to distinguish officials of different ranks. Other actions undertaken to reinforce the royal authority were naming Goryeo an empire and himself Emperor, thus ending tributary relationships with China; calling Kaesong the Imperial Capital and Pyongyang the Western Capital, and adopting the era name "Gwangdeok" (光德, 광덕).

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