Seongjong of Goryeo

Korean name
Hangul	성종
Hanja
Revised Romanization	Seongjong
McCune–Reischauer	Sŏngjong
Birth name
Hangul	왕치
Hanja
Revised Romanization	Wang Chi
McCune–Reischauer	Wang Chi

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

Seongjong of Goryeo (15 January 961 - 29 November 997) (r. 981–997) was the sixth ruler of the medieval Korean kingdom of Goryeo.

Seongjong was born on 15 January 961, the second son of Daejong, and a grandson of King Taejo (the founder of the Goryeo Dynasty). He ascended the throne after his cousin and also his brother-in-law King Gyeongjong died in 981. After he ascended the throne, Seongjong was at first content not to interfere with the provincial lords, and to appease the Silla aristocracy. Seongjong married a woman of the Silla royal clan.

In 982, Seongjong adopted the suggestions in a memorial written by Confucian scholar Choe Seung-ro (최승로; 崔承老) and began to create a Confucian-style government. Choe Seung-ro suggested that Seongjong would be able to complete the reforms of King Gwangjong, the fourth King of Goryeo, which he had inherited from Taejo of Goryeo. Taejo had emphasized the Confucian “Classic of History (書經),” which stated that the ideal Emperor should understand the suffering of farmers and directly experience their toil. Seongjong followed this principle and established a policy by which district officials were appointed by the central government, and all privately owned weapons were collected to be recast into agricultural tools.

Seongjong set out to establish the Goryeo state as a centralized Confucian monarchy. In 983, he established the system of twelve mok, the administrative divisions which prevailed for most of the rest of the Goryeo period, and sent learned men to each of the mok to oversee local education, as a means of integrating the country aristocracy into the new bureaucratic system. Talented sons of the country aristocrats were educated so that they could pass the civil service examinations and be appointed to official government posts in the capital.

In September, 995 (the 14th year of Seongjong‘s reign), the nation was divided into ten provinces for the first time.

In late August 993, Goryeo intelligence sources along the frontier learned of an impending Khitan invasion. Seongjong quickly mobilized the military and divided his forces into three army groups to take up defensive positions in the northwest. Advanced units of the Goryeo army marched northwestward from their headquarters near modern Anju on the south bank of the Cheongcheon River. The seriousness of the situation compelled Seongjong to travel from the capital to Pyongyang to personally direct operations.

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