Taejo of Goryeo
Wang Geon enthroned and founds Goryeo at Cheorwon
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗The chronicle says Wang refused the throne until his wife carried out his armour and put it on him herself.
The night before
On the night before 25 July 918, the cavalry commanders Hong Yu, Pae Hyeon-gyeong, Sin Sung-gyeom and Pok Ji-gyeom secretly approached Wang Geon's house and urged him to accept the throne.
The Goryeosa says Wang initially refused, but his wife Lady Yu brought his armour and put it on him; the commanders then escorted him out as supporters gathered at the palace.
Messengers rode through Cheorwon announcing that Lord Wang had raised a righteous banner, and a reported crowd of more than 10,000 gathered at the palace gates.
The ruler who ran
The conspiracy had grown out of opposition to Kung Ye's violent purges and increasingly coercive rule.
Kung Ye fled Cheorwon through the north gate in disguise, hid for two nights, and was killed by people at Buyang.
The capital stayed at Cheorwon through the accession; Wang moved it to Songak, near modern Kaesong, in 919.
Enthroned in Pojong Hall
On the fifteenth day of the sixth lunar month — converted as 25 July 918 — Wang was enthroned in Pojong Hall, named the state Goryeo and adopted the era name Cheonsu.
The following day he issued an accession edict condemning Kung Ye's cruelty, burdensome labour and taxes, and the killing of his own family, while promising general renewal.
Two days after taking the throne he ordered the release of more than 80 soldiers whom Kung Ye had summoned in chains despite their innocence.
Sources
Researched 23 Aug 2026 5 sources not yet audited
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What the sources leave uncertain
- The exact solar date is a modern conversion of the Goryeosa's lunisolar entry: sixth month, fifteenth day. The National Institute of Korean History gives 25 July 918.
- The detailed coup narrative comes from the Goryeosa, compiled in the fifteenth century from earlier records; colorful details such as Lady Yu producing the armor should therefore be attributed to that chronicle.
- The conspiracy began on the preceding night; 25 July is specifically the date of enthronement and naming of Goryeo.