Korean History › Goryeo
Goryeo–Khitan Wars
993–1019· War· Wars & invasions
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
Three invasions of Goryeo by the Khitan Liao state between 993 and 1019, which Goryeo survived with its land intact.
See it on the Korean History map →What happened
The Goryeo–Khitan Wars (고려-거란 전쟁) pitted Goryeo against the Liao dynasty of the Khitans, a nomadic people ruling Manchuria and part of northern China. In 993 the diplomat Seo Hui ended the first invasion by negotiation. In 1010 Liao's emperor led a second, using a palace coup in Goryeo as a pretext, and burned Kaesong; King Hyeonjong fled south until Liao withdrew. The third, in 1018–19, ended with Gang Gam-chan's victory at Gwiju.
Why it matters
Goryeo kept its independence and northern lands against the region's strongest power, creating a century-long balance among Goryeo, Liao and Song China.
How we know
The Goryeosa and its abridgment, the Goryeosa jeolyo, the Liao history (Liao shi) and Song records; remnants of the long wall Goryeo built afterward survive in North Korea.
Still debated
Army sizes in the records, such as 800,000 in 993 and 400,000 in 1010, are almost certainly inflated; real numbers are unknown.
Inside this (2)
Connections (5)
▸Balhae fell to the Khitans before the Goryeo–Khitan WarsWell documented
The connection
The Khitan Liao state conquered Balhae in 926 and became Goryeo's northern neighbor. Goryeo saw Liao as the destroyer of a kindred state: in 942 Wang Geon exiled Liao envoys and starved their gift of 50 camels under a bridge. Rival claims to the old Goguryeo–Balhae lands set up the war that began in 993.
When and how
926 to 993, along Liao's eastern frontier and Goryeo's northwest; the 942 'Manbu Bridge' incident took place in Kaesong.
How we know
The Liao history records Balhae's conquest; the Goryeosa records the camel incident and Wang Geon's words calling Liao lawless for destroying Balhae.
Debates and open questions
Whether Liao invaded in 993 over Balhae's old lands, over Goryeo's ties to Song China, or to secure its flank before fighting Song is debated.
▸Goryeo–Khitan Wars ended in victory for GoryeoWell documented
The connection
After Gwiju, Liao gave up. Goryeo resumed envoys to Liao and used its calendar, a formal bow to the stronger neighbor, but kept all its land, including the six garrison districts on the Yalu. It walled its capital (completed 1029) and built a 'thousand-li' long wall across the north (1033–1044). Peace held for about a century.
When and how
1019–1044, from Kaesong to the northern frontier along the Yalu River; King Hyeonjong and his successors.
How we know
The Goryeosa and Liao history record the peace and resumed relations; parts of the long wall survive in North Korea.
Debates and open questions
Whether to call it a clear victory is debated, since Goryeo accepted nominal tributary status to Liao while keeping full control of its own affairs.
▸Seo Hui negotiated an end to the first round of Goryeo–Khitan WarsWell documented
The connection
In 993 the Khitan general Xiao Xunning invaded, claiming 800,000 men, and demanded land. Seo Hui went to his camp and struck a deal: Goryeo would cut formal ties with Song China and send envoys to Liao, while Liao withdrew and accepted Goryeo's control up to the Yalu. Goryeo then built six garrison towns there.
When and how
Winter 993, at the Khitan camp in Goryeo's northwest; Seo Hui and Xiao Xunning.
How we know
Seo Hui's biography in the Goryeosa gives the talks in detail; the Liao history confirms the campaign and the land grant east of the Yalu.
Debates and open questions
The 800,000 figure is surely inflated. Whether Seo Hui's skill or Liao's wish to free its army for war with Song decided the outcome is debated.
▸Battle of Gwiju ended Goryeo–Khitan WarsWell documented
The connection
Gwiju broke Liao's third and last attempt to force Goryeo's king to appear at its court and give up the six garrison districts. After the defeat, envoys resumed in 1019–1020, and Liao never invaded Goryeo again. Goryeo's victory made it costly for Liao to keep pressing.
When and how
Spring 1019 to 1020, between the Goryeo court at Kaesong and the Liao court in Manchuria.
How we know
The Goryeosa records the peace and the exchange of envoys; the Liao history lists no further campaigns against Goryeo.
Debates and open questions
Some historians stress that Liao also faced other pressures and chose peace for its own reasons, so Gwiju may not have been the only cause.
▸Tripitaka Koreana replaced an edition begun during Goryeo–Khitan WarsWell documented
The connection
Goryeo began carving its first full Tripitaka in 1011, during the second Khitan invasion, as a prayer for the Buddha's protection; the work went on until about 1087. After the Mongols burned those blocks in 1232, the Tripitaka Koreana was carved to replace them, and its editors checked their texts against prints from the old edition.
When and how
First edition carved from 1011 to about 1087; its blocks were kept at Buinsa temple near Daegu until 1232.
How we know
Yi Gyu-bo's 1237 prayer recounts the first edition's origin; over a thousand printed scrolls from it survive, many at Nanzenji temple in Kyoto, Japan.
Debates and open questions
Whether the first edition was begun mainly for protection in war, as Goryeo tradition says, or as a long-planned act of royal piety.