Uija of Baekje

Infobox Korean name
hangul=의자왕
hanja=義慈王
rr=Uija-wang
mr=Ǔija-wangKing Uija of Baekje (백제 의자왕/ ? - 660?, r. 641 - 660) was the 31st and final ruler of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. His reign ended when Baekje was conquered by the alliance of the rival Korean kingdom Silla and China's Tang Dynasty.

Background

During this time, the northern Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, under the control of Yeon Gaesomun, took aggressive stances against Silla and the Tang. Silla responded by eventually allying closely with Tang China, threatening Baekje in the middle.

According to the Samguk Sagi, Uija was the eldest son of King Mu. According to a legend in the Samguk Yusa, Mu was a Baekje peasant who married a Silla princess (making her Uija's mother), but this is not considered orthodox history. Uija was made crown prince in 632 and became king upon his father's death in 641.

Reign

Although friendly with Tang China at first, Uija soon allied with Goguryeo to attack Silla. In 642, he led a campaign against Silla and conquered some 40 castles. He also sent a force of 10,000 to take Silla's Daeya Fortress and kill Kim Chunchu's son-in-law. The next year, with Goguryeo, Baekje attacked Silla again and tried to block its diplomatic route to Tang China. When Silla-Tang forces attacked Goguryeo in 645, he attacked Silla and took seven castles. Baekje and Goguryeo hit Silla's northern border in 655.

Soon upon becoming king, Uija undertook political reform to control the powers of the aristocracy. However, his reign was plagued by the internal power struggle among the nobles and corruption and decadence within the court.

As the court fell into disarray, the Silla-Tang alliance, repeatedly frustrated by Goguryeo's Yeon Gaesomun, changed strategy and decided to attack Goguryeo's ally Baekje first.

Fall of Baekje

In 660, Baekje's navy was defeated by Tang's navy, and Silla's army led by Kim Yu-sin defeated Baekje's army led by Gye Baek. Baekje capital Sabi (in present-day Buyeo, Chungcheongnam-do) was surrounded by the Silla-Tang allied forces. Uija and the crown prince escaped to Ungjin (in present-day Gongju), but surrendered when Sabi fell.

He was taken to Tang along with his sons Buyeo Hyo and Buyeo Yung, 88 retainers, and 12,000 Baekje peasants. Another of his sons, Buyeo Pung, later attempted to restore his father's kingdom.

In 2000, his remains were retrieved from China and buried in a new tomb in Neungsan-ri, Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea, near what was Baekje's final capital, Sabi.

Uija was his personal name; he did not receive a posthumous name.

References

* [http://kdaq.empas.com/koreandb/history/kpeople/person_view.html?n=11224 The Academy of Korean Studies article] (in Korean)
* [http://enc.daum.net/dic100/viewContents.do?&m=all&articleID=b17a2766a Korea Britannica article] (in Korean)
* [http://rki.kbs.co.kr/english/korea/korea_click_detail.htm?No=180 KBS World article]
* [http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?type=image&media_id=278614&docid=124995&dir_id=1002020302 Tomb of King Uija] (in Korean)

ee also

*Rulers of Korea
*Three Kingdoms of Korea
*History of Korea