The Korean peninsula has been ruled by a number of kingdoms and republics over the last several millennia. Listed below are the rulers and leaders of the major Korean dynasties and states from the beginning of the Common Era to the present day.
Kingdoms are listed in the order of their fall. Thus, Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla are listed an order that is the reverse of their traditional order of formation.
This list includes only the monarchs' romanized posthumous or temple names and reign dates. The reign dates come from http://www.rootsinfo.co.kr/index_sub02.html (in Korean only), with additional information from Rulers.org and from Nahm (1988).
Names have been romanized according to the South Korean Revised Romanization of Korean. McCune-Reischauer romanizations of names may be found at the articles about the individual rulers.
Gaya (also called "Garak") was a minor state (that is, not one of the three major kingdoms) during the Three Kingdoms Period. Gaya was absorbed into Silla in AD 532.
All kings of Gaya had the Korean title Wang, which means "king."
Baekje was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea in the first millennium of the Common Era (along with Goguryeo and Silla), and fell to Silla in AD 660.
All kings of Baekje had the Korean title Wang, which means "king."
Goguryeo was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea in the first millennium of the Common Era (along with Baekje and Silla), and fell to Silla in AD 668.
Goguryeo was ruled by the Go Dynasty. All kings of Goguryeo had either the Korean title Wang ("king") or the title Daewang ("great king," here translated as "King X the Great," where X is the king's name).
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea in the first millennium of the Common Era, along with Baekje (which it conquered in AD 660) and Goguryeo (which it defeated in 668). Silla fell in turn to Goryeo in 935. The post-668 kingdom is often referred to by academics as Unified Silla, since it was the first unified state to rule over most of the Korean peninsula.
Silla was ruled by the Bak, Seok, and Kim Dynasties. Rulers of Silla had various titles, including Isageum, Maripgan, Wang, and Yeowang, as explained in the list below. For the sake of consistency, all rulers in the list below (except for the first two) are given the titles "King" or "Queen."
Barhae (Bohai in Mandarin) was a kingdom that occupied territory in Korea, Manchuria, and modern-day Russia during the Unified Silla period. See Bohai (Barhae) for a list of rulers.
The kingdom of Goryeo was founded in 918 and defeated Silla in 935-936, making "Goryeo" the name of Korea. (Incidentally, "Goryeo" is the source of the English name "Korea.") In 1392, the kingdom fell to the Joseon Dynasty.
Goryeo was ruled by the Wang Dynasty. The first king had the temple name Taejo, which means "great progenitor" and was applied to the first kings of both Goryeo and Joseon, as they were also the founders of the Wang and Yi Dynasties respectively. The next 23 kings (until Wonjong) are also referred to by their temple names, which had the title jong in them. Beginning with Chungnyeol (the 25th king), all the remaining kings of Goryeo had the title Wang—the standard Sino-Korean word for "King"—as part of their temple names.
Joseon was the name of Korea during most the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled from the fall of Goryeo in 1392 until the beginning of the Japanese Colonial Period in 1910. In 1897, the country became the Korean Empire.
Joseon Dynasty kings had temple names ending in jo or jong. Jo was given to the first kings of new lines within the dynasty, with the first king having the special name (Taejo), which means "great progenitor" (see also Goryeo). Jong was given to all other kings. Two kings—Yeonsangun and Gwanghaegun— were so disgraced in the eyes of later official historians that they were deprived of their temple names after their reigns ended. Each king had a posthumous name—which was different from his temple name—that included either the title Wang ("King") or Daewang ("King X the Great"). For the sake of consitency, the title "King" has been added to each king's temple name in the list below.
In 1897, Korea was renamed Daehan Jeguk (Korean Empire, or literally, "Great Han Empire"). King Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty became the first emperor (Hwangje in Korean). Technically, the emperors should be referred to by their era names rather than their temple names, but the latter are commonly used.
Emperor Gojong's reign was given the era name "Gwangmu," while Sunjong's reign had the era name "Yeonghui."
Korea was a Japanese protectorate from 1905 to 1910, and a colony from 1910 until 1945. During the colonial period, Korea was officially called Chosen, the Japanese version of the old name Joseon.
Residents-General
Soviet commanders-in-chief:
(Under construction)
(Under construction)Notes
Gaya (Garak) (AD 42-532)
Baekje (18 BC-AD 660)
Goguryeo (37 BC-AD 668)
Silla (57 BC-AD 935)
Barhae (669-926)
Goryeo (918-1392)
Joseon (1392-1897)
Korean Empire (1897-1910)
Japanese Residents-General (1905-1910) and Governors-General (1910-1945)
Governors-GeneralUS-Soviet Joint Occupation (1945-1948)
U.S. commander-in-chief:
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1948-present)
Republic of Korea (1948-present)
