Gyeong Dae-seung

Gyeong Dae-seung (1154 – 1183) (Hangul: 경대승, Hanja: 慶大升) was one of the five major military dictators who ruled during the late period of the Goryeo Empire. Unlike his predecessors, General Gyeong was determined to fix the empire's problems and help the people prosper. His popularity with the people aroused the jealousy of Emperor Myeongjong of Goryeo. His military dictatorship over Goryeo signified a brief period of peace within the war-ravaged empire.

Background

General Gyeong Dae-seung was born to Gyeong Jin into the Chungju Gyeong clan in the year 1154. At the time of his birth, the warrior-class of the nation was highly undermined and deprived of the luxuries that its civilian and scholar counterparts were able to see excessively. The young Gyeong began his military training at the young and tender age of 15, and served under the regimes of both Yi Ui-bang and Jeong Jung-bu. When his father died, he took charge of his household and began helping the poor, and made the decision of using the private army that his father had built.

The Young Dictator

In 1154, the young General Gyeong led a revolt against the current-reigning dictator Jeong Jung-bu, killing his son and son-in-law in the process of overthrowing any trace of the regime. At the age of 26, Gyeong had overthrown the powerful Jeong military regime, and had become the undisputed military dictator of Goryeo. The greatest help to Gyeong was his lifelong friend General Kim Ja-Gyuk, who wanted to put Gyeong on the Imperial throne. Gyeong did not allow such things to overcome his original purpose for taking power. Gyeong Dae-seung became very popular among the people and received the name, "Righteous, young general." Emperor Myeongjong became jealous of Gyeong's popularity and power, and rejected the young general as merely another bloodthirsty barbaric warrior who was greedy for power. Despite his good intentions and hard efforts to restore peace, Gyeong was faced with assassination attempts, the most notable being an attempt by his friend Kim Ja-Gyuk to poison him. This attempt failed and Gyeong was military dictator over Goryeo for five years until he came down with a sickness (possibly tuberculosis) that eventually killed him.

Death and aftermath

Gyeong Dae-seung died at the young age of 30, during the year 1183. With the death of Gyeong, Yi Ui-bang's former lieutenant, Yi Ui-min, returned to Kaesong and took power over Goryeo, destroying all that Gyeong had worked so hard to build.

See also

*Jeong Jung-bu
*Goryeo