What is "goguryeo"

Goguryeo (, , 37 BCE–668 CE), or Goryeo (, ), was one of the ancient Three Kingdoms of Korea, located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of inner and outer Manchuria. Goguryeo was an active participant in the power struggle for control of the Korean peninsula and was also associated with the foreign affairs of neighboring polities in China and Japan.

The Samguk Sagi, a 12th-century text from Goryeo, indicates that Goguryeo was founded in 37 BCE by Jumong , a prince from the Buyeo kingdom, who was enthroned as Dongmyeong of Goguryeo. There is archaeological and textual evidence from Chinese geographic monographs that suggests that Goguryeo may have been in existence since the second century BCE around the fall of Gojoseon, an earlier kingdom which also occupied southern Manchuria and the northern Korean Peninsula.

Goguryeo was a powerful empire and one of the great powers in East Asia, until it was defeated by a Silla– Tang China alliance in 668. After its fall, its territory was divided among the states of Later Silla, Balhae and Tang China.

Goryeo, a shortened name for Goguryeo was adopted by King Jangsu who ruled the nation from 413 to 491. This later name is the origin of the English word " Korea".