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The biography of Kim Bu-sik included in the collection of biographies of Goryosa (高麗史), or the History of Goryeo, offers an account detailed enough to hint at what a monumental project Kim Bu-sik's Samguk Sagi had been for the kingdom of Goryeo by the time he finished compiling it in 1145, the 23rd year of King Injong's reign. The magnitude of Kim Bu-sik's achievement was such that the king personally sent a close aide of his to extend his appreciation. And it was a great personal accomplishment for Kim Bu-sik himself as well. Kim Bu-sik had already passed the age of seventy when he finished compiling Samguk Sagi, also known as History of the Three Kingdoms, so it must have been the project of a lifetime through which he burned away his very last bit of passion left as he neared death. What had motivated the compilation of Samguk Sagi halfway through the Goryeo dynasty? What was it that made Kim Bu-sik dedicate his final spark to compile Samguk Sagi?

Constantly Evaluated Against Rivals

It is impossible for the assessment of any single figure or incident to forever remain the same throughout time and space. And the assessment of Kim Bu-sik (金富軾, 1075-1151) and his work Samguk Sagi is no exception. Yet, for someone who wore several different hats during his time from politician to writer and historian, Kim Bu-sik has constantly been evaluated alongside his rivals. As a politician, he has been compared to the monk Myocheong (妙淸, ?-1135) who professed the need for Goryeo to move its capital. As a writer, he has been compared to Jeong Ji-sang (鄭知常, ?-1135), a poet known for his warm yet magnanimous style of writing. As a historian, he has been compared to the monk Iryeon (一然, 1206-1289) who applied Buddhist views to describe the history of the three ancient Korean kingdoms. These may have contributed to the reason why people so readily associate Kim Bu-sik with Confucianism, toadyism, and aristocracy. Shin Chae-ho lamented over Myocheong's failed efforts and Choe Nam-seon extolled Samguk Yusa rather than Samguk Sagi for including anecdotes about ordinary people, so such views of later historians turned out to play decisive roles in understanding Kim Bu-sik and Samguk Sagi.

Evaluating Kim Bu-sik and Samguk Sagi by comparing them to their rivals may be effective in bringing out the distinctive characteristics of Kim Bu-sik and Samguk Sagi, but may also impose limitations toward obtaining a more balanced and objective understanding of them. This therefore warrants a detailed look into the life of Kim Bu-sik, which brings us back to the biography of him in Goryosa. That particular biography reviews the ups and downs of Kim Bu-sik's life by focusing on the following three aspects: Kim Bu-sik's conflict with Yi Ja-gyeom who abused his authority while serving the king, the details of suppressing the rebellion led by Myocheong, and the generous compensation the king awarded for compiling historical records such as Samguk Sagi and Injong Sillok, also known as the Annals of King Injong. The biography has become the reason why Kim Bu-sik is remembered for compiling records in the hopes of passing on to posterity the lessons he learned from suppressing the rebellions caused by Yi Ja-gyeom and Myocheong.

Proposing a Vision for a New Age

Authoring narratives of history has never been a simple matter and they are bound to receive mixed reviews. Kim Bu-sik's Samguk Sagi has likewise remained at the center of dispute ever since its publication. Confucian scholars of Joseon who expected Samguk Sagi to be more thoroughly sinicized (漢化) complained that the record included absurd, disorganized content, whereas modern nationalist historians viewed Samguk Sagi negatively for being too heavily sinicized by excluding content about traditional Korean folklore. And the perception of history portrayed through Samguk Sagi raised even more disputes. Below is the purpose Kim Bu-sik himself revealed for compiling Samguk Sagi.

Previous records about the three kingdoms of our country were written in such poor and coarse style and have left out many historical facts. That made them insufficient for completely exposing and thereby fully warning posterity of the vices and virtues (善惡) of kings, the loyalty and disloyalty of vassals, the stabilities and instabilities a country may encounter, and the peace and chaos a country's people may experience.

- From Jinsamguksapyo (進三國史表), the introduction of Samguk Sagi

It is a well-known fact that Kim Bu-sik set out to author a new narrative about the history of the three ancient Korean kingdoms when the record Samguksa (三國史), or the Old History of the Three Kingdoms, had already been around since the early days of Goryeo. So it is safe to suspect that supervising a huge project like Samguk Sagi well over the age of seventy must have been a feat impossible to commit to without a tremendous sense of duty. And based on his criticism that previous records were incapable of fulfilling their purpose, one can guess what the source of Kim Bu-sik's sense of duty had been. After successfully suppressing the rebellions by Yi Ja-gyeom and Myocheong, Kim Bu-sik rose to the peak of power at the time and must have wished to propose through the histories of the three kingdoms a new historical vision in the face of a new age. And that wish is in fact engraved throughout the pages of Samguk Sagi.

Infusing the Author's Opinion of History

Samguk Sagi mainly consists of two sections called "Bongi" (本紀) and "Yeoljeon" (列傳). Bongi is the section that describes the histories of Silla, Koguryo, and Baekje in chronological order, while yeoljeon is a collection of biographies of figures significant to the history of each kingdom. However, Kim Bu-sik made sure to add his own opinion after any fact he considered crucial in both sections. His view of history is more obviously imparted through yeoljeon, but we will only be able to briefly introduce an example of it from bongi. As he concludes his description of the histories of the three kingdoms, Kim Bu-sik mentions his idea as to why each kingdom collapsed. This shows that he wanted to use the three kingdoms' rise and fall to demonstrate that lessons can be learned from studying history. According to Kim Bu-sik's explanation, Baekje fell for being irreverent toward China, Koguryo fell from a discord between its king and his vassals, and Silla fell for worshiping Buddhism. These views are still quite commonly accepted today.

Yet, it is indeed curious to find that such views exactly coincide with the policies he employed as a powerful politician in the middle of the Goryeo dynasty. Policies which were to be "in deference to greater powers and remain close with neighboring countries," be "mindful of sovereign-state relations as civilian aristocrats," and be "equipped with political philosophies based on Confucian ideals." Flipping such policies presents the very same reasons Kim Bu-sik pointed out as what caused the three kingdoms to rise and fall. This casts suspicion that Kim Bu-sik chose to selectively describe only what he felt was necessary, which goes against the notion that records of history should be contain the bare truth about past events. Perhaps that is why I personally, and somewhat disrespectfully, find it difficult to push the phrase "narration of memories" out of my mind whenever I read Samguk Sagi.