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How much do we know about the ancient country Balhae that existed in the form of northern and southern kingdoms with Silla for 200 years from the late 7^th to early 10^th centuries? Let’s go on a historical journey, revolving around primary data and newly discovered material. This will provide an interesting glimpse into the hidden stories of Balhae history along with diversity of interpretation and importance of historical records.

Fundamental data related to the foundation of Balhae

Balhae was founded in the former territory of Goguryeo. The core data that tells of who founded Balhae are as follows.

Balhae Malgal Dae Jo-yeong is originally a distinct line of Goryeo

Balhae Malgal Daejoyeongja bongoryeobyeoljongya

渤海 靺鞨 大祚榮者 本高麗別種也

‘Balhaejeon’ of the ‘Old Book of Tang’

Balhae is originally Sokmalmalgal, adjoining Goryeo, and its family name is Dae

Balhae bonsokmalmalgalbugoryeoja seongdaessi 

渤海 本粟末靺鞨附高麗者 姓大氏         

‘Balhaejeon’ of the ‘New Book of Tang’

These are part of the biographies of the book that recorded the history of the Tang Dynasty while Balhae existed.

‘Balhaejeon’ contains great amounts of the content most essential to understanding Balhae’s history today. The ‘Old Book of Tang’ (completed around 941-945) states that it is Dae Jo-yeong who founded Balhae, and the ‘New Book of Tang (completed around 1044-1060)’ simply states that the surname of the one who founded Balhae was ‘Dae’; judging from subsequent records, it is the same in that they point to Dae Jo-yeong. But explanations about Dae Jo-yeong’s origin are different. The Old Book of Tang states that Dae Jo-yeong is “originally a distinct line of Goryeo”, but the New Book of Tang does not mention such a phrase, only stating that it is “originally Sokmalmalgal adjoining Goryeo, and its family name is Dae.”

What sort of person was Dae Jo-yeong? At the heart of this controversy over who founded Balhae is the interpretation of whether Dae Jo-yeong was a migrant from Goguryeo or a man of Malgal. The theory of a Goguryeo migrant puts weight on the records in the Old Book of Tang, whereas the theory of a Malgal man is a contention putting weight on the New Book of Tang. The compromising theory seeks to interpret the records in the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang complementarily to each other, but after all, only one of the first and second claims can be chosen. We can understand from data related to the founder that “BalhaeMalgal”, “Goryeobyeoljong”, “Sokmalmalgal”, and Goguryeo people are the important keywords. It can be said that the difference in the interpretation of these words is the cause for different views on who founded Balhae.

The meanings of ‘BalhaeMalgal’ and ‘Goryeobyeoljong’

At the head of the Balhae story in the Old Book of Tang is the word “BalhaeMalgal”, which had thus far been understood as the name of the biography in general. However, we have to read “BalhaeMalgal” as the combination of the two words “Balhae” and “Malgal”. As we can understand from the fact that the ‘New History of the Five Dynasties’ (completed around 1036-1053), compiled by Ouyang Xiu of the Northern Song Dynasty, states that “Balhae was called Malgal originally, and is a distinct line of Goryeo,” “BalhaeMalgal” means that “Balhae’s original name is Malgal.” The New History of the Five Dynasties said that Balhae is a distinct line of Goryeo and that Daegeolgeoljungsang, Dae Jo-yeong’s father, is a distinct line of Goryeo. It thus becomes clear that the narrative in Balhaejeon of the New Book of Tang is not different from the explanation about a “distinct line of Goryeo” in the Old Book of Tang. The records in the Old Book of Tang accurately indicate that “Balhae was called Malgal originally, and Dae Jo-yeong is a distinct line of Goryeo” and that it will be correct to call the biography Balhaejeon as is stated in the New Book of Tang rather than ‘Balhaemalgaljeon’. And if a “distinct line” originally refers to “one who is special and strange”, a “distinct line of Goryeo” then becomes a “special and strange Goguryeo man”. This goes for “one who originally adjoined with Goryeo as Sokmalmalgal” in the New Book of Tang. The term “a distinct line of Goryeo” may be the expression through which Sokmalmalgal, which participated in the national foundation, revealed their pride of being part of the people of Goguryeo, the powerful state in East Asia.

Same people, different appearances

Left: Korea’s Dae Jo-yeong (standard portrait) – Seoul National University Museum

Right: China’s King Go Dae Jo-yeong – Balhae Sanggyeong Preservation Museum

Malgal, inhabitants of Goguryeo

A faction from Buyeo including Jumong and the Yemaek tribe were the main constituents of Goguryeo’s five groups. The people who were integrated while its territory expanded after foundation gradually became the Goguryeo people. The phrase “Han and ye subjugated anew” in Gwanggaeto Stele likely refers to one of these. The Malgal tribe had formerly been called Mulgil, Eupru, and Suksin, and appeared in China’s records for the first time in 563. Malgal joined Goguryeo’s military operations several times during the period of the Sui and Tang dynasties. Lee Ta-in (609-675), who had been the provincial governor in Goguryeo’s Chaekseong region believed to be Hunchun, today’s Jilin Province of China, controlled 12 states in Goryeo and commanded 37 villages in Malgal. Malgal was controlled there with a village as a unit, not by the state, but as Goguryeo inhabitants under the rule of Goguryeo’s provincial governor.

Relations among Balhae, Goguryeo, and Buyeo

The Malgal people as well as the Yemaek tribe were the important constituents of Goguryeo. As is known in the course of foundation and Balhae’s history thereafter, it goes without saying that Goguryeo migrants played the important role. In addition to Sokmalmalgal, a distinct line of Goryeo, another Malgal (for example, the group of Geolsabiu that took part in Balhae’s foundation was also called “Malgal”) joined in the founding Balhae. Furthermore, Balhae’s founding groups were Goguryeo inhabitants but concurrently linked to Buyeo. Because Goguryeo is “Buyeobyeoljong (‘Goryeojeon’ in the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang), Balhae becomes a “distinct line (byeoljong)” of “Buyeobyeoljong”. Given the necessity to know Goguryeo and Buyeo before understanding Balhae, we can confirm once again that our history is connected fundamentally.