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Kim Yu-shin (595-673) was a general in 7th
century|7th-century Silla.  He is said to have
been the great-grandchild of King Guhae of
Geumgwan Gaya, the last ruler of the Geumgwan Gaya
state.  This would have given him a very high
position in the Silla bone rank system, which
governed the political and military status that a
person could attain.  

Much of what we know about Kim's life comes from
the detailed account in the Samguk Sagi, Yeoljeon
1-3, and the much briefer record in the Samguk
Yusa, vol. 1.  

==Early years==

He was born in Gyeyang, Jincheon County in 595,
became a Hwarang warrior at just 15 and was an
accomplished swordsman and a Gukseon
(국선, 國仙; Hwarang
leader) by the time he was 18 years old. By the
age of 34 he had been given total command of the
Silla armed forces.

==Military accomplishments==

Kim's first military engagement in command is
believed to have occurred around 629, and through
it he quickly proved his capabilities as a
warrior. Silla was in a constant struggle with its
neighbor to the west, Baekje, over territory.
There had been gains and losses on both sides, and
the struggle lasted for many years. It was during
this period that Kim rose through the ranks of the
military, rising to the position of general and
becoming a skilled field commander.

Baekje and Silla had formed an alliance to counter
Goguryeo's power and its intentions to push
southwards, and together they launched a
successful attack on it, Silla taking the northern
territory and Baekje the one south of the Han
river. But Silla broke the alliance and attacked
Baekje in order to claim both territories for
itself. After this betrayal, Baekje allied with
Goguryeo.
When Goguryeo and Baekje attacked Silla in 655,
Silla joined forces with Tang Dynasty China to
battle the invaders. Although it is not clear when
Kim first became a general, he was certainly
commanding the Silla forces at this time.
Eventually, with the help of the Silla navy and
some 13,000 Tang forces, Kim attacked the Baekje
capital, Sabi, in 660, in one of the most famous
battles of the century. 

The Baekje defenders were commanded by none other
than General Gyebaek, although the Baekje forces
consisted of about 5,000 men and were no match for
Kim's warriors, which numbered about ten times as
many. Baekje, which had been experiencing internal
political problems, crumbled. Kim's Silla forces
and their Tang allies now moved on Goguryeo from
two directions, and in 661 they attacked the
seemingly impregnable Goguryeo Kingdom, but were
repelled. The attack had weakened Goguryeo,
though.  In 667 another offensive was launched
which, in 668, destroyed Goguryeo forever. 

Silla still had to subdue various pockets of
resistance, but their efforts were then focused on
ensuring that their Chinese allies did not
overstay their welcome on the peninsula. After
some difficult conflicts, Silla eventually forced
out the Tang and united the peninsula under their
rule.

==Legends==

Many stories exist about Kim Yu-shin. It is told
that once he was ordered to subdue a rebel army,
but his troops refused to fight as they had seen a
large shooting star fall from the sky and believed
it to be a bad omen. To regain control, the
General used a large kite to carry a fire ball
into the sky. The soldiers, seeing the star return
to heaven, rallied and defeated the rebels. It is
also said that General Kim ingeniously used kites
as a means of communication between his troops
when split between islands and the mainland. It is
also said that, another time, while Silla was
allied with China against Baekje, an argument
broke out between Kim's commander and a Chinese
general. As the argument escalated into a
potentially bloody confrontation, Kim's sword was
said to have leaped from its scabbard into his
hand. Because the sword of a warrior was believed
to be his soul, this occurrence so frightened the
Chinese general that he immediately apologised to
the Silla officers. 

Incidents such as this kept the Chinese in awe of
the Hwarang, and meant that in later years, when
asked by the Chinese emperor to attack Silla, the
Chinese generals refused, claiming that although
Silla was small, it could not be defeated.

==His final years==

Throughout his life Kim had felt that Baekje,
Goguryeo and Silla should not be separate
countries, but should instead be united. He is
regarded as the driving force in the unification
of the Korean Peninsula, and is the most famous of
all the generals in the unification wars of the
Three Kingdoms of Korea|Three Kingdoms. 

Kim was rewarded handsomely for his efforts in the
campaigns. He reportedly received a village of
over 500 households, and in 669 was given some 142
separate horse farms, spread throughout the
kingdom. He died four years later, leaving behind
ten children.

General Kim Yu-shin lived to the age of 78 and is
considered to be one of the most famous generals
and masters of Korean swords in Korean history. He
is the focus of numerous stories and legends, and
is familiar to most Koreans from a very early age.
 Following his death in 673, General Kim was
awarded the honorary title of King Heungmu, and
was buried at the foot of Songhwa Mountain, near
Gyeongju in southeastern Korea, in a tomb as
splendid as that of kings.

==See also==

*Three Kingdoms of Korea
*List of Korea-related topics
*Korean history