Dongmyeong (Jumong)

King Dongmyeong, whose birth name was Jumong, was the first ruler of Goguryeo, which he founded in 37 BC. As the progenitor of the Goguryeo dynasty—one of Korea's Three Kingdoms—he laid the foundation of a state that would grow into a major power spanning the northern Korean Peninsula and Manchuria. For this reason he is remembered as one of the founding forefathers of ancient Korea.