Historic Site of General Gyebaek

About this place

This is the memorial site of Gyebaek, counted alongside Seongchung and Heungsu as one of the Three Loyal Subjects of the late Baekje kingdom. It is located near the Hwangsanbul battlefield, the site of his last stand. When the tomb was discovered in 1966, more than half the mound had collapsed and the burial chamber was exposed; local residents of Bujeok-myeon restored it, heaping the mound to 47.6 m in circumference, 15.15 m in diameter, and 6.5 m in height, and repairing the plastered chamber walls. On 19 May 1976, the earthen mound was completed and a commemorative stele erected; the stele bears the inscription 'Alleged Tomb of Baekje General Gyebaek' (傳百濟階伯將軍之墓). Gyebaek (?–660 AD) was a general of Baekje. After King Seong of Baekje was killed at the Battle of Gwansan Fortress in 554, relations between Baekje and Silla deteriorated severely. Following King Uija's accession in 641, Baekje allied with Goguryeo and repeatedly attacked Silla. However, isolated Silla joined with Tang China, threatening both Goguryeo and Baekje, and Gyebaek's situation became increasingly desperate due to King Uija's misrule and the distraction of Goguryeo's domestic political turmoil. In 660 (the 20th year of King Uija), the Silla–Tang allied forces under Sojeongbang and Kim Yusin advanced on the Baekje strongholds of Tanhyeon and Baekgang. King Uija gave Gyebaek 5,000 crack troops to resist them. Determined to fight to the death, Gyebaek won four consecutive engagements against overwhelming odds, but ultimately the Baekje force was vastly outnumbered and defeated, and Gyebaek fell in battle. This Battle of Hwangsanbul sealed the tragic end of Baekje.