Goryeo Military Regime

Timeline

1. 1170Kaegyeong · GoryeoJeong Jung-bu and other military officers, angered by the civil officials' contempt and the king's indulgence in pleasure, launched a coup at Puswon-won, deposing King Uijong and installing King Myeongjong, transferring court politics into the hands of the military faction.
2. 1170–1196Kaegyeong · GoryeoYi Ui-bang, Jeong Jung-bu, Gyeong Dae-seung, and Yi Ui-min successively controlled court politics through private armies and the Jungbang; frequent vendettas kept the military regime unstable for generations, and civil governing institutions existed in name only.
3. 1196–1219Kaegyeong · GoryeoChoi Chungheon and his brothers killed Yi Ui-min, reorganized the Dubang private guard, deposed and installed kings, and suppressed temple armed forces, advancing military dictatorship into a more stable family rule.
4. c. 1219–1270Kaegyeong and Ganghwa Island · GoryeoChoi Ui and others continued to resist the Mongols as a military aristocratic clan and moved the capital to Ganghwa; after the Choi family was overthrown in 1258, the military remnants persisted until the king's return to the capital in 1270, when a civil-official–Mongol order replaced them.