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Ep. 14The Night the Self-Sounding Drum Was Torn
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Episode 14

The Night the Self-Sounding Drum Was Torn

King Daemusin of Goguryeo · 32 CE
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Previously

In Samhan, in the south of the Korean Peninsula, 78 small states lived shoulder to shoulder. In each, chiefs called sinji and eupcha led the people, a cheongun priest offered rites to Heaven, and there was Sodo, a sacred land where not even a fugitive could be seized. This story goes back to an earlier time: the 1st century in the north, when Goguryeo, founded by Jumong and carried on by Yuri, was spreading out in every direction.

Characters

HodongSon of King Daemusin.
A handsome prince
Princess of NangnangDaughter of Choe Ri, King of Nangnang.
Her name is not recorded
Choe RiKing of Nangnang
King DaemusinThird king of Goguryeo.
Hodong’s father
First QueenKing Daemusin’s
first queen

Muhyul, the third son of King Yuri, succeeded his father.

The third king of Goguryeo,
King Daemusin.

In the 2nd month of 22 CE, King Daemusin invaded Buyeo and struck down King Daeso. But the Buyeo army, though it had lost its king, surrounded the Goguryeo army ring upon ring.

King DaemusinKing of Goguryeo
King DaemusinO Heaven…
open a way for us!

The provisions ran out, and the soldiers went hungry.

Then, it is said, a thick fog rose and did not lift for seven days.

King DaemusinMake scarecrows of grass
and stand them up with spears.

While the scarecrows pretended to guard the camp, the Goguryeo army slipped away by a side path under cover of night.

King DaemusinI lacked virtue,
and attacked Buyeo rashly.
I did not topple their kingdom;
I only lost men and supplies…
The fault
is mine.

The king himself mourned the dead and cared for the wounded. People said they would not spare even their lives for such a king.

After that, King Daemusin attacked the state of Gaema and made it a district of Goguryeo,

and with a clever ruse he drove back the invading forces of Han’s Liaodong Commandery.

And then came 32 CE.

The king had a son, Prince Hodong, born to his second queen.

HodongSon of King Daemusin
King DaemusinBull’s-eye!
First QueenThe king’s first queen

He was so handsome that the king loved him dearly, and so he was named “Hodong” (好童, “fair boy”).

In the 4th month of 32 CE, Hodong was touring the land of Okjeo on the eastern coast.

Choe RiKing of Nangnang

Choe Ri, King of Nangnang, who happened to be passing that way, took careful note of the young Hodong.

Choe RiI can see from your face
that you are no ordinary man.
Might you be the son
of the Divine King of the North?
HodongYes.
I am Hodong, prince of Goguryeo.

“The Divine King of the North” meant King Daemusin of Goguryeo, the kingdom to the north.

Choe Ri took Hodong back with him to Nangnang and gave him his daughter as a wife.

Choe RiFrom this day, Nangnang and Goguryeo
are one family!
Choe Ri’s daughterLater called the “Princess of Nangnang”

In the Nangnang armory were a drum and a horn that were said to sound by themselves whenever enemies invaded.

Choe RiIf enemies invade, this drum
and horn sound all by themselves.
So no one dares
to covet Nangnang.

Not long after, Hodong returned alone to Goguryeo.

Choe Ri’s daughterDon’t forget your promise
to take me to Goguryeo.
HodongWhen the time comes,
I will welcome you with all due rites.

Back in Goguryeo, Hodong did not forget the drum of Nangnang.

Choe RiIf enemies invade,
this drum sounds by itself.
HodongIf only that drum were gone…

Hodong secretly sent a messenger to Nangnang.

HodongDeliver this letter in secret,
to Choe Ri’s daughter alone.

Hodong’s message was secretly delivered to Choe Ri’s daughter.

Hodong’s letterIf you go into the armory,
tear the drum and break the horn,
I will welcome you
with all due rites.
If not…
I will not welcome you.
Choe RiSo no one dares
to covet Nangnang.
Choe Ri’s daughterMy father’s drum…
with my own hands?

One night, Choe Ri’s daughter hid a sharp knife in her clothes and slipped into the armory.

The blade cut through the drumhead.

Then she cut off the mouthpiece of the horn.

HodongI will welcome you
with all due rites.

Choe Ri’s daughter secretly let Hodong know what she had done.

On hearing the news, Hodong urged the king to attack Nangnang.

HodongFather,
strike Nangnang now!
King DaemusinSend out the troops!

The Goguryeo troops raced silently toward Nangnang.

Neither the drum nor the horn sounded. Choe Ri had made no preparations at all.

Nangnang sentryIt’s the Goguryeo army!
They’re already at the walls!
Choe RiThe drum…
it’s been torn open!
The horn too…!

Only then did Choe Ri realize that both the drum and the horn had been destroyed.

Choe Ri killed his daughter, then opened the gates, came out and surrendered.

HodongThe princess…?
Where is the princess?!
Choe Ri’s daughterDon’t forget your promise to take me
to Goguryeo.

The Samguk Sagi also records another version of the story:

that the king, meaning from the start to destroy Nangnang, sought the marriage and took Choe Ri’s daughter as his daughter-in-law, then sent her back to Nangnang to destroy its weapons.

Either way, the drum of Nangnang
never sounded again.

The First Queen feared that Hodong would be made crown prince ahead of her own son.

HaeuSon of the First Queen
First QueenAt this rate…
Hodong will be crown prince.
First QueenHodong does not treat me
with proper respect.
I fear he harbors
ulterior motives.
King DaemusinDo you hate him because
another woman bore him?
First QueenWatch him in secret,
Your Majesty.
If it proves untrue,
I will accept the punishment.

The king could not help but grow suspicious. At last he decided to punish Hodong.

Old attendantMy prince, why won’t you
clear your own name?
HodongIf I defend myself,
my mother’s wrong
will be exposed.
HodongAnd it would bring
my father grief…
How could that
be called filial?

In the end, Hodong took his own life.

In the 12th month, the king made Haeu, the First Queen’s son, crown prince.

Long afterward, Kim Bu-sik wrote this in the Samguk Sagi:

The king believed slander
and let an innocent son die.
He was not benevolent.

But Hodong was at fault too. When a father raises a small rod, a son should take the blows; when he raises a big one, the son should run away, so that his father does not commit a wrong.

King DaemusinThe fault is mine.

According to the Samguk Sagi, in 37 CE King Daemusin attacked Nangnang again and destroyed it.

In the autumn of 44 CE, it is said, Han troops crossed the sea and attacked Nangnang, and the land south of the Salsu came under Han.

That winter, King Daemusin, too, passed away.

The story of one torn drum
has come down to this day
as the “Jamyeonggo,” the self-sounding drum.

End of Episode 14

History Notes

The scenes in this story are based on these records and sites.

  1. An early edition of the Samguk Sagi
    View photo →
    An early edition of the Samguk Sagi (National Treasure)

    Hodong and Nangnang in the Samguk Sagi

    This story appears in the Samguk Sagi, Goguryeo Annals, under the 15th year of King Daemusin (32 CE). In the 4th month, Hodong met Choe Ri, King of Nangnang, in Okjeo and married his daughter; when the Choe daughter destroyed the drum and horn in the armory, Goguryeo fell upon Nangnang, and Choe Ri killed his daughter and surrendered. In the same passage, introduced with “some say,” the book also records another account in which the king sought the marriage from the start in order to destroy Nangnang. Hodong took his own life in the 11th month, and Haeu became crown prince in the 12th month.

    Samguk Sagi, Goguryeo Annals, 15th year of King Daemusin
  2. Gold belt buckle from Tomb No. 9, Seogam-ri, Pyongyang
    View photo →
    Gold belt buckle from Tomb No. 9, Seogam-ri, Pyongyang · National Museum of Korea

    Where Was Choe Ri’s “Nangnang”?

    In 108 BCE, Han destroyed Gojoseon and set up Lelang Commandery (樂浪, read “Nangnang” in Korean), and many scholars place its center around present-day Pyongyang. Because the Samguk Sagi calls Choe Ri the “King of Nangnang,” opinions are divided over whether the “Nangnang” he ruled was Lelang Commandery or a separate state, the “Kingdom of Nangnang.” Even scholars who see it as a separate state disagree: some place it around Pyongyang, while others see it as a power on the East Sea coast, near Okjeo, where Hodong met Choe Ri. That is also why the records that Goguryeo destroyed Nangnang in 37 and that Han crossed the sea to attack it in 44 are interpreted in many different ways.

    Samguk Sagi, Goguryeo Annals · Book of Han, “Treatise on Geography”

  3. The Drum That Sounded by Itself: the Jamyeonggo

    The Samguk Sagi calls this drum and horn simply “gogak” (鼓角) and says they sounded by themselves when enemy troops came. The name “Jamyeonggo” (自鳴鼓), meaning “self-sounding drum,” does not appear in the Samguk Sagi. From the 1930s on, the story was made again and again into novels, plays, operas and TV dramas, and the name came into wide use as works bearing it as their title appeared, such as Yu Chi-jin’s play Jamyeonggo. Because drums and horns were what armies used to gather troops and send signals, the story is sometimes read as a metaphor for breaking down Nangnang’s readiness for war, or the authority of the state.

    Samguk Sagi, Goguryeo Annals, 15th year of King Daemusin

  4. Hodong’s Death and Kim Bu-sik’s Verdict

    The Samguk Sagi records the First Queen’s slander of Hodong, and Hodong’s reply when urged to explain himself: “If I explain, I will expose my mother’s wrong and bring grief to the king, and that cannot be called filial.” Kim Bu-sik, who compiled the book, rebuked the king for believing slander and losing an innocent son, saying he was not benevolent. At the same time, he judged that Hodong, too, should have fled from his father’s big rod rather than let his father fall into wrongdoing, and that by clinging to a small duty he had missed the greater principle. In this episode, the First Queen’s words are shorter than in the record.

    Samguk Sagi, Goguryeo Annals, 15th year of King Daemusin · Kim Bu-sik’s commentary

  5. King Daemusin, Who Expanded His Kingdom by War

    King Daemusin, the third son of King Yuri, became king in 18 CE. In 22 he attacked Buyeo and killed King Daeso, but he could not destroy Buyeo, and it is said he barely escaped by leaving grass scarecrows standing in a thick fog. In 26 he attacked the state of Gaema and made it a district of Goguryeo, and the neighboring state of Guda also surrendered. When Han’s Grand Administrator of Liaodong attacked in 28, the king held out in Winaam Fortress; on the advice of the Jwabo (Left Minister) Eul Du-ji, he sent the enemy carp from the fortress pond wrapped in water plants, making them believe there was plenty of water inside, and the enemy withdrew.

    Samguk Sagi, Goguryeo Annals, King Daemusin
  6. Corner of the Gungnae Fortress wall
    View photo →
    Corner of the Gungnae Fortress wall · Ji’an, Jilin Province, China

    Gungnae Fortress and Winaam Fortress

    According to the Samguk Sagi, King Yuri moved the capital to Gungnae Fortress in 3 CE and built Winaam Fortress. Gungnae Fortress is thought to be present-day Ji’an in Jilin Province, China, though scholars disagree about when the capital actually moved there. Many identify Winaam Fortress with the Shanchengzi Mountain Fortress north of Ji’an, which has a stone-built pond inside its walls. Gungnae Fortress, the mountain fortress and the Goguryeo tombs around them became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. The stone wall in the photo is thought to have been rebuilt later.

    Samguk Sagi, Goguryeo Annals

  7. What This Episode Imagines

    The record calls her only “the Choe daughter,” so the princess’s name is unknown; “Princess of Nangnang” is a name given to her later. The scene of Choe Ri boasting about the drum, the words the two exchanged, Hodong joining the attack on Nangnang and keeping the hairpin, and the king standing alone in the snow were imagined for the story. Nor does the record say that the drum was torn at night. The Samguk Sagi says only that “someone” urged Hodong to explain himself, so this episode portrays that person as an old attendant.

Key Words of This Episode

Next episode

Episode 15 · Lend in Spring, Collect in Autumn

In 194 CE, frost fell and killed all the crops. Out hunting, King Gogukcheon meets a young man weeping by the roadside, and creates a law that lends the state’s grain in spring and collects it after the autumn harvest.

Read Episode 15 →← Episode 13Back to the list

Photo credits

All illustrations in this webtoon are original. Character names and dialogue are imaginative reconstructions based on historical facts and research. Dates and interpretations follow mainstream scholarship; where scholars disagree, the History Notes say so.