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Kim Pusik (; 1075–1151) was a Korean calligrapher, military general, philosopher, poet, historian, and politician during the Goryeo period. He was a scion of the Silla royalty and a member of the Gyeongju Kim clan. Later he was the supreme chancellor from 1136 to 1142 and was in charge of the suppression of the Myoch'ŏng rebellion. Kim is best known for supervising the compilation of the Samguk sagi, the oldest extant written Korean history.
Kim's father, Kim Kun, was an official (reached the junior 3rd rank) and a famous poet. When he was a member of an embassy to the Song dynasty court, he and the fellow envoy Pak Illyang published a collection of poems that made a deep impression on Song scholars. "The allusions in the poems were so intricate that the most renowned court scholars had to study them in detail before being able to understand them."
The oldest son Kim Pup'il (? -?) reached the senior 5th rank in 1102, but these were the three younger sons, Kim Puil (1071–1132), Kim Pusik, and Kim Puch'ŏl, also known as Kim Puŭi, (1079–1136) that played an important role in politics and culture of Goryeo. Kim Kun died when Kim Pusik was about thirteen, and his widow raised and supervised the education of her younger sons. Later King Yejong rewarded her with a yearly allowance, noting in particular her merit in assisting each of her sons to pass the Gwageo.
The increasing literary and scholarly reputation of the Kim brothers made them popular teachers of the Confucian classics. In 1116, King Yejong instituted the royal lecture ( kyeongyeon) by designating a lecture hall and making a number of appointments to the position of a royal lecturer. Under him and his successor Injong the lectures were held regularly. Such a lecture was a Confucian ritual in which the ruler paid homage to Confucian teachings. Many of the royal lecturers belonged to the Han An-in faction that opposed Yi Cha-gyŏm. Both Kim Puch'ŏl and Kim Pusik delivered royal lectures, expounding the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. Kim Pusik lectured on the Book of History and the Book of Changes.
These lectures became a scene of rivalry between Kim Pusik and Yun Ŏn-i (), son of the famous general Yun Kwan. Yun was an influential Confucian scholar and a future supporter of the and Myoch'ŏng. His attacks on Kim may have roots in Yun Kwan's fall and disgrace (1108–1109) that was at least partially precipitated by the court machinations, or in an incident when Kim Pusik rewrote a memorial plaque written by the general. During Kim's lessons on various historical topics Yun Ŏn-i posed difficult questions, apparently trying to embarrass him and discredit his scholarship. After 1121 Kim Pusik was appointed as Royal Diarist, or ji, to the court of Yejong. By 1122 Kim Pusik became an executive at the Ministry of Rites ( Yebu Sirang), typically an appointment of the 3rd junior rank.
Basic tenets of Goryeo's political theory were expressed in the Ten Injunctions of Taejo. This document advised a cautious following of the Chinese practices, and expressed abhorrence of Khitan people, and by extension, other nomadic "barbarians". The status of Goryeo rulers can be roughly summarized as naeje oewang (emperor at home and king abroad). They were titled kings, were vassals of Khitan people Liao dynasty, and were careful to keep these conventions in the correspondence with the suzerains. On the other hand, many aspects of the government were fashioned after following the imperial conventions. A majority view of the scholars-officials, including the Kim brothers, was that Goryeo was a realm in itself and thus "a possible center of the world". During this period Kim Pusik drafted a significant portion of the diplomatic correspondence with both Liao and Song.
Throughout their careers Kim brothers demonstrated a pragmatic approach both domestically and internationally. At the beginning of the century the Liao Dynasty appeared strong and Kim Puil congratulated Emperor Tianzuo of Liao as a ruler who "developed and enlarged his territory and made both Chinese and barbarians follow him peacefully." In a letter to the Song court Kim Pusik derived the Goryeo legitimacy as successors of Jizi (Giji, a semi-legendary sage who is said to have ruled Gojoseon in the 11th century BCE), who was enfeoffed by the Chinese Son of Heaven. After a long and mutually complementary discourse Pusik "concluded by stating that it was the barbarians who stood between Goryeo and the Song, literally and figuratively." This letter was written just before Kim Pusik finally ensured the recognition by Goryeo of the Jin dynasty ruler as the Son of Heaven in 1126.
Jurchen people leader Wanyan Aguda started a successful rebellion against Liao in 1114. While a majority of the Goryeo officials were anti-Jurchen, both the king's father-in-law Yi Cha-gyŏm and Kim Pusik aimed to keep Goryeo out of the fray and benefit from the changing geopolitical situation. For example, the first Liao request for help was debated (8th month of the 10th year of Yejong's reign, July 1115) at the extended meeting of the Privy Council that included also the top military commanders. The majority of officials supported sending the troops. The opposition was voiced by a relatively junior associate of Yi Cha-gyŏm and by Kim Puil and Kim Pusik, who argued that `sending troops for another country could be the cause of trouble and would undoubtedly be dangerous for the future'. They succeeded in stalling the motion. At approximately the same time Kim Pusik acknowledged the increasing strength of the Jurchen in the official letters to the Liao court, but swore that Goryeo was loyal to Liao Dynasty; if not, "may the gods destroy it".
Wanyan Aguda scored a number of victories over Liao; and proclaimed the establishment of the Jin dynasty with himself as its first emperor in 1115. In 1116–1117, Kim Pusik was part of the embassy to the Song court. Goryeo consistently refused any military help to Liao and in the wake of the Jurchen advances recaptured the Uiju (Poju) area and once again established the Yalu River as its border. While the majority of Yenjong's officials believed in the eventual Liao downfall, a crisis in the relationship with the Jurchen was precipitated by the request of Wanyan Aguda to be recognized as the 'elder brother' of the Goryeo king in 1117. A majority of the officials opposed this request and even considered beheading the envoy. The factions of Yi Cha-gyŏm and Kim Pusik stalled the rash moves, but the formal submission of Goryeo to Jin was made only during the reign of Injong.
In fact, Kim Puch'ŏl (voicing a position of Kim Pusik who was at the time in China) submitted a memorandum proposing to accede to the demands of Emperor Taizu of Jin, giving the following rational: "Now even the great Song calls itself the younger brother of the Khitan and they have gotten along peacefully for generations. And although there is nothing under heaven that can measure up to the dignity of the Son of Heaven of, submitting to and obeying the barbarians like this is the proper policy, one that the sages called 'the temporarily putting aside of one's principles as circumstances demand it' and 'the protection of the whole country.'" Later Kim Pusik himself provided an example of temporizing in the correspondence with the Jin, arguing why Goryeo cannot be its vassal.
In his book Gaoli tujing Xu Jing (1091–1153), a member of the Song mission to Goryeo in 1122–1123, mentions Kim Pusik. (2026). 9781861892737, Reaktion Books. ISBN 9781861892737
The role of Kim Pusik in toppling Yi Cha-gyŏm is unknown. Kim Puil, on the other hand, was one of the intermediaries between Injong and Yi's military supporters, inducing them to defect.
After 1126 the Kim brothers advanced through the Security Council into the highest offices.
In 1135–1136 Kim Pusik was in charge of suppressing the rebellion of Myoch'ŏng and rooting out his adherents in Kaesong. He became the supreme chancellor in 1136 and dominated the Goryeo government till his official retirement in 1142.
In 1142, Injong ordered the compilation of the Samguk Sagi, a chronicle of events in the Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla. Using Chinese histories (particularly Shiji by Sima Qian), Kim Pusik at the head of the fourteen-author team compiled the oldest extant source on Korean history. It was submitted to Injong in late 1145 or early 1146.
By the twelfth century Korean Buddhism was a religion of both elites and common people. It enjoyed royal and aristocratic patronage and the Buddhist hierarchy was integrated into the state bureaucracy. Kim Pusik was a practicing Buddhist. He established a family temple complex Kwallan-sa. This temple also inspired Kim's poem At Kwallan. (2026). 9780231505741, Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231505741 Kim is an author of the inscription honoring a Buddhist monk Ŭich'ŏn (the son of King Munjong and the National Preceptor, one of the three highest Buddhist hierarchs of the country). There he recalls their only meeting, when as a boy he visited his brother in a monastery. In retirement Kim became a lay monk ( keosa).
Worship of native spirits and guardian spirits (animism) was widely practiced by populace and part of the royal rituals prescribed by the Ten Injunctions of Taejo. During the 1135–1136 Myoch'ŏng rebellion, Kim Pusik is recorded as swearing an oath "by the heaven and the earth, the mountains and streams and the gods and spirits". He made a sacrifice to the guardian deities of the Western Capital following its capture from the rebels.
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