7세기 만주·한반도 전쟁과 지정학 구도의 재편

Abstract

This article examines the nature of ‘the 7th century war’ that unfolded Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula on the stage. Previous discussions on the nature of the 7th century war were mainly made from the perspective of Korean history. In response, this article reviewed the timing of the outbreak of the war, the strategic goals of major war countries, and the reshaping of the geopolitical structure, while maintaining the view that the 7th century war was a largescale international war.<BR>First of all, I paid attention to the resumption of Goguryeo’s southward advance policy in 603 as a historical event that triggered the 7th century war. At that time, Goguryeo was controlling both the Liaodong region and the northwestern part of Korea, the geopolitical hub on the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria. As Goguryeo resumed its southward advance policy to fight against Sui Dynasty, the war of the Three Kingdoms and the Eastern Expedition of Sui directly combined to turn into a large-scale international war.<BR>Silla and Tang Dynasties sealed a secret agreement to divide the occupied territory along the border with Pyeongyang when they signed a military alliance in 648. Such a secret agreement to divide the occupied territories had elements to reshape the geopolitical structure of Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula. This is because the secret agreement will result in bisecting the northwestern part of Korea, which are geopolitical centers that bind Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula to one region. If such a secret pact is implemented, Silla could stably dominate the central and southern parts of the Korean Peninsula, but Tang would find it difficult to exert a strong influence on Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula.<BR>In this regard, the war between Silla and Tang was a confrontation between Silla trying to keep the secret treaty of dividing the occupied territories and Tang trying to destroy it. In fact, Tang tried to break the secret treaty and dominate the entire eastern region based in Pyeongyang. However, Tang was forced to give up its plan to dominate the entire eastern region as it was defeated in the war with Silla in 676 and Balhae was founded in 698. As a result the confrontation between Silla and Tang has been resolved and the 7th century war was over.<BR>Since the foundation of Balhae, the Pyeongyang area has been transformed into a border area between Silla and Balhae, and the Liaodong area into a buffer zone between Tang and Balhae. As a result, the geopolitical center that used to bind Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula into a single zone has disappeared, and the two regions have begun to separate geopolitically. The 7th century war, which was a massive international war, resulted in the fundamental reshaping of the geopolitical structure of Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula. Based on this point, I propose a view to name the 7th century war as ‘the Manchuria-Korean War in the 7th century’.