Descriptive Items and Narrative Structure of Military Merit Articles in Gwanggaeto Royal Tomb Monument

This paper examines the narrative structure of military merit records in Gwanggaeto Royal Tomb Monument. The military merit records are composed of 10 sections, including 8 articles of the chronicle of the military merit records, an article of the Sinmyo Year, and a total article of warfare result. Among them, the descriptive items of the chronicle of military merit records are categorized into eight groups: ⓐ year, ⓑ background of the war, ⓒ general statement of military merit, ⓓ marching route, ⓔ progress of the war and warfare results, ⓕ king's favors, ⓖ returning in triumph, and ⓗ addition. The composition of an item in each chronicle article is slightly different, but they all have a preface and body, and the descriptive order of the entries is the same. In particular, the basic elements of the entry - the year, the general statement of military merit, the progress of the war and warfare results - are common to all articles. Each military merit article has a complete descriptive structure and stands on its own. The inscription's author consolidated the military activities of each branch into a specific year's account, adjusting the year of the event and coloring the descriptive contents. However, the king's gracious favors were only granted to those who belonged to the Goguryeo heavenly order, while the total of the war results of 64 castles and 1,400 villages was only the sum of the war results of the conquered targets excluding them. Although the author of the inscription centered on military activities, the main focus of the narrative was on the Goguryeo heavenly order. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the character and status of each military merit article in relation to the Goguryeo heavenly order. It is necessary to examine the role that each military merit article plays in envisioning the Goguryeo heavenly order in various ways.