Late Goryeo military official (Prince Namyang) who helped end military rule by killing Im Yu-mu
| Life | 1242 ~ 1316 |
| Era | 고려 후기 |
| Clan | 남양 홍씨 |
Hong Gyu (洪奎, 1242–1316) was a late Goryeo military official and father-in-law of two kings. His clan seat was Namyang, his original name was Hong Mun-gye, his courtesy name Miru and his posthumous title Gwangjeong. His father Hong Jin served in the Royal Secretariat.
Entering office through the protection privilege, he became a general and Vice Censor under King Wonjong. Although he had married a daughter of the strongman Im Yeon, in 1270, after Im Yeon's death, he received a secret royal order and, with Song Song-rye, killed Im Yeon's son Im Yu-mu. This ended a century of military rule and returned power to the throne. He escorted the crown prince (later King Chungnyeol) to the Yuan court and rose to high posts, but twice resigned.
He then spent seventeen years out of office, and in 1288 was exiled to an island for making his eldest daughter a Buddhist nun to keep her from being sent to Yuan as a tribute woman. Recalled the next year, he held senior ministerial posts, was made Lord Ikseong when his son-in-law King Chungseon took the throne, and was enfeoffed as Namyang Buwongun in 1313. He died in 1316 at 75.
His third daughter became a consort of King Chungseon and his fifth daughter, Queen Gongwon, married King Chungsuk and bore Kings Chunghye and Gongmin. Among the sons of his eldest son Hong Yung, Hong Ju, Hong Eon-bak and Hong Eon-su founded the Namyang-gun, Munjeong-gong and Panjungchu-gong branches, making Hong Gyu a common ancestor of the major Danghong branches.
His grandfather Hong Sa-yun and father Hong Jin both held high posts in the Privy Council and ministries, and his second wife was a daughter of the minister Kim Ryeon. His life is recorded in detail in his tomb epitaph and his biography in the Goryeosa; his eldest daughter eventually became the wife of the Yuan envoy Aqutai.