King Jeonji of Baekje (?-420, r. 405-420) was the 18th king of the ancient Korean kingdom of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was confirmed as successor to King Asin, his father, in 394. His queen was Lady Palsu of the Hae clan .
King Jeonji spent much of his youth in the Wa kingdom of Yamato Japan, going there in 397. Upon his father’s death, he returned home to find that his uncle Seollye had murdered Hunhae, King Asin's other brother, and usurped the throne. Hae Chung , an inhabitant of Hanseong, warned him not to enter the capital. Shortly thereafter, Seollye was killed and Jeonji made king. Presumably out of gratitude for this, Jeonji made several members of the Hae clan ministers, as well as marrying Lady Palso of the Hae clan. This put an end to the royal family’s close ties to the Jin clan .
The traditional dates of King Jeonji's rule are based on the Samguk Sagi. On the basis of more contemporaneous Chinese records, Best (1979) has suggested that the years 405-414 are more plausible.
According to the Samguk Sagi, in 406 Baekje sent a tribute mission to the Chinese court of Eastern Jin. It is the first mention of such a mission in more than twenty years, and may indicate that the country had become more secure against Goguryeo. It would have been typical to send such an embassy to inform the Chinese court that a new king had taken power. However, this visit is not confirmed by Chinese sources.
References
Best, J.W. (1979). Notes and questions concerning the Samguk sagi's chronology of Paekche's kings Chonji, Guishin, and Piyu. Korean Studies, 3, 125-134.
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