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Taebong was a state established by Gung Ye (궁예, 弓裔) on the Korean peninsula in 901, during the Later Three Kingdoms period.

Gung Ye was known as a bastard son of King Heonan or of King Gyeongmun . A soothsayer gave the King a prophecy that the new-born baby will bring disaster to the Silla, so the King ordered servants to kill him.

However, his nurse hid Gung Ye and raised him secretly; and joined Yang Gil 's rebellion force in 892. Silla, after nearly a millennium of history, was declining fast and Gung Ye soon found his own rebellion in Songak (present-day Kaesong) in 898. He eventually defeated Yang Gil and other local lords in central Korea and claimed himself a king in 901.

Gung Ye named his state Hu-Goguryeo (Meaning "Later Goguryeo") or, in shorthand, Goryeo. It was changed to Majin (마진, 摩震) in 901, and to Taebong in 911. Taebong at its peak expanded to present-day provinces of North and South HwanghaeSouth Hwanghae Province Korean Name McCune-ReischauerHwanghae-namdo Revised RomanizationHwanghaenam-do Hangul Hanja Short NameHwangnam (Hwangnam;; ) Statistics Population? Area? km² Capital Haeju Administrative Divisions1 city Shi ;19 counties Kun Split f, GyeonggiGyeonggi Province Korean Name Revised RomanizationGyeonggi-do McCune-ReischauerKyonggi-do Hangul Hanja Short NameGyeonggi (Kyonggi;; ) Statistics Population6,160,000( 1990, estimate) Area10,867 km² Capital Suwon Administrative Divisions27 cities ("Si");4, GangwonGangwon Province Korean Name Revised RomanizationGangwon-do McCune-ReischauerKangwon-do Hangul Hanja Short NameGangwon (Kang-won;; ) Statistics Population1,592,000( 1990, estimate) Area16,894 km² Capital Chuncheon Administrative Divisions10 cities ("Si");, South P'yonganSouth P'yongan Province Korean Name McCune-ReischauerP'yongan-namdo Revised RomanizationPyeongannam-do Hangul Hanja Short NameP'yongnam (Pyeongnam;; ) Statistics Population? Area? km² Capital P'yongsong Administrative Divisions1 Special City Tukkupshi ;5 and North ChungcheongNorth Chungcheong Province Korean Name Revised RomanizationChungcheongbuk-do McCune-ReischauerCh'ungch'ongbuk-to Hangul Hanja Short NameChungbuk (Ch'ungbuk;; ) Statistics Population1,462,621 ( 2000 census) Area7,436 km² Capital Cheongju Administrative Div.

In later days, Gung Ye claimed himself a BuddhaBuddha ( Sanskrit, Pali, others: literally Awakened One Enlightened One from the Sanskrit: "√budh", to awaken can refer to the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama or to anyone who has attained the same depth and quality of enlightenment. Buddhism and became a tyrant who sentenced death to anyone opposing him, including his wife Kang. Four generals of Taebong, Hong Yu(홍유, 洪儒), Bae Hyon-Gyong(배현경, 裵玄慶), Shin Sung-Gyon(신숭겸, 申崇謙) and Bok Ji-Gyom(복지겸, 卜智謙) overthrew Taebong and established Wanggeon (왕건, 王建) as the King in 918 and Goryeo Dynasty began.

Still, Taebong influenced Goryeo culturally. Gung Ye was originally a Buddhist monk. He encouraged Buddhism and changed the manners of national ceremonies to Buddhist way including Palgwanhoe (팔관회, 八關會) and Sukdeungrong (석등롱, 石燈籠). These influences survived after death of Gung Ye and fall of Taebong.