Its founder was Wang Kŏn, the chancellor of Taebong who overthrew its tyrant king Kung Ye and founded the new dynasty of Goryeo.

In 1270, the royal house broke free from the military regime's grasp and volunteered to become vassals of the Mongol Empire.

During the Mongol domination of Goryeo, the House of Wang became semi-autonomous vassals of the Yuan dynasty, and engaged in intermarriage with the ruling Borjigin clan.

From 1392 to 1413, they were subject to an extermination campaign where male members from the direct line of the royal Wang family were to be apprehended and killed.

"[4][5] The surname Wang (meaning King) was previously used in Goguryeo by some members of the royal House of Ko for its association with royalty.

[6] Song dynasty envoy, Xu Jing (徐兢), recorded that "The ancestors of the Wang clan are an illustrious family of Go[gu]ryeo".

[7] The Wangs claimed ancestry from the legendary Dragon King of the West Sea via the wife of Chakchegŏn, later posthumously honoured as Queen Wonchang.

[11] Under Taejo's son, King Gwangjong, Goryeo became a centralised society with the strengthening of royal rule.

On August 5, 1392, Yi had gathered enough support to proclaim himself king and end the 474 year rule of the House of Wang.

However, oral stories state that the Wangs were tricked into boarding a ship that was supposedly to take them to a new place of exile.

Wang Kŏŭromi (왕거을오미; 王巨乙吾未), a descendant of King Hyeonjong, was arrested in Gongju in December 8, 1413.

The king refused when the officials asked Taejong to carry out his father's order and kill the royal descendant.

On December 19, he issued an edict repealing the extermination and guaranteeing the safety of the remaining survivors of the purge.

Meanwhile, the House of Wang left a mark on a significant number of influential Korean clans, attributed to the former's extensive intermarriage policies during the reign of Taejo.