Key events used as starting dates include the first major rebellions against Unified Silla (889),[3][4] the capture of Gwangju by Kyŏn Hwŏn and subsequent establishment of the Later Baekje state at Jeonju (892),[5] and the proclamation of Later Baekje as a kingdom by Kyŏn Hwŏn (900).

[10] Kyŏn Hwŏn (867–936), a peasant leader and Silla army officer, took advantage of the political unrest in 892 and made himself military governor of the city of Muju.

In 900, Kyŏn joined forces with the bandit ringleader Yang Kil, formed a revival of the old Baekje (Paekche) kingdom in the south-west portion of the peninsula.

[9][10] In 901, an aristocratic Buddhist monk leader, Kung Ye, declared a new Goguryeo state in the north.

His position as de facto ruler of Korea was recognised by the Tang dynasty of China in 932.

[10] In 934, after Wang's overwhelming victory over Baekje at Unju (Hongseong), refugees from the northern Manchurian state of Balhae (Parhae) felt the situation stable enough to return to Korea.

Wang, posthumously given the title of Taejo of Goryeo or 'Great Founder,' established a dynasty which would rule Korea for the next five centuries.