Gwanggaeto the Great was the nineteenth monarch of Goguryeo. His full posthumous name means "Entombed in Gukgangsang, Broad Expander of Domain, Peacemaker, Supreme King", sometimes abbreviated to Hotaewang. His era name is Yeongnak and he is occasionally recorded as Yeongnak Taewang. Gwanggaeto's imperial reign title meant that Goguryeo was on equal standing as an empire with the imperial dynasties in China.

Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, now known as the Korean Demilitarized Zone. In 1948, two states declared independence, both claiming sovereignty over all of Korea: South Korea comprising its southern half and North Korea comprising its northern half. The region consists of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and minor islands near the peninsula. The peninsula is bordered by China to the north and Russia to the northeast, across the Amnok and Duman rivers. It is separated from Japan to the southeast by the Korea Strait.