In the reign of King Geunchogo of Baekje, there lived a witty and clever monk named Somyung. One day, Somyung made a wondrous discovery. The monk was meant to travel to the Jin Dynasty, but he followed his intuition and ventured into the mountains instead.

In the mountains, he discovered a legendary banner. He knew that Prince Geungusu of Baekje was searching for this banner, but in the wrong place. Somyung brought the banner to the prince, and with the legendary banner in hand, the prince won the hearts of the soldiers. He would later ascend the throne of Baekje and become its next king.

Somyung was also a good friend of a monk named Marananta, who had come to the peninsula from far away lands. Somyung helped Marananta with his translations of Buddhist texts. With Somyung’s aid, Marananta was able to understand the hearts of the people and spread Buddhism among them.

Those were not the only great deeds from Somyung’s life. During his youth, he had served Prince Geungusu before he became king. During a war with Goguyreo, the clever monk had devised a strategy to lure Goruryeo’s elite armored cavalry, who carried red flags, into a remote shrine where they were entrapped. With the fearsome cavalry removed from battle, the army of Baekje defeated the remaining Goguryeo soldiers easily. This was yet another of Somyung’s achievements

Years later in the reign of King Jinsa of Baekje, the conqueror from Goguryeo—King Gwanggaeto the Great—led a massive army against Baekje and swept across the northern fortresses of the kingdom. During this time, Somyung went among the people of Baekje and calmed the fearful hearts.

In time, Somyung became a renowned and beloved spiritual leader among the people of Baekje.