Wang Toghtua Bukha

Who is Wang Toghtua Bukha?

Toghtua Bukha was the King of Shen in the fourteenth century. He was a member of the Goryeo royal family.

He was a grandson of Wang Go. He became an elite imperial bodyguard, of Toghun Temür in 1350 and held a high position in the Yuan court. After his grandfather died, he succeeded the King of Shen in 1354.

Öljei Khutugh Khatun and his son Crown Prince Ayushiridara tried to replace Gongmin of Goryeo because he had exterminated the Ki family in 1356. They tried to install Toghtua Bukha but was declined. Toghtua Bukha expected Goryeo to welcome him as king's death because the king had no legitimate son.

The Yuan Dynasty was expelled from China by the new Ming Dynasty in 1368 and King Gongmin kept pro-Ming policies. His assassination in 1374 reignited the race for successor. Yi Inim's faction finally installed King U but the Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia attempted to appoint Toghtua Bukha. An Sagi also supported him in Goryeo and asked him to return to Goryeo. This group was, however, destroyed by the mainstream faction in 1374.

Toghtua Bukha's activity during this strife is almost unknown. He seems to have stayed in Naghachu's camp in Manchuria and watched for a chance.