Throughout their careers Kim brothers demonstrated a pragmatic approach both domestically and internationally. At the beginning of the century the Liao Dynasty appeared strong and Kim Bu-il congratulated Emperor Tianzuo of Liao as a ruler who “developed and enlarged [his] territory and made both Chinese and barbarians follow [him] peacefully." In a letter to the Song court Kim Busik derived the Goryeo legitimacy as successors of Jizi (Giji, a semi-legendary sage who is said to have ruled Gojoseon in the 11th century BCE), who was enfeoffed by the Chinese Son of Heaven. After a long and mutually complementary discourse Busik "concluded by stating that it was the barbarians who stood between Goryeo and
