Goryeo’s Struggle for Autonomy against the Mongol Empire

In the early 13th century, a storm called the Mongols struck East Asia. In 1206, Genghis Khan unified Mongolian tribes and founded the Mongol Empire. With a strong army consisting mainly of skilled horsemen, he and his successors expanded across Eurasia, conquering Baghdad through Iran, and China after the Jin and the Southern Song dynasties collapsed. The Mongol troops also reached Europe and devastated lands belonging to Hungary and Poland. Korea’s Goryeo dynasty was also attacked by the ruthless nomadic conquerors.

Reconstructed Goryeo palace site in Ganghwado Island

When the Mongols first arrived in Korea in 1218, they came to establish peaceful diplomatic relations. However, in August 1231, Ogodei Khan, a son of Ghenghis Khan, ordered the invasion of Korea. When the Mongolian General Sartai surrounded the Goryeo capital of Gaegyeong (now Gaeseong), the kingdom declared defeat. However, once that army withdrew, Goryeo immediately moved its capital to Ganghwado Island and pledged to continue fighting against the invaders. As a result, the Mongol invasions of Korea lasted for nearly 40 years. During this 40-year period, the Mongols established the Great Yuan dynasty of China.

The people of Goryeo persistently resisted the Mongol attacks, but were tragically deprived and exhausted by the long war. More than 200,000 Koreans were captured by the Mongol army as slaves and died in faraway lands. Only when the military clan that pressed for continuing the war was defeated in an internal struggle within the royal court, the kingdom could establish a peace treaty with the Mongols. The generals who refused to accept the peace treaty organized what was called Sambyeolcho Rebellion and fiercely resisted on the islands off the southwestern shore of the Korean peninsula.

Ultimately, the Mongol invasions of Korea ended with Goryeo’s surrender. Yet, the peace treaty between the two states allowed the maintenance of the sovereignty and traditional culture of Goryeo. Rather than annexing the territory as it did to most conquered lands, the Mongol Empire granted some autonomy to the Korean kingdom as its vassal state.

TV drama Empress Qi

Even though the treaty granted autonomy, the Mongol Empire often interfered in the affairs of the Goryeo court, sometimes deposing and exiling kings. Furthermore, as a vassal state, Goryeo had to send young women as a part of their tributes to the Yuan court. The first foreign empress of the Yuan dynasty, the Empress Qi of Ukhaantu Khan, was also one of the tribute women from Goryeo. Jejudo Island was also converted into a grazing area for horses used by the Yuan court. On the other hand, trans-Eurasian cultural exchange flourished during this period. Korean ideas and technology were also transmitted across Eurasia to areas also under Mongol control and vice-versa.

The Goryeo dynasty survived the Mongol Yuan rule and finally drove the Mongols away from the Korean peninsula by the time of King Gongmin in 1356. Though the invasions and subsequent vassaldom were a traumatic period for the Korean people, positive gains were made as a result of this struggle. For example, the Tripitaka Koreana, the National Treasure of Korea inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, was produced during the Mongol invasions. Each of the 81,258 wooden printing blocks was carefully carved with the belief that the Buddha would protect the country from the Mongol troops. Furthermore, the long struggle against an outside invader forced the people of Goryeo to distinguish ‘us’ from ‘them.’ This gave rise to a perception of national history which traces its origins back to the ancient kingdom of Gojoseon (‘Old Joseon’), the legendary first state of the Korean peninsula - a perception that continues to this day. Such historical perception explains why the successor dynasty that emerged after the collapse of Goryeo took the name of Joseon.

Woodblocks of Tripitaka Koreana / Photo courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization
Janggyeongpanjeon Depositories of Haeinsa Temple / Photo courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization