Korean Civilization

1. Korean 10: Korean Civilization
Week 1: Slide Presentation 5 of 5
Koryŏ
Foreign Invasions &
Shatter of Domestic Tranquility
Prof. Mickey Hong
Modern Languages & Civilizations

2. Koryŏ Foreign Relations
 Khitan Liao (907-1125)
 Jurchen Jin [Chin] dynasty (1115-1234)
 Chinese Song dynasty (960-1126)
 Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)

3. Invasions of
Khitan (Liao)
 Established the state of
Liao (946)
 Claimed to be the heirs of
Koguryŏ
 In 993, demanding the
return of Koguryŏ’s
territory => invaded Koryŏ
 General Sŏ Hui convinced
the Liao => Koryŏ is
descendents of Koguryŏ
 In 1010: Invaded with
400,000 troops =>failed
 In 1018: Invaded with
100,000 troops => failed
 Koryŏ – Song China (960-
1279) – Liao: balanced
relationship

4. Invasion of
Jurchen (Jin)
- Jurchen (malgal) united
tribes => the state of Jin
- In 1125, Jin destroyed
Liao
 claimed Koguryŏ’s
ancestry
 demanding tributary
relationship
 Koryŏ government
accepted
 disconnected with Song
China

5. Tripitaka Koreana
(Koryŏ Tripitaka)
 Buddhist scriptural canon: the
most complete collection of
Buddhist texts
 engraved on 80,000 woodblocks
between 1237 and 1248.
 1087: first carving in response to
Khitan invasions; destroyed in 13th
C. Mongol invasions
 1251: new edition completed
 Currently located at Haeinsa
temple
 Considered finest of twenty
versions originating in East Asia for
accuracy, beauty, and carving

6. Myo Ch’ŏng
 His suggestions to Injong:
move the capital to
P’yŏngyang (geomancy) =>
getting away from the
powerful clans in the capital
to attack the Jurchens
 Injong to declare himself
emperor
 Kim Pusik and Kaegyŏngs
hereditary aristocrats
disapproved him
 Myo Ch’ŏng revolts in 1135
 Established the state of
Taewi in P’yongyang
 Defeated by government
forces in 1136

7. Military Rule
 Koryŏ was a society dominated by a civil aristocracy
 A son of a powerful civil official burnt Chŏng Chungbu’s long
beard
 1170 military coup led by Chŏng Chungbu
 Extensive purge of civil officials
 Support from retainers and house slaves
 1170-1196:instability =>
 center: generals plotted against each other
 Local: peasants and slaves revolt

8. Ch’oe Ch’unghŏn
 Seized power in 1196 => stability
 Dissatisfaction with King Myŏngjong
(1170-1197)
 Corruption => direct control over
local institutions
 Inferior officials => selected civil
officials by the civil exam,
attracted intellectuals
 Interference of Buddhism in politics
=> broke the power

9. Rule by Ch’oe family
(1196-1258)
 Stabilized government
 Set the effective institutions that secured their power
 Office of Decree Enactment (Kyojŏng togam): real locus of
power, highest administrative organ
 Power to collect taxes
 Investigate wrongdoings by officials

10. Peasant Rebellions
- 8 peasant rebellions: 1199, 1200, 1202 1202-1204, 1203, 1208,
1217, 1217
- Economic causes
- Rise of some commoners and slaves
- Political discontent
- Breakdown in local government
- Manjŏk: slave revolt => failed (1198)

11. Manjŏk
- “Since the 1170 coup and the 1173 countercoup, the nation has witnessed
many high officials rising from humble status, How could these generals
and ministers be different from us in origin? If one has the opportunity,
anyone can make it. Why should we suffer and toil under the whip?”
(Manjŏk, 1198)

12. Life of Koryŏ
Women
 Inherit property => considerable
independence
 Divorce was possible
 Remarriage of widows was possible
 Not strictly patrilineal =>matrilineal
important
 Uxorilocal: the bridegroom moved
into bride’s house, and their
children and often even their grand-
children were born and raised in the
mother’s house
 Monogamy
 Pak Yu’s memorial to the King
Ch’ungnyŏl (r. 1274-1308) suggests
marrying commoner women as
concubines => did not work
 Horse riding
 Portrait of Lady Cho Pan (1341-1401)

13. The Mongol Empire

14. Genghis Khan
(c. 1155 –
c. 1162 –1227)

15. Genghis Khan ascended the
throne

16. The Mongol Empire
extended from Asia to
Europe
Battle of Legnica
Mongol Invasion of Poland

17. Mongol Invasions
1231-1270
 7 times from 1231 to 1270
 Subjugate Khitans and demanded tribute from Koryŏ =>
Koryŏ refused and killed the mongol envoys => invaded in
1231
 In 1232, the military government declared all –out
resistance => moved to Kanghwa Island
 Land destruction was devastating
 Kim Chun overthrew Ch’oe government seeking the peace
with Mongol in 1258
 In 1270, moved back to Kaegyŏng and surrendered
 Sambŏlch’o (Three Elite Patrols: Ch’oe clan controlled
military forces) resisted until 1273

18. Mongol Invasions
1270-1356
 Koryŏ became the Son–in– law state of Mongol
 King Ch’ungnyŏl (r. 1274-1308) married a daughter of of Kublai
Khan, who agreed, and more than 80 years, Koryŏ kings
married members of Mongol royalty.
 Koryŏ kings had princesses of the Yuan imperial house (ruling
dynasty of China established by Kublai Khan as their primary
consorts => sons of these queens usually succeeded to the
throne
 Crown princes resided in Beijing as hostages until they
ascending to the throne
 Koryŏ kings did not take the exalted suffixes cho (progenitor)
and chong (ancestor) as part of their posthumous title => took
Ch’ung (loyal) as the first character of their title => loyalty to
the Yuan => indicative of subordinate status
 The organs of government were renamed => less prestige

19. Peace under Mongols
- King Wŏnjong (r. 1259-74)
- Ch’ungnyŏl (r. 1274-1308)
- Ch’ungsŏn (r. 1308-13)
- Ch’ungsuk (r. 1313-30, 1332-39)
- Ch’unghye (r. 1330-32, 1339-44)
- Ch’ungmok (r. 1344-48)
- Ch’ungjŏng (r. 1348-51)

20. King Kongmin (r.
1351-1374);
Ch’ungsuk
 Pursued an anti-Mongol and Pro-Ming
policy
 Abolished the Eastern Expedition
Headquarters (Mongol kept eye on
Koryŏ)
 Abolished Yuan commandery
 Abolished Chŏngbang (Personnel
Authority): military rule
 The Ming recognized Kongmin as
king => adopted the Ming calendar,
re-establish tributary relationship
 Select a slave monk, Sin Ton, as his
chief officer => redistribution of
lands and slaves
 Sin Ton was exiled and killed
 Kongmin was assassinated

21. Ch’ungsuk (r.
1313-30, 1332-
39)
Mongolian
name:
Bayan Temür
King Gongmin (1330–
1374) and Queen Noguk

22. Mongol vs. Korean clothing

23. Empress Ki
(1315–1369/70)
 one of the primary
empresses of Toghon Temür of
the Yuan dynasty. She was
originally from an aristocratic
family of Koryŏ

24. Koryŏ under Mongol Empire
 Koryŏ became a member of one of the world’s most cosmopolitan
societies
 Opportunities of travelling
 Opportunity for social advancement => marriage alliance with
Mongols
 Many Korean adopted Mongol clothing and hairstyles
 Number of foreigners to Koryŏ => government officials, merchants
 Base of two efforts to conquer Japan
 Koryŏ shipbuilders, sailors, soldiers, fleets wee used to invade
Japan in 1274 => typhoon season => failed => kamikaze (divine
wind)
 Second invasion in 1281 => failed again (typhoon)
 Mongol was indirect => the court and bureaucracy in Kaegyŏng
continued to function

25. The legacy of the Mongol Period
 Few literary and artistic works have survived
 Growing consciousness of Korean cultural identity
 Samguk yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms):
Buddhist tales and legends
 Chewang ungi (Songs of Emperors and Kings) Yi Sŭnghyu =>
rulers of Korea from Tangun
 Tongmyŏngwand p’yŏn (The Saga of King Tongmyŏng) by Yi
Kyubo => let the world that our country always has been a
land of hero-sages (folk tradition)
 Compiled Tripitaka Koreana (Buddhist Canon)
 Number of other works on Korean history => Korea is a
society with its own traditions and history distinct from
that of its neighbors
 Koreans more cautious of outsiders => policy of limiting foreign
contact => the hermit Kingdom

26. Mongol Origins of Korean Bridal
Headdress

27. Policy of
Accommodation
 T’amna Commandery (Cheju-do
Island):
supply post for horses in
preparation for attack on Japan

28. Culture of Koryo
 Cotton seeds: Mun Ikchŏm in 1363
 Gunpowder and cannons: Ch’oe Musŏn learned the formula
from Chinese
 Papermaking and printing: the world’s first moveable metal
type
 Medicine texts
 Emergence of new families => few ones appeared, the old
aristocracy largely survived
 Gradual penetration of the central government into the
countryside

29. Yi Sŏnggye
 General Ch’oe Yŏng became a military commander
=> mobilize the country for an attack on the Ming
=> sent Yi Sŏnggye
 Yi Sŏnggye opposed => turned back his army at Wihwa island =>
took power
 End of Koryŏ => Yi Sŏnggye: founder of Chosŏn in 1392

30. The U-turn that
Founded a Dynasty
 Yi stops at Wihwa Island
 Submits 4-point memorial
against the campaign
 Memorial ignored
 Yi turns back and strikes
Kaesông
 Yi declares the new dynasty of
Chosôn in 1392
Kaesông
Wihwa-do