Mongol invasions of Korea
Encyclopedia
The Mongol invasions of Korea (1231–1259) consisted of a series of campaigns by the Mongol Empire
against Korea
, then known as Goryeo
, from 1231 to 1270. There were six major campaigns at tremendous cost to civilian lives throughout the Korean peninsula
, ultimately resulting in Korea becoming a compulsory ally
of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty
for approximately 80 years.
Gojong of Goryeo
(reigned 1213–1259) was the twenty-third king of the Goryeo
dynasty. In 1225, the Mongol Empire
demanded tribute goods from Goryeo
and the Mongol envoy Chu-ku-yu was killed. His death was used by the Mongols as an excuse to invade Goryeo.
In 1231, Ögedei Khan
ordered the invasion of Korea
. The experienced Mongol army was placed under the command of General Sartai (not to be confused with Sartaq, a later Mongol khan). The Mongol army crossed the Yalu river and quickly secured the surrender of the border town of Uiju
. Choe U
mobilized as many soldiers as possible into an army consisting largely of infantry, where it fought the Mongols at both Anju
and Kusong
. The Mongols took Anju; however, they were forced to retreat after the Siege of Kusong
. Frustrated by siege warfare, Sartai instead used his armies' superior mobility to bypass the Goryeo army and succeeded in taking the capital at Gaesong. Elements of the Mongol army reached as far as Chungju
in the central Korean peninsula
; however, their advance was halted by a slave army led by Ji Gwang-su where his army fought to the death. Realizing that with the fall of the capital, Goryeo was unable to resist the Mongol invaders, Goryeo sued for peace. However, Mongols demanded 10,000 otter skins, 20,000 horses, 10,000 bolts of silk, clothing for 1,000,000 soldiers and a large number of children and craftsmen who would become slaves and servants of the Mongol empire. General Sartai began withdrawing his main force to the north in the spring of 1232, leaving seventy-two Mongol administrative officials stationed in various cities in northwestern Koryo to ensure that Koryo kept his peace terms.
In 1232, Choe U, against the pleas of both King Kojong and many of his senior civil officials, ordered the Imperial Court and most of Gaesong's population to be moved from Songdo
to Ganghwa Island
in the Bay of Gyeonggi, and started the construction of significant defenses to prepare for the Mongol threat. Choe U exploited the Mongols' primary weakness, fear of the sea. The government commandeered every available ship and barge to transport supplies and soldiers to Ganghwa Island. The evacuation was so sudden that King Kojong himself had to sleep in a local inn on the island. The government further ordered the common people to flee the countryside and take shelter in major cities and mountain citadels or nearby offshore islands. Ganghwa Island itself was a strong defensive fortress. Smaller fortresses were built on the mainland side of the island and a double wall was also built across the ridges of Mt. Munsusan.
The Mongols protested the move, and immediately launched a second attack. The Mongol army was led by a traitor from Pyongyang called Hong Bok-won
and the Mongols occupied much of northern Korea. Although they reached parts of the southern peninsula as well, the Mongols failed to capture Ganghwa Island, which was only a few miles from shore, and were repelled in Gwangju
. The Mongol general there, Sartai (撒禮塔), was killed by the monk Kim Yun-hu (김윤후) amidst strong civilian resistance at the Battle of Cheoin near Yongin
, forcing the Mongols to withdraw again. This was the first of only two instances in which a Mongol commander was ever killed in battle (the other being the Battle of Ain Jalut
in 1260, where Kitbuqa
was killed).
and Jeolla
Provinces. Civilian resistance was strong, and the Imperial Court at Ganghwa attempted to strengthen its fortress. Goryeo won several victories but the Goryeo military and Righteous armies
could not withstand the waves of invasions. In 1236, Gojong ordered the re-creation of the Tripitaka Koreana
, destroyed during the 1232 invasion. This collection of Buddhist
scriptures took 15 years to carve on some 81,000 wooden blocks, and is preserved to this day. After the Mongols were unable to take either Ganghwa Island or Goryeo's mainland mountain castles, the Mongols began to burn Goryeo farmland in an attempt to starve the populace. When some fortresses finally surrendered, the Mongols executed everyone who resisted them.
In 1238, Goryeo relented, and sued for peace. The Mongols withdrew, in exchange for Goryeo's agreement to send the Imperial Family as hostages. However, Goryeo sent an unrelated member of the imperial line. Incensed, the Mongols demanded clearing the seas of Korean ships, relocation of the court to the mainland, the hand-over of anti-Mongol bureaucrats, and, again, the Imperial family as hostages. In response, Korea sent a distant princess and ten children of nobles, rejecting the other demands.
and the Mongols camped near Yomju in July 1247. After the king Gojong of Goryeo
refused to move his capital from Ganghwa
island to Songdo
, Amuqan's force pillaged the Korean Peninsula
. With the death of Guyuk Khan
in 1248, however, the Mongols withdrew again. But the Mongol raids continued until 1250.
Upon the 1251 ascension of Mongke Khan
, the Mongols again repeated their demands. Mongke Khan
sent envoys to Goryeo
, announcing his coronation in October 1251. He also demanded the King Gojong
be summoned before him in person and his headquarters be moved from Ganghwa Island
to the Korean mainland. But the Goryeo court refused to send the king because the old king was unable to travel so far. Mongke again dispatched his envoys with specific tasks. The envoys were well-received by the Goryeo officials but they also criticized them, saying their king did not follow his overlord Mongke's orders. Mongke ordered the prince Yeku to command the army against Korea. However, a Korean in the court of Mongke convinced them to begin their campaign in July 1253. Yeku, along with Amuqan, demanded the Goryeo court to surrender. The court refused but did not resist the Mongols and gathered the peasantry into the mountain fortresses and islands. Working together with the Goryeo commanders who had joined the Mongols, Jalairtai Qorchi ravaged Korea. When one of Yeku's envoys arrived, Gojong personally met him at his new palace in Sin Chuan-bug. Gojong finally agreed to move the capital back to the mainland, and sent his step son, Angyeong, as a hostage
. The Mongols agreed to a cease fire in January 1254.
Mongke realized that the hostage was not the blood prince of the Goryeo Dynasty. So Mongke blamed the Goryeo court for deceiving him and killing the family of Lee Hyeong, who was a pro-Mongol Korean general. Mongke' commander Jalairtai devastated much of Goryeo and took 206,800 captives in 1254. Famine and despair forced peasants to surrender to the Mongols. They established a chiliarchy office at Yonghung with local officials. Ordering defectors to build ships, the Mongols began attacking the coastal islands from 1255 onward. In the Liaodong Peninsula, the Mongols eventually massed Korean defectors into a colony of 5,000 households. In 1258, the king and the Choe clan retainer Kim Unjin staged a counter-coup, assassinated the head of the Choe family and sued for peace. When the Goryeo court sent the future king Wonjong as hostage to the Mongol court and promised to return to Kaegyong, the Mongols withdrew from Central Korea.
There were two parties within Goryeo: the literati party, which opposed the war with the Mongols, and the military junta — led by the Choe clan — which pressed for continuing the war. When the dictator Choe was murdered by the literati party, the peace treaty was concluded. The treaty permitted the maintenance of the sovereign power and traditional culture of Goryeo, implying that the Mongols gave up incorporating Goryeo under direct Mongolian control and were content to give Goryeo autonomy, but the king of Goryeo must marry a Mongolian princess and be subordinate to the Mongolian Khans.
Since Choe Chung-heon
, Goryeo had been a military dictatorship
, ruled by the private army of the powerful Choe family. Some of these military officials formed the Sambyeolcho Rebellion
(1270–1273) and resisted in the islands off the southern shore of the Korean peninsula
.
Beginning with Wonjong
, for approximately eighty years, Goryeo was a compulsory ally of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty
. The Mongols and Korea were tied by marriages as Mongol princes married Korean princesses and Korean princes married Mongol princesses. A Korean princess called the Qi Empress
became an empress through her marriage with Ukhaantu Khan, and her son, Biligtü Khan
of Northern Yuan, became a Mongol Khan. King Chungnyeol of Goryeo
married a daughter of Kubilai Khan, and marriages between the Yuan and Goryeo continued for eighty years.
The Mongol darughachi
s at the court of the Goryeo were offered provisions by kind and loyal Korean monarchs as well. Part of Cheju island converted to a grazing area for the Mongol cavalry stationed there. Even today, there are several Mongolian words
used in Cheju island such as colors of horses, Agibato-a hero boy and Songgol-falcon. The Goryeo dynasty survived under influence of the Mongol Yuan until King Gongmin
began to force Mongolian garrisons back starting in the 1350s.
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
against Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, then known as Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
, from 1231 to 1270. There were six major campaigns at tremendous cost to civilian lives throughout the Korean peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
, ultimately resulting in Korea becoming a compulsory ally
Ally
Ally is a common unisex given name. It is a variant of Allie. It can also refer to:* Ally, a 1999 American TV sitcom that was a spin-off of Ally McBeal.* Ally Bank, an internet bank, formerly the banking unit of GMAC....
of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
for approximately 80 years.
The initial campaigns
Gojong of Goryeo
Gojong of Goryeo was the twenty-third ruler of Goryeo in present-day Korea. Gojong's reign was marked by prolonged conflict with the Mongol Empire, which sought to conquer Goryeo, ending only when the kingdom was finally vassalized in 1259...
(reigned 1213–1259) was the twenty-third king of the Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
dynasty. In 1225, the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
demanded tribute goods from Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
and the Mongol envoy Chu-ku-yu was killed. His death was used by the Mongols as an excuse to invade Goryeo.
In 1231, Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan, born Ögedei was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire by succeeding his father...
ordered the invasion of Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. The experienced Mongol army was placed under the command of General Sartai (not to be confused with Sartaq, a later Mongol khan). The Mongol army crossed the Yalu river and quickly secured the surrender of the border town of Uiju
Uiju
Ŭiju is a kun, or county, in North Pyongan Province, North Korea. The county has an area of 420 km², and a population of 110,018 .-Location:...
. Choe U
Choe U
Choe Woo was the second Choe dictator of the Ubong Choe Military regime. He himself went out on the battlefield to lead in fighting off the Mongolian invasions. Then he realized that the government was no longer safe at the capital city of Kaesong, and so he forced the king and his officials to...
mobilized as many soldiers as possible into an army consisting largely of infantry, where it fought the Mongols at both Anju
Anju (city)
Anju-si is a city in the South Pyongan province of North Korea at the coordinates of . Its current population is unknown, but judging from satellite imagery, at least 100,000 people reside there. The Ch'ongch'on River passes through Anju....
and Kusong
Kusong
Kusŏng is a coterminous city in central North Pyongan province, North Korea. It borders Taegwan to the north, Taechon to the east, Kwaksan and Chongju to the south, and Chonma to the north. The highest point is Chongryongsan . The year-round average temperature is 8.2 °C, with a January average...
. The Mongols took Anju; however, they were forced to retreat after the Siege of Kusong
Siege of Kusong
The Siege of Kusong which occurred in 1231 was a decisive Goryeo victory against the Mongol Empire. After the Mongol army crossed the Yalu river, it quickly captured almost all of Goryeo's border defenses. The Mongol army however ran into stiff resistance both at Anju and the city of Kusong.To take...
. Frustrated by siege warfare, Sartai instead used his armies' superior mobility to bypass the Goryeo army and succeeded in taking the capital at Gaesong. Elements of the Mongol army reached as far as Chungju
Chungju
Chungju is a city in North Chungcheong province, South Korea. Namsan is a mountain located on the outskirts of the city.The city is famous for the annual martial arts festival held in October. Also of note, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon grew up here....
in the central Korean peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
; however, their advance was halted by a slave army led by Ji Gwang-su where his army fought to the death. Realizing that with the fall of the capital, Goryeo was unable to resist the Mongol invaders, Goryeo sued for peace. However, Mongols demanded 10,000 otter skins, 20,000 horses, 10,000 bolts of silk, clothing for 1,000,000 soldiers and a large number of children and craftsmen who would become slaves and servants of the Mongol empire. General Sartai began withdrawing his main force to the north in the spring of 1232, leaving seventy-two Mongol administrative officials stationed in various cities in northwestern Koryo to ensure that Koryo kept his peace terms.
In 1232, Choe U, against the pleas of both King Kojong and many of his senior civil officials, ordered the Imperial Court and most of Gaesong's population to be moved from Songdo
Kaesong
Kaesŏng is a city in North Hwanghae Province, southern North Korea , a former Directly Governed City, and the capital of Korea during the Koryo Dynasty. The city is near Kaesŏng Industrial Region and it contains the remains of the Manwoldae palace. It was formally named Songdo while it was the...
to Ganghwa Island
Ganghwa Island
Ganghwa Island is an island in the estuary of the Han River, on the west coast of South Korea. Ganghwa Island is separated from Gimpo, on the mainland, by a narrow channel, which is spanned by two bridges. The main channel of the Han River separates the island from Gaeseong in North Korea.About...
in the Bay of Gyeonggi, and started the construction of significant defenses to prepare for the Mongol threat. Choe U exploited the Mongols' primary weakness, fear of the sea. The government commandeered every available ship and barge to transport supplies and soldiers to Ganghwa Island. The evacuation was so sudden that King Kojong himself had to sleep in a local inn on the island. The government further ordered the common people to flee the countryside and take shelter in major cities and mountain citadels or nearby offshore islands. Ganghwa Island itself was a strong defensive fortress. Smaller fortresses were built on the mainland side of the island and a double wall was also built across the ridges of Mt. Munsusan.
The Mongols protested the move, and immediately launched a second attack. The Mongol army was led by a traitor from Pyongyang called Hong Bok-won
Hong Bok-won
Hong Bok-won was a Goryeo commander who later served as an administrator of the Mongol Empire.He was born to Hong Daesun , an officer in northwestern Korea. When the Mongols intruded into Goryeo to attack Khitan rebel groups in 1218, Daesun went over to the Mongols...
and the Mongols occupied much of northern Korea. Although they reached parts of the southern peninsula as well, the Mongols failed to capture Ganghwa Island, which was only a few miles from shore, and were repelled in Gwangju
Gwangju
Gwangju is the sixth largest city in South Korea. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister...
. The Mongol general there, Sartai (撒禮塔), was killed by the monk Kim Yun-hu (김윤후) amidst strong civilian resistance at the Battle of Cheoin near Yongin
Yongin
Yongin is a major city in the Seoul National Capital Area, located in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. With a population of nearly 1 million, the city has developed abrutly since the 21st century, recording the highest population growth of any city in the country. Yongin is home to Everland and...
, forcing the Mongols to withdraw again. This was the first of only two instances in which a Mongol commander was ever killed in battle (the other being the Battle of Ain Jalut
Battle of Ain Jalut
The Battle of Ain Jalut took place on 3 September 1260 between Mamluks and the Mongols in eastern Galilee, in the Jezreel Valley, not far from Ein Harod....
in 1260, where Kitbuqa
Kitbuqa
Kitbuqa Noyan was a Nestorian Christian and a member of the Naiman Turks, a group that was subservient to the Mongol Empire. He was a lieutenant and confidant of the Mongol Ilkhan Hulagu, assisting him in his conquests in the Middle East...
was killed).
Third campaign and treaty
In 1235, the Mongols began a campaign that ravaged parts of GyeongsangGyeongsang
Gyeongsang was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Gyeongsang was located in the southeast of Korea....
and Jeolla
Jeolla
Jeolla was a province in southwestern Korea, one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and the Special City of Gwangju as well as Jeju Island...
Provinces. Civilian resistance was strong, and the Imperial Court at Ganghwa attempted to strengthen its fortress. Goryeo won several victories but the Goryeo military and Righteous armies
Righteous army
Righteous armies, sometimes called irregular armies or militias, have appeared several times in Korean history, when the national armies were in need of assistance....
could not withstand the waves of invasions. In 1236, Gojong ordered the re-creation of the Tripitaka Koreana
Tripitaka Koreana
The Tripitaka Koreana or Palman Daejanggyeong is a Korean collection of the Tripitaka , carved onto 81,258 wooden printing blocks in the 13th century...
, destroyed during the 1232 invasion. This collection of Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
scriptures took 15 years to carve on some 81,000 wooden blocks, and is preserved to this day. After the Mongols were unable to take either Ganghwa Island or Goryeo's mainland mountain castles, the Mongols began to burn Goryeo farmland in an attempt to starve the populace. When some fortresses finally surrendered, the Mongols executed everyone who resisted them.
In 1238, Goryeo relented, and sued for peace. The Mongols withdrew, in exchange for Goryeo's agreement to send the Imperial Family as hostages. However, Goryeo sent an unrelated member of the imperial line. Incensed, the Mongols demanded clearing the seas of Korean ships, relocation of the court to the mainland, the hand-over of anti-Mongol bureaucrats, and, again, the Imperial family as hostages. In response, Korea sent a distant princess and ten children of nobles, rejecting the other demands.
Fourth and fifth campaigns
In 1247, the Mongols began the fourth campaign against Goryeo, again demanding the return of the capital to Songdo and the Imperial Family as hostages. Guyuk sent Amuqan to KoreaKorea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and the Mongols camped near Yomju in July 1247. After the king Gojong of Goryeo
Gojong of Goryeo
Gojong of Goryeo was the twenty-third ruler of Goryeo in present-day Korea. Gojong's reign was marked by prolonged conflict with the Mongol Empire, which sought to conquer Goryeo, ending only when the kingdom was finally vassalized in 1259...
refused to move his capital from Ganghwa
Ganghwa
Ganghwa may refer to:* Ganghwa County, administrative region of South Korea* Ganghwa Island, island in South Korea...
island to Songdo
Songdo
Songdo , meaning "city of pines," can refer to:*Kaesong, North KoreaSongdo , meaning "isle of pines," can refer to:*Songdo International Business District, a new ubiquitous city in Incheon, South Korea*Songdo...
, Amuqan's force pillaged the Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
. With the death of Guyuk Khan
Güyük Khan
Güyük was the third Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. As the eldest son of Ögedei Khan and a grandson of Genghis Khan, he reigned from 1246 to 1248...
in 1248, however, the Mongols withdrew again. But the Mongol raids continued until 1250.
Upon the 1251 ascension of Mongke Khan
Möngke Khan
Möngke Khan , born Möngke, , was the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from July 1, 1251 – August 11, 1259. He was the first Great Khan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign...
, the Mongols again repeated their demands. Mongke Khan
Möngke Khan
Möngke Khan , born Möngke, , was the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from July 1, 1251 – August 11, 1259. He was the first Great Khan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign...
sent envoys to Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
, announcing his coronation in October 1251. He also demanded the King Gojong
Gojong of Goryeo
Gojong of Goryeo was the twenty-third ruler of Goryeo in present-day Korea. Gojong's reign was marked by prolonged conflict with the Mongol Empire, which sought to conquer Goryeo, ending only when the kingdom was finally vassalized in 1259...
be summoned before him in person and his headquarters be moved from Ganghwa Island
Ganghwa Island
Ganghwa Island is an island in the estuary of the Han River, on the west coast of South Korea. Ganghwa Island is separated from Gimpo, on the mainland, by a narrow channel, which is spanned by two bridges. The main channel of the Han River separates the island from Gaeseong in North Korea.About...
to the Korean mainland. But the Goryeo court refused to send the king because the old king was unable to travel so far. Mongke again dispatched his envoys with specific tasks. The envoys were well-received by the Goryeo officials but they also criticized them, saying their king did not follow his overlord Mongke's orders. Mongke ordered the prince Yeku to command the army against Korea. However, a Korean in the court of Mongke convinced them to begin their campaign in July 1253. Yeku, along with Amuqan, demanded the Goryeo court to surrender. The court refused but did not resist the Mongols and gathered the peasantry into the mountain fortresses and islands. Working together with the Goryeo commanders who had joined the Mongols, Jalairtai Qorchi ravaged Korea. When one of Yeku's envoys arrived, Gojong personally met him at his new palace in Sin Chuan-bug. Gojong finally agreed to move the capital back to the mainland, and sent his step son, Angyeong, as a hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
. The Mongols agreed to a cease fire in January 1254.
Sixth campaign and peace
The Mongols later learned that top Goryeo officials remained on Ganghwa Island, and had punished those who negotiated with the Mongols. Between 1253 and 1258, the Mongols under Jalairtai launched four devastating invasions in the final successful campaign against Korea.Mongke realized that the hostage was not the blood prince of the Goryeo Dynasty. So Mongke blamed the Goryeo court for deceiving him and killing the family of Lee Hyeong, who was a pro-Mongol Korean general. Mongke' commander Jalairtai devastated much of Goryeo and took 206,800 captives in 1254. Famine and despair forced peasants to surrender to the Mongols. They established a chiliarchy office at Yonghung with local officials. Ordering defectors to build ships, the Mongols began attacking the coastal islands from 1255 onward. In the Liaodong Peninsula, the Mongols eventually massed Korean defectors into a colony of 5,000 households. In 1258, the king and the Choe clan retainer Kim Unjin staged a counter-coup, assassinated the head of the Choe family and sued for peace. When the Goryeo court sent the future king Wonjong as hostage to the Mongol court and promised to return to Kaegyong, the Mongols withdrew from Central Korea.
There were two parties within Goryeo: the literati party, which opposed the war with the Mongols, and the military junta — led by the Choe clan — which pressed for continuing the war. When the dictator Choe was murdered by the literati party, the peace treaty was concluded. The treaty permitted the maintenance of the sovereign power and traditional culture of Goryeo, implying that the Mongols gave up incorporating Goryeo under direct Mongolian control and were content to give Goryeo autonomy, but the king of Goryeo must marry a Mongolian princess and be subordinate to the Mongolian Khans.
Aftermath
Internal struggles within the royal court continued regarding the peace with the Mongols until 1270.Since Choe Chung-heon
Choe Chung-heon
Choe Chung-heon was a military ruler of Korea during the Goryeo period.Choe's father was a Grand General in the Goryeo military, hence precipitating his own entry into the military...
, Goryeo had been a military dictatorship
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
, ruled by the private army of the powerful Choe family. Some of these military officials formed the Sambyeolcho Rebellion
Sambyeolcho Rebellion
The Sambyeolcho Rebellion was a Korean rebellion against the Goryeo Dynasty that happened at the last stage of the Mongol invasions of Korea.-Background:...
(1270–1273) and resisted in the islands off the southern shore of the Korean peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
.
Beginning with Wonjong
Wonjong of Goryeo
Wonjong of Goryeo was the 24th ruler of the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. He ascended to the throne with the help of Kublai Khan...
, for approximately eighty years, Goryeo was a compulsory ally of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
. The Mongols and Korea were tied by marriages as Mongol princes married Korean princesses and Korean princes married Mongol princesses. A Korean princess called the Qi Empress
Qi Empress
Qi Empress was one of empresses of Toghun Temür Khan of the Yuan Dynasty and the mother of Ayushiridar....
became an empress through her marriage with Ukhaantu Khan, and her son, Biligtü Khan
Biligtü Khan
Biligtü Khan, born Ayushiridara , was a ruler of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia...
of Northern Yuan, became a Mongol Khan. King Chungnyeol of Goryeo
Chungnyeol of Goryeo
Chungnyeol of Goryeo was the 25th ruler of the medieval Korean kingdom of Goryeo. He was the son of Wonjong, his predecessor on the throne....
married a daughter of Kubilai Khan, and marriages between the Yuan and Goryeo continued for eighty years.
The Mongol darughachi
Darughachi
Darughachi, which originally designated officials in the Mongol Empire in charge of taxes and administration in a certain province, is the plural form of the Mongolian word darugha. They were sometimes referred to as governors...
s at the court of the Goryeo were offered provisions by kind and loyal Korean monarchs as well. Part of Cheju island converted to a grazing area for the Mongol cavalry stationed there. Even today, there are several Mongolian words
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
used in Cheju island such as colors of horses, Agibato-a hero boy and Songgol-falcon. The Goryeo dynasty survived under influence of the Mongol Yuan until King Gongmin
Gongmin of Goryeo
King Gongmin ruled Goryeo Dynasty Korea from 1351 until 1374.he was the second son of King Chungsuk. In addition to his various Korean names , he bore the Mongolian name Bayàn Temür .-Early life:...
began to force Mongolian garrisons back starting in the 1350s.