Goryeo Dynasty

Korea’s rich history often gets overlooked by its flashier neighbors, China and Japan, but the country has a dynastic legacy that extends just as far into history as theirs! Korea’s Goryeo Dynasty was the precursor to Korea’s renaissance period, with its own artistic and cultural innovations to claim. The Europeans often get all the credit of the Middle Ages for their artistic developments; meanwhile, on the other side of Asia, Korea was establishing its own unified identity during the Goryeo Dynasty.

Goryeo Dynasty Definition

The Goryeo (or Koryŏ) Dynasty officially “began” in 918, when Wang Geon (Kŏn) overthrew the monk Gungye and became the ruler of Later Goguryeo. At this time, the territory we now know as Korea was separated into three kingdoms, Later Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje. It was known collectively as the Three Kingdoms of Korea (or Samhan).

Fig. 1 Bronze statue of Taejo of Goryeo

After overthrowing Gungye, Wang Geon changed Later Goguryeo’s name to Goryeo and reversed Gungye’s aggressive policies towards other kingdoms on the Korean peninsula. Wang Geon, or Taejo, took advantage of the instability in Later Silla and Later Baekje and, by 935, had taken over both territories and unified the Korean peninsula under his rule.

Historiography: Goryeo or Koryŏ?

For many of these names, there are multiple spellings -- why is that? We must remember that our Westernized spellings of Korean names come from transliterations of the words. This means someone wrote down what they heard someone say, using a Western alphabet. The sounds and accents used by those native to the Korean peninsula were translated and written down phonetically!

Goryeo Dynasty Time Period

In the next sixty years, Taejo and his successors, Gwangjong and Gyeongjong, instituted various political reforms to centralize power. During the Later Three Kingdoms period, local lords called Hojok were the main branches of institutional power in the three kingdoms of the Korean peninsula.

Taejo married many of the daughters of these prominent aristocratic families, centralizing his influence and monarchy. His successor, Gwangjong, drew inspiration from the Chinese Tang Dynasty and implemented civil service exams. Any citizen wishing to be a civil servant had to complete the exam, thereby taking away the hereditary power of the hojok.

After these reforms, the hojok had less power than the central Goryeo government, and the bureaucracy was replaced with civil servants who had been educated by and were loyal to, the government of Goryeo. In 992, the next king established the Gukjagam - a national university - as well as libraries and private schools — once again, to control the education of youth and ensure they were more loyal to the central government than to local aristocracy and tribes.

Goryeo Dynasty Achievements

Beyond unifying the Korean peninsula, and effectively bringing an end to the tumultuous Later Three Kingdoms period, what was the Goryeo Dynasty known for? Ruling the region for 500 years must have come with memorable moments and lasting artifacts.

Goryeo Dynasty Religion

The Goryeo Dynasty is known for popularizing Korean Buddhism, but how did they do that? The government adopted Confucianism as its official political ideology, and the Confucianist advisors recommended separating religion and the state. This separation meant that the Goryeo Dynasty was more tolerant of local folk religions and festivals.

That being said, the most famous religious movement in the Goryeo Dynasty was Buddhism. In fact, in state-run educational institutions, students were taught Buddhism as a means to centralize their belief system and have it align with that of the government.

As a state-sponsored religion, the government encouraged the construction of Buddhist monasteries. They were exempt from tax and often had royal patronages, making these Buddhist estates some of the wealthiest in Goryeo. Buddhism also contributed to the many technological and artistic advancements in the Goryeo period.

Buddhism was responsible for the development of woodblock printing in Korea and the invention of movable type, as these technologies were developed to spread Buddhist literature throughout Goryeo. Developed alongside was hanji, high-quality paper made from mulberry trees that are still sought after today.

Goryeo Triptaka

The Goryeo Triptaka (also known as the Triptaka Koreana or the Palman Daejanggyeong) is a collection of the Triptaka carved into 81 258 wooden blocks, completed during the Goryeo Dynasty. It remains the most comprehensive (and oldest) version of Buddhist scripture in the world, and in 1962 the temple it is stored in was declared a UNESCO world heritage site.

Fig. Tripitaka Koreana sutra page

Its importance lies not only in displaying technology from the ancient world but also in offering historians a comprehensive glimpse into Buddhist scripture and law from the period. The monks who wrote the Triptaka incorporated different versions of Buddhist scripture, such as that of Northern Song Chinese Buddhists, and updated it with Korean monks' interpretations. The Goryeo Triptaka, in turn, influenced the Japanese version of the Triptaka.

Goryeo Celadon

Chinese influence on Korea ranged from adopting Buddhism, political conflicts and alliances, and even ceramic ware. Goryeo Celadon began to be made in Goryeo in the early 1100s. Korean artisans learned the art of Celadon ceramic ware from the Chinese Song Dynasty. Still, by the mid-12th century, Goryeo Celadon was so favored by itself and eventually started being sold back to the Chinese!

Fig. 3 Maebyeong Celadon

Goryeo Celadon differs from Chinese Celadon distinctively in color. Goryeo Celadon was a grey-green color, owing to the raw materials used. It was the iron in clay and the iron oxide, manganese oxide, and quartz present in the glaze. The kiln and firing temperature also contributed to the finish and color. Temperatures for firing Goryeo Celadon hovered around 1150ºC, and at some point, the atmosphere (the oxygen level) was reduced.

Goryeo Celadon could be undecorated or feature an inlaid pattern called sanggam. The pattern often featured Buddhist imagery, such as lotus flowers or cranes. This delicate pattern-making technique involved etching the design on the dry clay piece and filling in that carved space with black or white “slip.” Once that is dry, a translucent glaze is applied to the pottery, and the vessel is fired in a specially shaped-kiln.

The most common shape, as seen in the photo above, is the maebyeong, or a plum bottle. It features a small mouth with a slightly curled rim, a very short neck that leads into a bulbous shoulder, and a slim waist for someone to hold the bottle. It was used to hold wine.

Goryeo Dynasty History

By the end of the 12th and into the 13th Century, Goryeo found itself a target of a new conquerer in Asia - the Mongols. Between 1231 and 1270, the Mongols invaded Goryeo over seven times. Finally, in 1270, the Goryeo king surrendered to the Mongols, becoming an autonomous state in China's Yuan Dynasty.

Fig. 4 Bronze Mirror Goryeo Dynasty

Goryeo Dynasty End

The Goryeo Dynasty began with military rule and ended that way. After a 100-year “Golden Age,” the dynasty was plagued with coups by members of the aristocracy that had grown powerful through marriage alliances.

For 80 years after the surrender of Goryeo to the Mongols and Yuan Dynasty, Korean culture became more and more influenced by the Mongols. Not only that, but all the subsequent Goryeo kings were bound to marry Mongol princesses, and their sons were sent to China to live as hostages of the Yang Dynasty.

Eventually, the Yang Dynasty began to crumble, and the power in China was shifted to what would become the Ming Dynasty. Goryeo was split between the monarchy, who wanted to establish an alliance with the Ming Dynasty, and those who wished to stay loyal to the Yang Dynasty.

in 1388, the King of Goryeo, King U, commanded his general, Yi Seong-gye, to invade part of China. The General, instead, rebelled at the border of Goryeo. A few years later, in 1392, Yi Seong-Gye deposed and killed the last Goryeo king and made himself Taejo, establishing the Joseon Dynasty.

Fig. 5 Picture of 'Seodang' painted by Hongdo Kim, arguably the most prominent folk artist during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea