The Meaning of Tribute in the Early Relations(1219-1259) between Goryeo and Mongol Empire

This paper examined the economic burden that Goryeo had to bear on Mongol Empire in their early relations(1219-1259) and the negotiation between the two sides surrounding it. The long-standing tribute in Korea-China relations appeared in a very unusual way during this period. The two sides had different understanding of the practice called by the same name, and the actual content changed according to the situation. Since 1219, Mongol Empire had demanded Goryeo to provide a huge amount of supplies each year. During the Chingis’s era, Mongol was not well aware of the extent to which goods were produced in Goryeo. They had, so to speak, a goal of one-time, direct looting. Goryeo responded by adjusting the items and quantity of goods once fulfilling Mongolia’s demands. From the time of Ögüdei Qa’an’s reign, the Mongol Empire strengthened its direct dominance over the residential areas. Since 1232, the Qa’an had requested Goryeo to conduct a census. He tried to collect taxes and levys more systematically after grasping Goryeo’s economic situation. Goryeo responded with the payment of the annual grants, as promised at the time in 1219, but did not show any signs of responding to the census. The negotiations had stalled. Meanwhile, Goryeo had been steadily providing supplies to Mongol every year since the 1240s. It was a strategy to make the 1219 agreement a fait accompli. Mönke admitted it implicitly, and in the 1250s, no further discussion on the census, or requisition of goods, was held between the two countries. A new formula of relations was established after the new monarchs were enthroned both sides in 1260.