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Korea and Mongolia have been interacting for a long time in history. The exchange between Goryeo(918–1392) and Georan(Liao, 916–1125) and Wen Empire(1270–1368) was no exception. Among them, the exchange between Goryeo and Georan is well shown through the peanangho(water bucket made of leather) or the bronze mirror with the characters of the Georan excavated from Gaeseong area. So, was there no exchange of crops such as vegetables, fruits, and grains? From now on, I will look at the exchanges between Korea and Mongolia through the process of watermelon transmission.

Chochungdo by ShinSaimdang ©National Museum of Korea

The Origin of Watermelon and its Introduction to East Asia

'Watermelon' means 'watery gourd' in Korean. The origin of watermelon is in Egypt, and it started to grow about 4,000 years ago. Since then, watermelons have been improved. Looking at Western painting in the 17th century, watermelons at that time are less red than those of today. It is estimated that it gradually spread to Central Asia through the Silk Road.

The introduction of watermelons to the East can be found in Chinese literature. In Chinese, ‘Xīguā(西瓜)’ means ‘gourd from the West’. In Mongolian, ‘тарвас’ and ‘шийгуа)’, are used to mean watermelon. Among them, ‘шийгуа’ is the word of China, which is presumed to have flowed into Mongolia during the Qing Dynasty(1636–1912).

excavated goods to confirm the exchange between Goryeo and Georan

(left) a celadon kettle that looks like a leather bucket

(right) the bronze mirror with the characters of the Georan

The following words are written in 「Siyi Appendix(四夷附錄)」 of 『Historical Records of the Five Dynasties(五代史記)』 written by Ouyang Xiu(歐陽脩, 1007-1072). “A man named Hu Qiao(胡嶠) had been held captive in Georan for seven years(947–953). Then he went east from Shangjing(上京, Chifeng(赤峯) in Inner Mongolia) and ate watermelon for the first time. The native said: ‘Georan beat Uighur in the war. They got watermelon seeds from Uighur, covered the fields with cow poo and planted seeds. The size of the fruit was like Donggua(東瓜) in China, and it tasted sweet.’ We can first confirm the existence of watermelons that have been introduced outside China through this literature.

And from Wang Ruke(王如可)'s poem, it can be seen that there was a watermelon in China during the Qin Dynasty(1125–1234). Also, see the poem of the last loyalist of the Song Dynasty, Wen Tianxiang(文天祥). He was taken to Dàdū(Beijing) by the Mongol Army in 1278 and executed in 1283. He said in the poem 「Reciting Watermelon」. “I’m pulling out the golden sabre and cutting out the green jade.” This shows that there was a watermelon in Beijing at the time.

Watermelon before enhancement of cultivar (Western painting of 17th century)

Watermelon introduced to the Korean Peninsula

It is difficult to know when watermelon was introduced to the Korean peninsula through literature. However, there are wild mice that are eating watermelons in Chochungdo(草蟲圖), which is known to have been painted by ShinSaimdang(1504-1551). This picture shows that there was a watermelon in the 16th century Joseon, and it was a common crop to become a material of painting.

“A man named Han Mun-jik stole a watermelon after taking over the kitchen of the court. So he was a received a hundred cudgels and exiled to Younghae-gun(寧海郡).” This means that watermelons were used for food in the Joseon court in the first half of the 15th century. Then, the time when watermelon was introduced to the Korean peninsula should be before 1423.

Gido Shusin(義堂周信, 1325~1388), a Japanese monk, completed the book 『Kūgeshū(空華集)』 in about 1376. He included a poem in this book about watermelons. If watermelon was introduced to Japan at this time, it should be seen that watermelon has already been introduced to Goryeo, which is located between Mongolia and Japan. Therefore, it is believed that watermelon was introduced to Goryeo at the latest in the mid-14th century.

On the other hand, Xu Jing(徐兢) of Song Dynasty wrote 『Goryeodogyeong(高麗圖經)』 in 1123. He recorded that the native products of Goryeo include neunggeum(crab apple), cheongri(plum), eo(melon), peach, pear, and jujube. He did not comment on watermelons in this book. Therefore, the early 12th century was before watermelon was introduced to Goryeo.

Watermelon is believed to have been introduced to the Korean Peninsula through exchanges between Goryeo and the Mongol Empire. The two countries had a war. However, after the peace between Goryeo and Yuan Empire was established in 1260, the two made goodwill. Since then, many human and material exchanges have occurred between the two countries. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that watermelons were introduced at this time. To summarize, watermelons in the Dayidu region were conveyed to Goryeo in the middle of the 13th century to the middle of the 14th century in the exchange between Goryeo and Mongolia. This was consumed in the courts in the first half of the 15th century. And in the 16th century, it became a common crop to make it a material of painting.

Watermelon depicted in Egyptian mural   

The Exchange of Watermelons between Korea and Mongolia in the 21st Century

On October 1, 2019, Yonhap News reported an article entitled 「Haman-Goon, Success in Haman Watermelon Cultivation in Mongolia」. This shows the exchange of technology related to the cultivation of watermelon in Korea and Mongolia today. However, these exchanges between Korea and Mongolia are not limited to the 21st century. This has been introduced in Goryeo since the 10th century in the Georan and Mongolia. It should be seen that Korea's cultivation technology has been added to it and introduced to Mongolia again.

If Georan had not won the watermelon seed in the early 10th century by beating Cheonsan Uighur in the war, the introduction to the east of the watermelon would have been later. And without the exchange between the Yuan Empire and the Goryeo Kingdom, the introduction of watermelons to Korea would have been later than in the 14th century. As such, watermelon is not just a 'watery gourd', but a crop containing the history of exchanges between Korea and Mongolia over the 10th century. When you split the watermelon this summer, why not take out the history of exchanges between Korea and Mongolia along with red juice in it and share it with the people around you.