Newsletter

The customs of Goryeo, which was popular in the 14th century Yuan Empire, are called 'Goryeo style(高麗樣)'. This is considered to be a comparison with the 'Mongolian style', which refers to Mongolian customs that were popular in Goryeo society at the same time. Think about the Korean Wave such as 'K-POP', 'K-Food', 'K-Beauty' in modern times. 'Goryeo style' was an unprecedented cultural phenomenon in the relationship between Korea and China in the pre-modern period.

'Goryeo style' in the Yuan Dynasty: Clothing of the Goryeo

Zhang Yu(張昱), who was the official of the Yuan Dynasty, said in his poem.

Royal court clothing has begun to follow the Goryeo style. Square collar, waist-length sleeveless tops are made and worn. At night, people watched at the inner sanctuary because the queen wore it and went to the king.

This shows that the Goryeo style was spreading, starting with the queen who wants to give a good impression to the king. The ‘Goryeo style’ was not limited to specific clothing, but it was gradually becoming more popular in the Goryeo style.

Since 1341–1368, most of the lower officials in the court were Goryeo women. For this reason, clothing, shoes, hats, and objects were all Goryeo styles.

《The Outside History of the Gengshen Period(Gengshen waishi, 庚申外史)》 is a book that summarizes the work of the period reigned by Shundi(Togon-temür), the last emperor of the Yuan Dynasty. The book recalls the situation at the time. Not only the clothes of the women in the court, but also the costumes and various objects were popular inside and outside the court. Tao Zongyi(陶宗儀, 1316–1369), a scholar who worked in the late Yuan and early Ming, said: “The teacher called me to his house, where several Confucian scholars gathered in a purple hat and Goryeo shoes.” The trend of Goryeo style was not only in women but also in men's society.

'Goryeo style' in the Yuan Dynasty: Food from Goryeo

The scholar Lee Ik(李瀷, 1681~1763) of the late Joseon Dynasty mentioned the Goryeo style first through the story related to food in the 〈Manmoolmun(萬物門)〉 of 《Seonghosaseo(星湖僿說)》".

Yang Bu-yun,(楊允孚) a Yuan Dynasty man, said, “Goryeos raw vegetables taste good; they bring good-scented vegetables from the back mountain; the Goryeo people wrap raw vegetables on boiled rice.” The customs of Joseon are the same as then. People eat boiled rice with vegetables.

Lee Ik introduces the food culture and history of Joseon called 'ssam', and it was popular in the Yuan Dynasty in the past. And he introduced clothing of the Goryeo in 宮中詞)> by Jang Kwangpil. This suggests that the 'Goryeo style', which was popular in the Yuan Dynasty, also refers to clothing and food culture.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Chen Yuanliang(陳元靚) wrote 《Shilinguangji(事林廣記)》. The book introduces a variety of ingredients and recipes and explains the food called 'Goryeo Yulgo(高麗栗餻)'. First, peel the dried chestnut, make it into powder, and then steam it with glutinous rice flour and honey water. It is similar to rice cakes steamed in Shiru today. Goryeo Yulgo is also introduced in the white paper of the Yuan Dynasty called 《Geoga Pilyong(居家必用)》". This shows that it was widely distributed in the Yuan Empire in the mid-14th century.

The Korean town in the Yuan dynasty

Goryeo style was the center of life culture such as clothing and eating in the Yuan Dynasty empire. The background is the openness of the Mongol Empire which built the world empire in the 13th and 14th centuries, and its relationship with Goryeo. There were many human and material exchanges between the two countries until the modern times. In the past, only envoys traveled between the two countries. However, during this period, many Goryeo people such as the king, the servant, and the general people visited or stayed in the Yuan Dynasty.

The Goryeo people who lived around the Liaodong expanded their residential area to the Yuan Dynasty capital, Dadu(大都, today Beijing), and the number increased. In the late Joseon Dynasty, conversation books such as 《Nogeldae(老乞大)》 and 《Baktongsa(朴通事)》 were compiled as essential textbooks for the office in charge of interpreting. It was because the Goryeo people who came to and from Dadu or lived in Dadu were in the middle of the 14th century. 《Yuan dianzhang(元典章)》 is a book that summarizes the laws of the Yuan Dynasty. There is a separate rule for criminals who are Goryeo people. The names listed in 《History of the Yuan Dynasty(元史)》 and 《History of the Ming Dynasty(明史)》 remind us of the Goryeo people who lived in the Yuan Empire at that time. As they became the starting point, the lifestyle of the Goryeo people was absorbed by the people of Yuan.

The Chinese People's Thoughts of the Goryeo Style

However, Chinese people did not see the Goryeo style that was popular in Chinese society positively. 《The Outside History of the Gengshen Period(庚申外史)》 has a part about the Goryeo style, which comes from the process of negatively describing the political situation of the Yuan Dynasty(especially Empress Ki from Goryeo and her political influence). Ju Yudon(朱有燉, 1379–1439) satirized the situation of the Yuan Dynasty in the past, saying that ‘fortune became a root of evil’ in connection with the fact that a woman from Goryeo became an empress. The queen from the foreign country, the forces of the court around her, the Goryeo style spread from immigrants... I think it would have been hard to be beautifully recorded in the last history of the fallen empire.