The Mongols Invade and Goryeo Becomes a Vassal State
Six invasions, an island capital, and a century of Mongol princesses on the Korean throne
Quick facts
- First invasion
- 1231 CE, under Ogedei Khan
- Number of invasions
- Six, over roughly three decades
- Peace made
- 1258-1259 CE
- Vassal obligations
- Ships/troops for Japan invasions (1274, 1281); royal hostages in Beijing
What happened
Genghis Khan's Mongols conquered Beijing in 1215 and established the Yuan dynasty; the crisis for Korea came in 1231, when Ogedei Khan's Mongol forces invaded Goryeo, forcing the royal court to relocate to Kanghwa Island the following year while the rest of the population endured six separate Mongol invasions over roughly three decades. By 1258 the ongoing devastation had exhausted patience at court: the military ruler who had prosecuted the resistance was assassinated, the king was reinstalled with full authority, and peace was made with the Mongols in 1259. The price of peace was steep. Goryeo had to supply ships and materials for the Mongols' failed invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281, princes of the royal house were required to live as hostages in Beijing, and several Goryeo kings married Mongol princesses, pulling the kingdom firmly into the Mongol cultural and political orbit for the rest of the 13th century.
Why it matters
The Mongol wars destroyed the first Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks and cost Goryeo its full independence for a century, but the kingdom survived as a state, unlike many other Mongol conquests, and it would recover its sovereignty in 1392 when a new dynasty, Joseon, replaced it entirely.
How we know
The Mongol invasions of Goryeo are documented in the Goryeosa and corroborated by Yuan dynasty records of the same campaigns, including the well-documented Mongol demands for ships and manpower used in the 1274 and 1281 invasions of Japan.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Goryeo: Yuan Dynasty-Mongol Invasions · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (Brian Hogarth, Director of Education). Goryeo Dynasty Educator Workshop: Protecting the Nation · General sourceeducation.asianart.org · Cited as a "reference" source (no stronger domain match).
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Related timelines
- The Mongol Empire → · See the Mongol Empire timeline for Genghis and Ogedei Khan's wider conquests and the Yuan dynasty's failed invasions of Japan, which Goryeo was forced to help supply.