How to Inherit the Mongol Legacy: The Collapse of the Mongol Empire and the Koryŏ-Ming Relations

The founding of Chosŏn Dynasty has an inseparable relation with the international situation change of the late 14th century, that is, the Mongolian hegemony collapsed and the Ming Dynasty replaced it. Koryŏ suffered a serious conflict during the 25 years of coexistence with the Ming Dynasty, which was basically about how to inherit or liquidate the legacy of the Mongol Empire. e Mongol empire increased the size of ‘China’ and raised its status in comparison with the previous period of Song and Jin Dynasties. And the Ming Dynasty wanted to inherit it. In the ritual dimension Koryŏ took the same attitude that was seen in the past Mongol empire. On the other hand, they tried to pursue their interest to real issues such as territory and population. As a result, the two countries concluded the inheritance dispute: at the ritual level, they recognized the hierarchical relationship, and at the practical level, to clearly divide the jurisdiction and the population. The basic framework has been largely followed in the laster Chosŏn-Ming relationship.