Goryeo Women Married to Mongolia : Focusing on the Analysis of Age, Type of Leaving Home, and Family

Exchanges between Korean and Mongolian women during the Goryeo Dynasty can be categorized into two groups: Mongolian princesses who were married to Goryeo and Goryeo women who were married to Mongolia. This study examined 86 documented cases of Goryeo women from various sources, including the Goryeosa(高麗史), and a total of 465 Goryeo women who traveled to Mongolia. Goryeo women's trip to Mongolia is centered on Dongnyeo (童女) requested by Mongolia. Furthermore, it shows that Goryeo women are going to Mongolia through various channels, such as soldiers' wives, shamans, and gisaengs. The term Dongnyeo (童女) specifically refers to girls between the ages of 13 and 16 from prestigious families, and is called as a maiden (處女), a “girl with absolute beauty (童女絶美者),” or a Goryeo beauty (高麗美人). Dongnyeo from Goryeo, the more prestigious, were sent to Mongolia with some intention from the outset, and they gradually emerged as a mainstream force of the Yeke Yuan Ulus, playing a role as a strong support for their families. The average number of Dongnyeo sent to Mongolia each year ranged from 40 to 50, with the period extending from the founding of the Yeke Yuan Ulus in 1260 until the establishment of the Northern Yuan (北元) in 1369. Unlike the aristocratic marriages between the Manchu and the Mongols during the later Great Qing Empire, it is closer to the truth to see that general marriages were conducted between the Goryeo and the Mongols.