Review of the Context of the Period Classification Terms Referring to the 13th to 14th Centuries in Korean History

This study organizes the meanings and contexts of the terms used to refer to the period when Goryeo established relations with the Mongol Empire. This aims to help users understand and judge, not to advocate the use of any particular term.<br/> The term ‘Yuan intervention period(元干涉期)’, which is now most commonly used to refer to this period, has been in use since the 1970s, revealing the injustice of Yuan influence over Goryeo, while at the same time positively evaluating Goryeo’s resistance to such injustice. This was later crystallized in the 1990s by studies that understood Goryeo-Mongol relations in terms of the cefeng(冊封)-chaogong(朝貢) relationship. However, in the 2000s, studies that <br/>viewed the Yuan as a nomadic empire broadened the view of the Goryeo-Mongol relations, and the term ‘Yuan intervention period’ was challenged.<br/> As an alternative to the term ‘Yuan intervention period’, the term ‘Shiyuanqi(事元期)’ and ‘Mongol/Yuan subjugation period(-服屬期)’ are used. It is also argued that a period distinction based on external relations is neither necessary nor appropriate. Critical discussions of the term ‘Yuan intervention period’ share the concern that it is one-sided, but they have different perspectives on Goryeo-Mongol relations and the impact on Goryeo. There is no need to unify these terms, but users should be aware of the context in which they are used.