Volta
PoliticsMay 1270(Lunar)

Return of the Capital to Gaegyeong

Having made peace with the Mongols, Goryeo moved its capital back from Ganghwa to Gaegyeong once the military regime fell, ending a century of military rule and beginning the period of Yuan domination.

Manwoldae, the Goryeo palace site in Gaegyeong (Kaesong), photographed during Emperor Sunjong’s 1909 tour
Manwoldae, the Goryeo palace site in Gaegyeong (Kaesong), photographed during Emperor Sunjong’s 1909 tour

村上 · CC0 · Source

In 1258 Kim Jun and others killed Choe Ui, ending the Choe regime, and in 1259 the crown prince (later King Wonjong) met Kublai and made peace. Kublai promised not to change Goryeo’s customs. The military strongmen Im Yeon and Im Yu-mu opposed returning to Gaegyeong, but after Im Yu-mu was removed in 1270 Wonjong went back.

Goryeo kept its state and dynasty rather than being conquered, but for the next eighty years it lived under Yuan interference. The Sambyeolcho, who rejected the return, rose in resistance.

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The map in 1270

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States and rulers at the time
Goryeo — Wonjong
Mongol Empire — Kublai Khan (Shizu)
Places
Songak (Kaesong), Ganghwa

People

  • King Wonjong1219 – 1274

    monarch · Twenty-fourth king of Goryeo, who made peace with Kublai and returned the court to Gaegyeong in 1270

  • Kublai Khan (Emperor Shizu of Yuan)1215 – 1294

    related figure · Fifth Great Khan and founder of the Yuan dynasty, who made peace with Goryeo and launched the invasions of Japan

Before and after

Earlier
1270 Period of Yuan Interference
Later
1270 Sambyeolcho Resistance

Themes that include this event

  • GaeseongAD 901 – 2003

    From Wang Geon, lord of Songak, to the Kaesong Industrial Complex — Gaegyeong, Goryeo’s capital for five centuries, and home of the Song merchants