공민왕 5년(1356) ‘反元改革’의 재검토

Abstract

In 1356, Gongmin-wang launched a series of reforms, while also trying to reinforce Goryeo's relationship with Yuan instead of abandoning it. Gongmin-wang retook control of the government, by not only dismantling the Imun-so office and expelling Gi Cheol faction from the government, but also eradicating all Goryeo factions in Jeongdong Haengseong and securing authority to appoint Haengseong officials in the future. He also tried to reform the national defense system, so he called for the abolishment of the 5 local Manho-bu headquarters(established in the late 1290s) under the intention of 'renovating' them, and spared the 3-Manho leadership(which existed much longer) to use them. He also protected the fiscal status of the government by refusing to comply with the excessive tributary requests from Yuan's royal family, and to reclaim Goryeo's old territory he attacked the Ssangseong region and reestablished Goryeo's administrative presence in the area. These reforms were designed to attack the Gi Cheol faction and also Queen Gi of the Yuan royal family, yet they were not aimed at the Yuan government. Gi Cheol's faction was not in a very good relationship with the Yuan government, and Gongmin-wang's attack upon Gi Cheol was part of an all-out assault upon uncooperative Goryeo figures inside Jeongdong Haengseong, and was not an attack against the Yuan government. Regarding Manho-bu units, unlike the 3-Manho leadership, the 5 local headquarters were placed under Do-Jinmu-sa's jurisdiction and were not part of Emperor Sejo's original design of Jeongdong Haengseong, so Gongmin-wang was perfectly entitled to require their abolition without being 'anti-Yuan'(In fact, he continued to utilize Manho-bu units even after 1356). Yuan's extraction of Goryeo goods were being led by Queen Gi, so Gongmin-wang's refusal to it was fighting the Gi faction in Yuan, and Gongmin-wang was in fact intending to maintain a tributary relationship with the Yuan government. And regarding the Ssangsseong area, which was located in the North-'east' region of the Korean peninsula and had earlier been annexed by Yuan, Gongmin-wang witnessed the regional dynamics shifting and the activities of the Goryeo people in the area making the region a virtual part of Goryeo territory once again, so he seized the region primarily to reclaim old territories than to launch a territorial dispute with Yuan. He was determined to honor the borderline between Goryeo and Yuan, as we can see from his killing of his own general In dang, who led a successful campaign in the North-'west' region, which served as a border area between china and Korea for a long time. All these reforms indicate that Gongmin-wang wanted to 'renew' the country. He seized political initiatives, upgraded national defense, protected economic resources, and restored territorial integrity. And at the same time, he was intent upon maintaining a normal relationship with the Yuan empire, as we can see from his continuous citing of the "Old promise of Emperor Sejo", when he requested that his authority over appointing Jeongdong Haengseong officials be resurrected and that the 3-Manho leadership remain intact.