高麗 禑王이 마주한 朱元璋의 협박

Abstract

During the 1370s and 1380s, Zhu Yuanzhang, while steadily expanding his authority toward Liaodong, persistently leveled criticism, scorn, and threats against Goryeo, motivated by fears that the kingdom might collude with the Northern Yuan. This study examines the diplomatic tensions and military confrontations between Goryeo Dynasty and the Ming Empire during the reign of King U (1374–1388) from a Goryeo-centered perspective. Upon King U’s accession in 1374, Goryeo’s relations with the Ming were already ruptured by the assassination of King Gongmin and the killing of Ming envoys. Zhu Yuanzhang soon threatened to dispatch hundreds of thousands of naval troops, a prospect especially dire for a kingdom already ravaged by Japanese pirate raids. In 1382, the Ming court exiled Liang Wang—the Mongol prince captured in the Yunnan campaign of the previous year—along with his family to Jeju Island, signaling that the transgressions attributed to Liang Wang could just as easily be imputed to Goryeo. During the same period, Zhu escalated demands for tribute, exacting thousands of horses and other resources without compensation. In 1387, Ming mobilized an army of 200,000 to suppress Naghachu, the most powerful warlord in Liaodong, an operation that provoked grave anxiety in Goryeo as it unfolded directly north of its border. The subsequent establishment of the Cheolryeong Commandery further intensified Ming encroachment into the northeastern frontier of Goryeo. Finally, in 1388, Goryeo launched a large-scale campaign against Liaodong, a desperate move that marked both the culmination of a decade of crises and the beginning of a new geopolitical phase. Although the tensions did not ultimately culminate in full-scale military confrontation, the Goryeo government endured more than a decade of relentless threats of invasion and economic expropriation from the ascendant Ming dynasty. The conflict between the two states escalated beyond mere verbal disputes, reaching the threshold of actual warfare. These hostilities directly influenced the militarization of Goryeo, prompting an intensification of military expenditures. Ultimately, this process became a decisive factor in enabling new military leaders to seize political power, paving the way for dynastic change.