Teaching East Asia: Korea Teaching East Asia: Korea | Page 55

Some historians call the period the Pax Mongolica. Western Europe, for example, for the first
time had direct contact with China.
Korea became a part of this cosmopolitan world. Perhaps as never before in its history. Koreans
serving the Mongols in their capital at Beijing or elsewhere came into contact with people from
all over Eurasia. This is when gunpowder, cotton, and other imports and innovations entered or
were established in the peninsula. And it was during the Mongol period that Koreans began to
adopt Neo-Confucianism. For Korea, being more integrated into the cosmopolitan world of the
Pax Mongolica resulted in the greater flow of influences from China, while the cultural
influences of Central Asia, the Middle East, and other parts of the world were less significant.
Thus, as in much of Eurasia, the Mongol period brought about enormous destruction and loss of
heritage but also facilitated technological and cultural innovation through greater contact with
distant cultures.
The Mongols were part of a long-term historical process in which mobile, horse-riding nomads
from the steppe posed a constant threat to their neighbors. Koreans had endured the Murong, the
Khitans, the Jurchens, and others. The Koreans themselves were part of nomadic origin. The
Mongols were the latest and most formidable of the invaders. But they were also the last. The
development of firearms and conquest of the steppe by the Russian and Qing empires in the
seventeenth century brought this era of history to an end.”
For discussion and/or for sharing one views on paper.
Summarize in one sentence the essence of the impact of the Mongol invasions.
What would be 2-3 other points that you believe are important or of interest?
Does this reading cause you to reflect on current developments in the world? If so, explain.
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