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Envoys played a crucial role in maintaining relations between Goryeo and Khitan. Among the regular envoys, the birthday envoys sent to congratulate the birthdays of the Goryeo king and Khitan emperor are the most recorded cases. The use of monarch’s birthday celebrations as a diplomatic instrument began between Khitan and Song after the conclusion of the Treaty of Chanyuan in 1004. As the product of the reciprocal diplomatic relations between Khitan and Song, birthday envoys carried the nature of diplomatic exchanges, differing from New Year envoys, which originated from the tributary system and symbolized hierarchical order. As a member of the East Asian world, Goryeo joined the newly restructured international order of the time and dispatched a total of 37 birthday envoys to Khitan, showing distinct patterns before and after the reign of King Sukjong. According to records, birthday envoys were not regularly dispatched before King Sukjong’s reign, whereas they were sent almost annually thereafter. Therefore, it is difficult to regard the 1022 regulation as a fixed guideline for Goryeo’s diplomatic missions to Khitan. It is more reasonable to interpret this regulation as an instruction to simplify the dispatch of envoys, which focused on the manner of courtesy envoys and the combination of other diplomatic missions. Meanwhile, the changes in the dispatch of birthday envoys during King Sukjong’s reign were closely related to his diplomatic policy of bukgyo-namsa(北交南事). This expression can be traced back to Choi Seungro’s assessment of King Taejo’s foreign policy, as well as to the actual diplomatic practices during King Munjong’s reign. During King Sukjong’s time, Goryeo sought to maintain stable relations with Khitan by employing various means of diplomatic exchange, including the dispatch of birthday envoys. Accordingly, Sukjong described Goryeo’s relationship with Khitan as gyo. In contrast, because he had declined Song’s offer of investiture and thus feared provoking its discontent, while desiring to bring in benefits, Sukjong assessed Goryeo’s relationship with Song as sa. King Sukjong’s foreign policy moved beyond the initial stage of establishing separate diplomatic relations with either Khitan or Song. Instead, it focused on maintaining and consolidating Goryeo’s already established relationships with the two great powers while trying to preserve a balance between them. The regular dispatch of birthday envoys to Khitan after King Sukjong’s reign was a direct outcome of this diplomatic strategy.

This study analyzes the patterns of international students dispatched by the Goryeo government to the Song Dynasty and comprehensively examines the background of their dispatch, their activities in both Goryeo and Song, and their impact on the diplomacy between the two nations, thereby identifying an aspect of Goryeo’s cultural diplomacy. From the perspective of “cultural diplomacy,” this research discusses the case of Goryeo students studying in Song. Cultural diplomacy traditionally refers to the strategic use of cultural assets by a state to realize its diplomatic objectives and national interests. Although official diplomatic ties between Goryeo and Song were severed following Goryeo’s diplomatic relations with the Khitans, the two countries maintained a friendly relationship through economic exchange and the movement of people. In particular, when Goryeo needed close interaction with Song amidst severed diplomatic ties, it utilized cultural diplomacy by requesting the dispatch of students; Song, in turn, sustained the bilateral relationship by accepting these requests. Song demonstrated a friendly diplomatic stance toward Goryeo by accepting the admission requests of Goryeo students and treating them with great hospitality. The Song government supported the educational expenses of these students during their period of study and encouraged their academic progress through examinations personally administered by the Emperor. The dispatch of Goryeo students inherently involved intricate diplomatic procedures between the two nations. It served as a solution to unravel the sensitive diplomatic tensions that both countries had to navigate with the Khitans positioned between them. Furthermore, Goryeo and Song utilized these students to communicate international circumstances, such as the pressure from the Khitans, or domestic affairs, such as securing the legitimacy of a new Goryeo king’s accession. Ultimately, the dispatch of Goryeo students manifested the soft power of both nations while functioning as a mechanism to maintain inclusive and continuous exchange beyond sensitive diplomatic constraints.

This study aims to deeply analyze the circulation and functions of commodity money, particularly rice(미) and textile(포), which served as major mediums of exchange in society even before the minting of metallic currency. Moving beyond the limitations of previous studies, which intermittently dealt with commodity money in the context of the failure of metallic currency circulation or stage theories of socioeconomic development, this paper illuminates the specific monetary roles played by commodity money. In the early Goryeo period, rice and cloth became established as general equivalents in the exchange process, evolving into commodity money, which was a significant indicator of the historical progress of commodity exchange. Notably, items like Chupo(Coarse textile), which were unsuitable for clothing, also functioned as currency. Commodity money performed crucial functions in various spheres during the Goryeo dynasty. In terms of national fiscal revenue, it was a major item in the taxes paid by farmers and was also utilized as a means of storage for financial operations. For instance, goods were stored in the Naego (royal treasury) during King Taejo’s reign, and the cloth from the Naego was used as a means of payment, such as for redeeming slaves. Furthermore, commodity money held significant weight in national finance, being used to grant grains and cloth to meritorious subjects or to collect cloth as a fine for illegal acts. The situation changed after the introduction of Eunbyeong(silver currency) during the reign of King Sukjong. In the market, Eunbyeong, a metallic currency, served as the high-denomination currency for commercial transactions, while textile(포), a commodity money, handled low-denomination transactions. For very small amounts, rice(미) was used, a fact that was also observed through the eyes of foreigners. Among commodity currencies, the role of textile(포) gradually expanded, to the extent that the term Pohwa (textile money) even emerged. In conclusion, before the advent of metallic currency, the commodity money of early Goryeo performed multifaceted monetary functions beyond simple barter, including taxation, storage, payment, exchange, and even as a measure of value. After the introduction of Eunbyeong, a metallic currency, both together played a pivotal role in maintaining the socio-economic order.