It is of great significance to study the agricultural development of Koryo in understanding the superiority (good qualities) of Korean nation and elevating the Korean nation-first spirit.
Chairman
"Koguryo's aspiration to unify people of the same blood was inherited by Koryo, which was founded in the early 10th century. Koryo integrated under one ruler not only the population south of the Taedong River occupied by Silla but also the people of ruined Palhae who migrated far from the north, and it fought hard to regain the lost vast land of Koguryo. The name Koryo was derived from Koguryo."
Through the eighteen years of the arduous war for integration after the foundation of its dynasty, Koryo had forced the forces holding its own ground across the country and the Silla dynasty to surrender, defeated the later Paekje, and seized the old southern land of Koguryo, the area north of the Taedong River and embraced the Palhae people. Thus, Koryo achieved national unification and became the first unified state in the history of Korea.
After the territory being integrated into one by Koryo, the country has made a coordinated and rapid progress in various fields of socio-economic life.
Koryo continued to expand the territory after the integration of the later Three kingdom(Silla, Thaebong, later Paekje) and at the same time enlarged the agricultural area, thus achieving great successes in agricultural production.
An important factor in developing agriculture in the period of Koryo is, first, the expanding of the area under cultivation by the people's creative struggle.
Expanding the area under cultivation is a very important issue to increase agricultural production.
Above all else, the people of Koryo made vigorous efforts to restore the ravaged farmland after the war against aggression.
Koryo was invaded by the Kitan between the late 10th century and the early 11th century, thus being suffered from a huge loss of life, and plenty of farmland became uncultivated.
From the late 10th century, the invasion of the Kitan invaders over 20 years caused the devastation of plenty of farmland and a serious decline in agricultural production. However, the brave and diligent Koryo people turned out in the rehabilitation of agricultural land to heal the war wounds rapidly.
The people in the western and central parts of the country, where the war damage was the worst, and the people in the southern regions, where the war damage was relatively less, took an active part in the rehabilitation of the farmland.
In November 1019, the feudal government made the people in the southern part of the river (Han River) migrate into Shangsan, Ichon, Suan, Sinun, Hyopgye and Ubong to restore the farmland and engage in farming. Fortunately, a greater number of people than those requisitioned by the government cultivated the soil voluntarily. According to the geography of "Koryo history", all parts but Shangsan remained as sub-counties (administrative units with a significant number of inhabitants and cultivated land) and it is clear that a greater number of people in the southern part flocked in than those requisitioned by the government.
Koryo people restored the cropland devastated by the aggressors in a short period of time.
After the wars against the aggressors, they expanded more arable land, advancing through a great wall of a thousand-ri to reclaim the wasteland and expand the arable land.
"Koryosajolyo"(history book of the April periodical of the summer of the 27th year of King Mun Jong) said that the king approved the proposal of the north-west commander harvesting the 11,494 kyong of reclaimed land outside the a great wall of a thousand-ri by autumn to appropriate a sum of money for military affairs. It reflects the fact that Koryo had actively conducted reclamation outside the a great wall of a thousand-ri Then Koryo people steadily expanded the farmland through their active efforts to conquer nature.
They regarded building terraced fields as an important work for increasing the arable land and worked hard for it.
They put stones in the mountain slopes as well as idle fields in the plain area that was easy to reclaim and formed stairs in hills to create new arable land.
According to the records of Sogung's writing, "Songhwabongsakoryodogyong"(Visit to Koryo), who visited Koryo with Ro Yun Jok, an envoy of the Song dynasty in 1123, a lot of fields were built in the mountainous areas because there were the territory facing the East Sea of Korea, large steep mountains and few low plains. They worked hard to farm, making rows in dried fields, which looked like tiered bridge in the distance.
They also tried hard to create new land by putting on new toil.
"Koryosajolyo" said that the present Kumya "planted grain on untillable land with sand and stones and harvested more than 200 bags (soms) of cereals annually."
At that time, there were no books with articles about the reclamation of Kumya area. However, it goes without saying that reclamation by putting on new soil needs to harvest hundreds of soms of cereals from " untillable land with sand and stones".
In the period of Koryo, the number of kyol that could harvest 2 000 to 3 000 mal of cereals was 7 to 10 with the area of 7 to 20 hectare.
Of 7 to 20 hectare of arable land, one third is enough to show that the amount of work of carpeting field with humus soil was great.
They also made active efforts to cultivate tideland into paddy fields.
The work of building dikes and making tideland into paddy fields became more active in the period of Koryo.
Koryo people regarded damming up at the edges of rivers as an important work to protect the farmland, as well as to clear the bed of ditch into paddy fields that was exposed at ebb tide, by stopping high tide flowing.
According to the historical records, King Ko Jong ordered that civil and military officials below the third grade of court rank should mobilize compulsory labor to build embankments on Jepho and Wapho with a garrison farm on the left and on Ripho and Chopho with that on the right in February 1256(43rd year of King Ko Jong).
Both of the garrison farms were both brought under cultivation with dams at the edges of the tributary of the Kum River. These were reclaimed into farmland by clearing the bed of a ditch into arable land, which had never used as cultivated fields because the river overflowed at high tide.
Therefore, the building of cultivated land by such method was of great significance in the development of agricultural production of Koryo.
Second, the important factor in developing agriculture in the period of Koryo was the expansion of the species of grain crop, fruit trees, vegetables, fibre and medicinal crops and the improvement of farming technique by the creative activities of Koryo people.
Almost all the cereal crop species seen in the later ages were extensively cultivated at that time, including cereal crops, leguminous and polygonum plants.
In addition, many fruit trees such as pears, peaches, plums, chestnuts, dates and oranges were grown in the period of the preceding dynasties, but some of them began to be widely cultivated for the first time in that period. Vegetables reported in the records of the Koryo period include cabbage, radish, lettuce, eggplant, cucumber, wax gourd, garlic, sesame, cibol(Welsh onion), leek, mallow.
These vegetables might have been cultivated during the preceding dynasties, but it is presumed that most of the varieties widely spread in the Koryo Dynasty.
The largest proportion of crops outside grain crops, fruits and vegetables was fiber and medicinal crops.
Fiber crops included hemp, ramie and cotton, which were the raw materials for weaving fabrics.
In January 1029, the feudal government of Koryo ordered the provinces to plant mulberry trees on the edges of fields.
The feudal government ordered the peasants to plant mulberry trees in March 1188.
Koryo dynasty saw a great progress in developing farming techniques.
What was noteworthy here is that the fertilizing method of cultivating paddy and non-paddy fields was improved, rice-transplanting disseminated in rice-field farming, new grafting methods applied to fruit farming and a unique method of fruit storage invented.
Since many new farm implements were produced, many successes have been made in agricultural production.
In Koryo, measures were taken to improve the mixing of homemade manure and fertilizing method as one of the ways to increase agricultural production
Koryo people not only made grass manure but also applied manure made by mixing animal manure and the like to fertilize the soil. The poem in "Tongguk risanggukhujip"(the second edition of "Tongguk Risangguk" is anthology of literary works written by Ri Kyu Bo who is a poet in Koryo Dynasty), vol.7 said: "After raining and manuring the fertile soil, the dasheen stalks grew as large as the Great Bear floating in the heaven". Through this, it can be known that the crops were fertilized and cultivated in Koryo.
The introduction of a large number of non-leaving fields every year in Koryo, means that a large amount of manure was applied to the paddy and non-paddy fields to fertilize the soil.
The widespread use of double-cropping in Koryo is considerably related to the fact that the land was made fertile by the application of a lot of homemade manure.
One of the successes achieved in farming method at that time was the dissemination of the rice-transplanting method, which had been done since the beginning of the feudal age of the country, was further disseminated in Koryo.
The poem on rice-transplantation in Pak Hyo Su, a poet in the 14th century, shows well how rice-transplantation was widely done in Koryo.
The poem "Song of Rice-transplanting Is Bringing in the Wind" recited by him clearly depicts the then rice-transplanting.
At that period, fruit tree grafting was also skilfully developed to cultivate fruit.
According to the grafting technique of "The Selected Works of Ri Kyu Bo" (2), Mr. Jon, who is tall, cut down two bad pear trees on the backyard with saws and cut off some branches of a tree named after good pears and attached it to the tree which was cut down at the base and covered them with kneaded clay, which shows that the fruit-tree joining technique of the Koryo people was at a considerable level.
Third, the important factor in developing agriculture during the period of Koryo Dynasty is that irrigation work was brisk thanks to the patriotic zeal of the people and their diligent labour.
Irrigation is an important undertaking to artificially supply water needed for the protection of land and crop from flood and drought damage and satisfy the need for water to grow crops. Water is the main factor in agricultural production, and it is impossible to expect the growth of agricultural production without water.
In March 1188 the feudal government took a state measure to build irrigation reservoirs throughout the country.
Susanje in Milyang, Kyongsang Province was one of the irrigation reservoirs built in that period.
The records of Milyang Kojok, Vol. 26, "Sinjungdonggukyojisungnam"(the geography of Korea written in 1530) says that Susanje was in Susan sub-county and its perimeter was 20 ri. According to the report, Kim Pang Gyong of Koryo built the dam of that reservoir and irrigated the paddy fields.
In addition to building new irrigation reservoirs, previously constructed reservoirs were restored and used for irrigation.
The record of Sangju Sanchon, Vol. 28, "Sinjungdonggukyojisungram" says that Konggomji was located at 29-ri north of the town and in the period of King Myong Jong of Koryo, Choe Jong Bun built it on the site of the old dam whose embankment was 860 po(1 po is 1.66m) long and 16,647 ja in circumference.
According to the geography of "History of Koryo Dynasty", the repair period of Konggomji was the 25th year of King Myong Jong (in 1195).
According to the "Sokchankyongsang Provincial Geography" compiled in 1469, there were 722 reservoirs in Kyongsang Province alone, most of which were built in the period of Koryo Dynasty and the early 15th century.
Afterwards, the construction of irrigation reservoirs and the use of waterways for irrigation were attempted several times in Koryo.
Thanks to the creative wisdom and energetic efforts of the people to increase agricultural production, it was grown considerably more and more than over the previous period.
