Historical background

In 1259, a peace treaty was signed between the Goryeo Wang family kings and the Mongol Empire, resulting in a one hundred-year period of political domination by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. The period saw the increasing influence of Confucianism alongside the traditions of Buddhism, which had been the national religion for nearly eight hundred years.

During this period, the Yuan ʼPhags-pa script was in use alongside Chinese characters as one of the official scripts of the Mongol empire and would ultimately be one of the influences for the Korean Hangul alphabet. Near the end of the Yuan dynasty, in 1362 the old Korean capital Kaesong was captured from the Red Turbans. In 1382, the Chinese and Koreans defeated Japanese pirates at Mt. Hwangsan.

In 1388, some Koreans allied with the Ming dynasty, with some Korean generals refusing to march to Liaodong Peninsula to capture Ming strongholds for the Yuan. The return of the Korean general, Yi Sŏnggye signalled the start of the political changes which would result in the founding of Joseon in 1392, with the assassination of Goryeo』s last minister Chŏng Mong-ju in 1392 and the exile of Goryeo's last king. The new dynasty was closely aligned with the Ming dynasty.

In 1418 during the Joseon era, Korea began to experience a significant shift in academics and Confucian philosophical ideologies. In 1420, the Academy of Worthies was established, and their scholars were primarily responsible for the further spread of Confucianism through Korea, the creation of hangul, and a number of literary works including the Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven.

Implications of the Songs

The dragons spoken of in the title the Songs represent the six ancestors of the Joseon dynasty: Mokjo, Ikjo, Dojo, Hwanjo, Taejo, and Taejong. The flight of the dragons, Yongbieocheonga is the Joseon dynasty's rise in accordance with the Chinese concept of "the Mandate of Heaven." This identifies the Joseon ancestry as morally and politically virtuous and also sets out an ideological foundation for future Joseon rulers to follow.