In today's video, we will be exploring the intriguing history of trade and political contact between the Kingdom of Ayutthaya and the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties of Korea. These events mark the earliest recorded contact between Thailand and Korea between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. It all started with a spontaneous journey by a Thai (or Chinese) merchant working for Ayutthaya trading in Japan. He heard rumors from Japanese Pirates (wokou) of a wealthy Confucian state across the Sea of Japan, and decided to see if he could make some profits.

Sorry, I am kind of rely a lot on one scholar, but Dr. Hung-guk Cho is the only scholar who has written extensively about these events. Most books and articles only treat it with passing reference, since they were events that never materialized into long-lasting relationships.


For information about Ayutthaya (Siamese) diplomacy with Korea see:

Hung-guk Cho, "Siamese Relations in the Late Fourteenth Century" (2006)

For information about Ayutthaya (Siamese) trade in Southeast and East Asia see:

Hung-guk Cho, "The Trade between China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia in the 14th Century to the 17th Century Period" (2000)

For information about the Siamese response to Japan's invasion of Korea see:

Hung-guk Cho, "The 1592 Japanese Invasion of Korea and Diplomacies of Siam and China" (2017)

1:45 Nai Gong and the Goryeo
6:16 Joseon and Ayutthaya
8:48 Ayutthaya and the Invasion of Korea