Envoy exchanges between Joseon Korea and Ming China

Since the inauguration of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392, the Joseon kings and the Ming emperors had regularly dispatched their envoys to each other’s courts to undertake diplomatic missions. The number of missions exchanged between China and Joseon Korea during this time had surpassed all previous dynasties. According to statistics, the Joseon Dynasty dispatched 1,072 missions to China, an average of 4.7 per year. Meanwhile, Ming China dispatched 186 missions to Joseon Korea, an average of 0.8 per year. The criteria for selecting envoys to the Ming Dynasty were also standardized. The diversity of the envoy’s duties covered various fields such as politics, economics and culture. This indicates the inevitable consequence of mutual diplomatic activities for Joseon and the Ming Dynasty. The increase in the quantity and quality of mission exchanges profoundly deepened the traditional diplomatic relations between China and Joseon Korea and beneficially affected the two countries' relations in terms of politics, economics, and culture.