Aspects and Background of Records Describing Goryeo as an Island in Medieval Islamic Literature and European Literature

Abstract

Some types of literature created in the Islamic world and Europe during the medieval period describe Goryeo’s topography as an island or a group of islands instead of a peninsula. Such records have been mentioned several times in diverse fields, including history, geography, and cartography. This study reviewed medieval Islamic literature and European literature published in the Islamic world and Europe, respectively, over hundreds of years. It organized records describing Goryeo, as well as Silla and Joseon—kingdoms established before and after Goryeo, respectively—as an island or group of islands and analyzed the background that caused medieval Arab and European people to regard these places as such. The analytical results indicate that the background for medieval Arab and European people’s perception of the Korean Peninsula as an island or group of islands differed by region and period. This study’s results suggest that these inaccurate records on Silla, Goryeo, and Joseon were created because writers who never traveled to the Korean Peninsula referred to false knowledge passed down from their ancestors and unreliable information directly or indirectly obtained from adjacent countries. They mixed fictitious and factual stories when writing their books.