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Goryeo Metal Movable Type

Type Object Region Korean Peninsula Time 1234–1400

Metal movable type printing developed and used by the Goryeo dynasty in the 13th–14th centuries, more durable than wooden type and suited to repeated…

Timeline

  1. 1234Kaesong · GoryeoAccording to the History of Goryeo, in the 21st year of Gojong fifty copies of the Standardized Ancient and Modern Ritual Texts were printed with bronze movable type, marking the formal application of metal movable type on the Korean Peninsula.
  2. c. 1331–1340Korean Peninsula · GoryeoIn the early 14th century Goryeo still used metal movable type to print Buddhist scriptures and classics; metal type molds could be recast and reused, supporting the mass printing needs of the court and the Buddhist world.
  3. c. 1392–1400Hanseong · JoseonAfter the fall of Goryeo, metal movable type technology and the experience of its craftsmen passed into the Joseon dynasty, laying the foundation for later improvements such as bronze movable type and the Gabin type.

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