Goryeo Regains Autonomy (after Yuan withdrew to the Northern Steppe)

Timeline

1. 1368Dadu (Yuan emperor's flight north) · Yuan dynastyIn 1368 Zhu Yuanzhang's forces captured Dadu, and the Yuan emperor Toghon Temür fled north to the steppe, ending Yuan rule in China. The suzerain authority on which Goryeo had relied since becoming a Yuan vassal in 1270 rapidly collapsed, creating external conditions for the peninsula's recovery of autonomy.
2. 1368–1369Gaegyeong (Goryeo royal capital) · GoryeoTaking advantage of Yuan decline, King Gongmin abolished the Ssangseong Generalariat, purged the Mongol-style court offices and remaining forces of barbarian dress, restored Goryeo's old era names and dress and ritual codes, reformed the military and government, and relied on a rising group of military commanders, effectively reclaiming decision-making power over internal affairs.
3. 1370Yingtian Prefecture (Ming capital) · Ming dynastyIn 1370 Goryeo sent envoys to the Ming, submitting to the Hongwu Emperor and offering tribute, receiving the title of king and establishing formal tributary relations. This replaced Yuan with Ming as Goryeo's new suzerain reference, completing the diplomatic reorientation and marking Goryeo's re-entry into the East Asian tributary system as an independent kingdom after the Yuan–Ming transition.