Goryeo, since the first meeting with the Mongols in 1218, faced an entirely different situation as before. The Darughachi is its representative example. The Darughachi figures, whose advent was a direct result of the first war between Goryeo and the Mongol forces(1231), stayed in Goryeo until 1278(4th year of King Chung’ryeol-wang’s reign), and became the centerpiece of such unique situation. In previous studies, these Darughachi figures were mainly considered as entities which were installed on the Korean peninsula to interfere with Goryeo affairs or blatantly impose a dominant rule upon the Goryeo population. In an attempt to enhance the level of understanding we already have upon these figures, selectively examined in this article are the ‘legal(institutional) aspects’ reflected in their actions, as well as the influence they imposed upon existing Goryeo conventions.
In Goryeo, the Darughachi figures officially represented the authorities of the Mongol imperial government. By design, they produced and processed official documents, and were also called as the ‘office.’ There were also ‘Vice’ Darughachi figures and registrar “Ching-li” officials posted alongside them. Their general term was 30 months, and their performance was duly evaluated and published in Hae’yu documents. Their mission was not as much as governing ‘conquered territories’ but to maintain public security, monitor the population, and involve themselves in roadways and penal administration, as they did in Goryeo in the 1270s. These were the same missions the Darughachi figures were involved in inside the Mongol empire as well, as confirmed by examination of relevant Mongol legal codes. We can see that the Darughachi figures in Goryeo operated in the same fashion they did inside the Empire.
The Darughachi figures were part of the Mongol Imperial governmental structure, and the Goryeo figures, including the king and the ruling class, with knowledge and information obtained from their interactions with these Darughachi figures, continued to adopt the Keshig institution while also asking for the Grand Councilor post of the Branch Secretariat for the Eastern Campaigns "Jeongdong Haengseong" provincial government that was soon to be installed in Goryeo. The Darughachi figures did serve as a channel through which Goryeo people experienced Mongol institutions and practices.