North Korea has always existed as a dependent state of the Chinese dynasties. Even the name "North Korea" was given by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. But why did Zhu Yuanzhang name them after "North Korea"?
It turns out that before they were named "North Korea", they were still the Goryeo Dynasty. After Zhu Yuanzhang drove away the Yuan Dynasty and established the Ming Dynasty, the remaining Mongolian forces moved northward and were called the Northern Yuan Dynasty, while the Goryeo Dynasty was still attached to the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
In the 20th year of Hongwu (1387), Zhu Yuanzhang sent generals Feng Sheng and Lan Yu to lead the army to control Liaodong and Tieling. At this time, Tieling happened to be the national border between the Yuan Dynasty and Korea. King Xinyu of Goryeo was so young and ignorant that he actually sent an envoy to ask the Ming Dynasty to return Tieling. It is conceivable that Zhu Yuanzhang refused. And this Xin Yu was also full of blood, and he actually ordered the mobilization of troops to conquer Liaodong.
The commanders of the army are Cao Minxiu and Li Chenggui, who happened to be opposed to breaking with the Ming Dynasty. As a general, he knew that going against the Ming Dynasty was like hitting a stone with an egg, but under pressure from his superiors, he still led the army to go on an expedition. Therefore, not long after setting off, he led the army back to his headquarters, deposed Xin Yu, and established his own dynasty, known as the Li Dynasty.
In order to win the support of the Ming Dynasty, Li Chenggui submitted his credentials to Zhu Yuanzhang and sent envoys to profess his tribunalship to the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, he abolished the title of Goryeo and asked the Ming Dynasty for a new name.
After careful consideration, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to give this dynasty a new name - North Korea, taking the meaning of "the country of Korea and Japan", and Zhu Yuanzhang also listed North Korea as one of the countries that will never be conquered. Since then, the name North Korea has continued to this day.
After the suzerain-vassal relationship was established, the successive kings of Korea would send envoys to the Ming Dynasty after they succeeded to the throne, and they would be confirmed by the Ming Dynasty emperor and given titles. The Ming Dynasty took great care of North Korea and provided it with protection many times in times of crisis. The most famous one is that in the 20th year of Wanli, that is, 1592, the Ming Dynasty helped North Korea fight against the invasion of Toyotomi Hideyoshi of Japan, saving it from the disaster of national destruction.
It was also in return that North Korea was extremely loyal to the Ming Dynasty. Even after the demise of the Ming Dynasty, it ostensibly surrendered under pressure, but secretly kept the Ming Dynasty survivors, calling the Qing Dynasty "the Hulu Empire". country" and cultivate anti-Qing and Ming forces. The reign name of the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen, has been used, and the clothing system of the Ming Dynasty has been used.