Civilization VII turns Goryeo’s diplomacy and Unique Improvements into a three-Age culture engine

Civilization VII is adding Goryeo as a Cultural and Diplomatic civilization built around active Endeavors, settlement specialization and the long-term value of Unique Improvements.

The Korean kingdom joins the game through the Brush and Blade Collection, which includes two leaders, four civilizations and four Wonders. Goryeo forms part of the collection’s Korean-focused installment alongside Joseon and the new leader Yi Sun-sin, following the earlier arrival of Heian Japan, Sengoku Japan and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Goryeo reaches its Apex during the Exploration Age, but its design extends across the entire campaign. Its Unique Ability, Byeongjo, grows stronger in every Age, while its Traditions support Antiquity preparation, Exploration expansion and Modern tourism.

The result is not a conventional Culture civilization that simply constructs buildings and waits for yields to accumulate. Goryeo rewards players for maintaining diplomatic cooperation, developing different types of settlements and collecting Unique Improvements from every available source.

Goryeo is designed to function before and after its Apex Age

Goryeo’s Apex Age is Exploration, the period in which the civilization receives its complete set of unique infrastructure, military units and civics.

However, the Test of Time structure allows Goryeo to be selected in Antiquity, retained into Modernity or used only during its historically associated Exploration Age. Its bonuses have therefore been divided into three progressively stronger versions.

During Antiquity, Goryeo receives additional Culture from active Endeavors it started or supported. Unique Improvements produce more Culture in Towns and more Influence in Cities.

Those bonuses become stronger during Exploration, when Goryeo reaches full power.

In the Modern Age, the same foundations are enhanced again. Active Endeavors provide even more Culture, Unique Improvements continue producing specialized settlement yields and every Unique Improvement also generates additional Tourism.

This creates an unusually consistent strategic identity.

Some civilizations change direction sharply between Ages or rely on mechanics that become less relevant outside their Apex. Goryeo keeps asking the player to perform the same core actions—maintain diplomatic cooperation and develop Unique Improvements—but increases the return as the campaign progresses.

That makes early preparation particularly important. Improvements and diplomatic relationships established before Exploration can already produce value, while infrastructure preserved into Modernity becomes part of a Tourism strategy.

Byeongjo turns diplomatic cooperation into Culture

The first component of Goryeo’s Unique Ability rewards active Endeavors that the player initiated or supported.

Endeavors are cooperative Diplomatic Actions negotiated between leaders. They can provide shared economic, scientific, cultural or military benefits, depending on the specific agreement and the willingness of another civilization to participate.

Goryeo adds Culture on top of those existing rewards.

This changes how Endeavors should be evaluated. A diplomatic agreement does not only provide its advertised effect. It also advances Goryeo’s Culture output and helps move the civilization through its Civic Tree.

The bonus applies whether Goryeo begins the Endeavor or supports one proposed by another leader. That flexibility is important because the civilization does not need to control every diplomatic interaction personally.

A cooperative neighbour can create the opportunity, and Goryeo can still profit by contributing Influence and supporting the proposal.

The strongest diplomatic game will therefore involve maintaining several relationships capable of producing a steady sequence of agreements. A single Endeavor provides a temporary benefit, but multiple active Endeavors create a more reliable cultural engine.

This also gives Goryeo a reason to avoid unnecessary diplomatic isolation. War may still be strategically justified, particularly when its Hwacha and Tobang are available, but indiscriminate hostility reduces the number of leaders willing to cooperate.

Active Endeavors reward continuity rather than one-time diplomacy

Byeongjo specifically benefits active Endeavors, placing greater emphasis on sustained cooperation than on isolated diplomatic transactions.

This creates a different rhythm from abilities that provide an immediate yield whenever an action is proposed or completed. Goryeo wants agreements to remain operational for as long as possible.

A reliable diplomatic partner can therefore be more valuable than a leader willing to accept one favourable deal before relations deteriorate.

Players will need to protect those relationships through favourable interactions, fulfilled promises and careful management of competing alliances. Supporting an Endeavor with one civilization may improve the immediate yield situation but complicate relations elsewhere.

Influence becomes particularly important because Goryeo uses it across several connected systems. It is required to support Diplomatic Actions, develop relationships with Independent Powers and exploit several of the civilization’s Traditions.

The civilization’s Culture and diplomacy are therefore not separate strategies. Each supports the other.

Culture unlocks more of Goryeo’s civic identity, while diplomatic activity supplies the Culture needed to progress through that identity efficiently.

Towns and Cities receive deliberately different roles

Byeongjo divides the value of Unique Improvements according to settlement type.

In Towns, Unique Improvements generate increased Culture. In Cities, they provide increased Influence.

This is one of the most strategically important parts of Goryeo’s design because it discourages the player from treating every settlement identically.

Towns can become cultural landscapes filled with Unique Improvements. Because they do not need to construct the same range of urban buildings as Cities, they can focus more heavily on rural development and territory-wide yield generation.

Cities serve a different purpose. Unique Improvements within their borders contribute to Influence, helping finance the diplomatic agreements and Independent Power interactions that support the wider Goryeo strategy.

The ideal empire should therefore contain both.

An empire consisting almost entirely of Cities may generate significant Influence but lose much of the Culture available from specialized Towns. A network composed mainly of Towns can produce strong Culture but may struggle to maintain the diplomatic expenditure required to activate multiple Endeavors and compete for City-State relationships.

Goryeo rewards deliberate settlement planning rather than indiscriminate urbanization.

Before converting a Town into a City, the player should consider what that settlement currently contributes. The change may unlock additional construction and Specialist capacity, but it also changes the yield Byeongjo assigns to its Unique Improvements.

Gama turns vegetated terrain into a cultural production network

Goryeo’s Unique Improvement is the Gama.

It provides a base increase to Culture and receives additional Production for each adjacent Warehouse Building. The Gama must be constructed on Vegetated Terrain, connecting it directly to Goryeo’s Grassland and Vegetated starting biases.

The adjacency requirement makes placement more demanding than simply filling every eligible tile.

Warehouse Buildings improve the yields of associated rural tiles and resources. Positioning a Gama near several of them can create a tile that contributes both Culture and meaningful Production.

That combination supports Goryeo’s wider economy.

Culture advances the Civic Tree and unlocks the Traditions that strengthen diplomacy and improvements. Production allows the settlement to construct additional infrastructure, military units and Wonders without abandoning the civilization’s primary cultural focus.

The Gama is therefore not only a Culture tile. Its strongest placements can help solve the production limitations that sometimes affect diplomacy-focused civilizations.

Planning must begin early. Warehouse Buildings occupy Districts, while the Gama requires an eligible rural tile. Poor urban placement can prevent the player from assembling an effective adjacency cluster later.

A strong Goryeo settlement should reserve suitable Vegetated Terrain while placing its Warehouse infrastructure close enough to support one or more Gama tiles.

Goryeo benefits from every Unique Improvement it can acquire

The most important line in Goryeo’s gameplay guidance is that Byeongjo is not restricted to the Gama.

Its bonuses apply to Unique Improvements obtained from any source.

That includes improvements inherited from a previous Age and those unlocked by befriending Independent Powers that become City-States.

This substantially increases Goryeo’s strategic ceiling.

Many civilizations use their own Unique Improvement as a central component of their economy, but their ability to expand that system is limited by available terrain and settlement space. Goryeo can assemble an entire portfolio of improvements with different placement conditions and base yields.

A City-State may provide an improvement designed around Food, Gold, Science or Production. Under Goryeo, that tile also becomes a source of Culture in a Town or Influence in a City.

Previous-Age improvements gain similar longevity. Instead of becoming historical remnants that occupy tiles while newer infrastructure takes priority, they continue interacting with Byeongjo and eventually contribute Tourism during the Modern Age.

This makes Goryeo particularly well suited to a campaign that preserves its physical history.

The empire becomes stronger not by replacing every older feature, but by accumulating different layers of infrastructure and allowing each one to contribute to the modern cultural landscape.

Bongwan makes Independent Powers central to the strategy

The Bongwan Tradition strengthens the Befriend Independent Action and increases Happiness on Unique Improvements.

Its first tier becomes available during Goryeo’s Exploration Apex. The civilization receives additional Influence toward initiating and progressing attempts to befriend Independent Powers.

This directly supports the gameplay recommendation attached to the civilization.

Befriended Independent Powers can develop into City-States and grant access to unique bonuses, including additional Unique Improvements. Because Goryeo’s ability applies to those improvements, every successful diplomatic relationship can expand its Culture, Influence and eventual Tourism engine.

The Happiness bonus provides another layer of value.

Goryeo already wants to place numerous Unique Improvements across its settlements. Bongwan allows those same tiles to contribute to settlement stability, making it easier to maintain the positive Happiness states required by other parts of the civilization’s kit.

During the Modern Age, the Tradition’s second tier increases that Happiness further.

The effect is not spectacular when considered on one tile, but Goryeo is designed to accumulate Unique Improvements across a large empire. Repeating the bonus throughout several settlements can create a significant stability advantage.

Hoguk Jonggyo converts a stable empire into Influence

Hoguk Jonggyo rewards settlements with positive Happiness.

Its Antiquity tier provides additional Influence in settlements that remain above the negative Happiness threshold. During Goryeo’s Exploration Apex, the bonus becomes stronger and can also apply to settlements following the player’s Religion.

This creates a clear reason to manage Happiness proactively rather than treating it only as a penalty-avoidance system.

A stable settlement contributes more Influence, which can then be spent on Endeavors, Independent Powers and other diplomatic actions. Those actions activate Byeongjo’s Culture bonus and help acquire more Unique Improvements.

The system becomes self-reinforcing.

Unique Improvements gain Happiness through Bongwan. Positive Happiness activates Hoguk Jonggyo. Hoguk Jonggyo produces Influence. That Influence creates the diplomatic relationships through which Goryeo gains additional Culture and improvements.

Religion can widen the number of settlements eligible for the stronger Exploration effect, depending on how successfully the player spreads and maintains it.

However, the civilization is not automatically a dedicated religious power. Religion supports the Influence economy, but it remains one component of a broader diplomatic strategy rather than Goryeo’s sole objective.

Sagae Chibubeop gives Culture a direct financial return

Sagae Chibubeop allows Cities to receive Gold equal to a percentage of their Culture.

This Tradition becomes available during the Exploration Age and gives Goryeo a direct method of converting its principal yield into economic power.

The effect is especially valuable because the civilization’s Culture can come from several overlapping sources:

• Active Endeavors.
• Unique Improvements in Towns.
• Gama tiles.
• City-State improvements.
• Improvements retained from earlier Ages.
• Standard Buildings and Specialists.

Not all of those sources are necessarily located inside Cities, but the overall structure encourages the player to build several highly cultured urban centres capable of producing substantial Gold through the conversion.

Gold provides flexibility that fixed Production cannot.

It can be used to purchase units, accelerate settlement development and respond to strategic problems without waiting for lengthy construction queues. For Goryeo, it also helps support military operations that may otherwise compete with cultural infrastructure for Production.

Sagae Chibubeop prevents the civilization from becoming economically narrow. Culture remains the primary focus, but investing in it can also strengthen the treasury.

Sambyeolcho turns every Endeavor into construction momentum

Sambyeolcho creates another connection between diplomacy and domestic development.

Its Antiquity Affirmation tier increases Production toward Improvements for every active Endeavor Goryeo started or supported. It also adds Food to Unique Improvements.

This can make an early Goryeo campaign considerably more efficient.

Endeavors generate Culture through Byeongjo while simultaneously accelerating the construction of Improvements through Sambyeolcho. Once those Unique Improvements are completed, they provide additional Culture, Influence, Happiness and Food depending on the settlement and unlocked Traditions.

The player is rewarded several times for maintaining the same diplomatic agreement.

The additional Food helps settlements work more specialist and improvement-heavy economies without sacrificing growth. It can also make Unique Improvement clusters more practical in areas where the underlying terrain does not produce enough Food naturally.

During Modernity, Sambyeolcho’s second tier increases both the Production and Food bonuses.

That allows Goryeo to continue expanding its improvement network late in the campaign, when newly founded or conquered settlements would otherwise struggle to catch up with the developed core.

The Hwacha punishes armies that remain grouped together

Goryeo’s first Unique Military Unit is the Hwacha, a Siege Unit that deals splash damage based on a percentage of the total damage inflicted on its primary target.

This makes positioning the central consideration.

The Hwacha is most effective when several enemy units occupy adjacent or closely packed tiles. A strong attack damages the intended target while spreading part of that impact across the surrounding formation.

That can weaken multiple units before the rest of Goryeo’s army commits.

The ability is particularly useful around Districts, fortified positions and narrow terrain where enemy units have limited space to disperse. It may also punish armies deployed too closely around a Commander.

However, splash damage does not eliminate the usual vulnerabilities associated with Siege Units.

The Hwacha needs protection from cavalry, mobile melee units and other threats capable of reaching its position. Its value depends on maintaining enough distance to attack repeatedly while the rest of the army prevents a direct assault.

Goryeo may be categorized as Cultural and Diplomatic, but the Hwacha gives it a credible method of breaking concentrated defenses when negotiation fails.

The Tobang transforms garrison duty into diplomatic power

The Tobang is Goryeo’s Unique Cavalry Unit.

It receives increased Combat Strength when Stationed or when occupying a District. Goryeo also gains additional Influence for every City Center containing a Stationed Tobang.

The unit therefore performs two related roles.

On the battlefield, it is a mobile cavalry force that becomes stronger when defending developed territory. Rather than receiving its greatest advantage while charging through open terrain, the Tobang excels when protecting Districts and controlling urban spaces.

Outside active combat, it can be stationed inside a City Center to produce Influence.

This gives military investment a peaceful purpose. A Tobang that is not currently required at the front can still contribute to Goryeo’s diplomatic economy rather than remaining idle.

The effect also encourages distributed defense.

Placing a Tobang in several City Centers increases total Influence while ensuring that important settlements contain a capable defender. If an enemy launches a surprise attack, the units are already positioned where their Combat Strength bonus is most relevant.

The cost is opportunity. A stationed Tobang cannot simultaneously conduct distant operations, escort another army or exploit its mobility elsewhere.

Goryeo must decide how many cavalry units belong in its Influence network and how many should remain available for active campaigning.

The Hwacha and Tobang create a defensive military identity

Goryeo’s two Unique Units complement one another without transforming the civilization into a pure conquest power.

The Tobang protects Districts, occupies City Centers and generates Influence while stationed. The Hwacha attacks enemy formations from behind that defensive line and punishes units clustered around urban objectives.

Together, they favour controlled warfare.

Goryeo can defend its infrastructure, weaken attackers through splash damage and preserve the stable settlements required by Hoguk Jonggyo. Military success protects the diplomatic and cultural engine rather than replacing it.

The units can still support offensive operations, particularly against fortified cities. Tobang cavalry can secure captured Districts while Hwacha bombard defenders occupying concentrated positions.

However, prolonged conquest creates strategic risks.

War can damage the relationships needed for active Endeavors, consume Influence and destabilize settlements that depend on positive Happiness. Goryeo should fight when the territorial or defensive benefit justifies those losses, not simply because it has access to capable Unique Units.

Buseoksa rewards concentrated Happiness around the mountains

Goryeo receives increased Production toward constructing Buseoksa, its associated Wonder.

Buseoksa provides Happiness and affects Joyous and Ecstatic settlements within a specified radius.

Joyous settlements receive additional Influence on Unique Improvements. Ecstatic settlements receive both increased Influence and Gold from those improvements.

The Wonder must be constructed on Tropical or Grassland Terrain adjacent to a minimum number of Mountain tiles.

This creates a demanding but potentially powerful placement puzzle.

The ideal Buseoksa location needs suitable terrain, several nearby Mountains and access to multiple settlements capable of maintaining high Happiness. Building it in an isolated location may satisfy the terrain requirements but waste much of its regional effect.

Goryeo should identify potential Wonder sites early and develop a cluster of settlements around them.

Bongwan’s Happiness on Unique Improvements can help those settlements reach Joyous or Ecstatic status. Buseoksa then increases the yields produced by the same improvements, reinforcing the civilization’s existing infrastructure rather than introducing an unrelated bonus.

The distinction between Joyous and Ecstatic is important. Reaching the first threshold provides Influence, but the highest Happiness level adds Gold as well.

Players who invest heavily in amenities, positive settlement conditions and Unique Improvement networks receive the strongest return.

Vegetated and Grassland biases support the Gama and Buseoksa

Goryeo has Vegetated and Grassland starting biases.

Both directly support its infrastructure.

Vegetated Terrain is required for constructing the Gama, while Grassland can satisfy part of Buseoksa’s placement requirement. These regions also tend to provide the workable terrain needed to establish large improvement-based settlements.

The biases reduce the risk of beginning in a location where Goryeo cannot use its defining tile improvement, but they do not guarantee an optimal layout.

The Gama still needs nearby Warehouse Buildings to reach its full Production potential. Buseoksa still requires Mountains. Town and City borders must still be planned around the different Culture and Influence bonuses.

A landscape containing forests and Grassland but no useful adjacency structure may be serviceable without becoming exceptional.

Goryeo is therefore terrain-dependent in a constructive way. The civilization is not waiting for one rare resource or coastal formation, but it does require players to read the land carefully before placing Districts and converting settlements.

Yi Sun-sin is thematic, but not an automatic mechanical pairing

Yi Sun-sin arrives alongside Goryeo as the Brush and Blade Collection’s Korean leader.

The combination is historically natural but mechanically more complementary than directly synergistic.

Yi is a Militaristic and Scientific leader built around Fleet Commanders, Naval Units and combat-generated Science and Gold. Goryeo focuses on Culture, Influence, Unique Improvements and diplomatic cooperation.

Neither ability directly multiplies the other.

However, Yi can solve several problems Goryeo may encounter. His naval strength protects coastal settlements and trade routes without requiring Goryeo to divert its Unique Units away from inland defense. His combat-generated Science balances a civilization whose innate bonuses lean much more heavily toward Culture.

Goryeo can then provide the Influence and diplomatic infrastructure needed to maintain relationships while Yi’s fleets secure the empire’s maritime position.

The pairing will be strongest on maps where coastal expansion and naval competition matter. On landlocked or water-light configurations, leaders with direct bonuses to Influence, Happiness, Unique Improvements or Culture may produce a more efficient mechanical combination.

Civilization VII’s independent leader system makes that distinction relevant. Historical authenticity is one reason to combine Yi with Goryeo, but it is not the only strategic option.

Goryeo’s history is expressed through scholarship, faith and adaptation

The historical Goryeo kingdom was founded in 918 and ruled the Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392.

Its cultural legacy is closely associated with Buddhist scholarship, sophisticated celadon ceramics and the early development of movable metal type. Goryeo also navigated repeated military and diplomatic pressures from neighbouring powers, including Khitan, Jurchen and Mongol forces.

Civilization VII translates that history through interconnected systems rather than one isolated historical reference.

Culture from Endeavors reflects a state capable of benefiting from diplomatic exchange and strategic relationships. Unique Improvements represent the artistic, religious and productive landscape associated with the kingdom. Buseoksa connects Happiness and Influence to a major Buddhist temple tradition.

The Hwacha and Tobang ensure that cultural development is supported by credible military power.

Goryeo’s relationship with the Yuan dynasty also fits a civilization that gains strength through strategic positioning rather than unrestricted conquest. The kingdom endured severe Mongol invasions and later operated within a difficult vassal relationship, preserving political continuity while adapting to a much larger imperial system.

That tension between cultural achievement and geopolitical survival is present throughout the design.

Goryeo celadon provides the clearest symbol of cultural sophistication

Goryeo celadon became one of the defining artistic traditions of the dynasty.

The ceramics are known for their refined green and blue-green glazes, as well as carved, incised, moulded and inlaid decoration. Their production required technical control over clay, glaze, kiln atmosphere and firing conditions.

Although Civilization VII does not reduce Goryeo to pottery production, the civilization’s improvement-focused gameplay captures a similar idea.

Its cultural strength is embedded in the landscape and the objects produced within it. Culture does not originate only from monumental urban buildings. It is created through specialized improvements distributed across Towns, Cities and inherited territories.

The Gama’s combination of Culture and Production reflects the connection between artistic output and the infrastructure required to create it.

Goryeo becomes culturally powerful because its settlements manufacture, preserve and display the achievements of the civilization across generations.

Movable type reinforces the scholarship behind the design

Korea’s use of cast-metal movable type during the Goryeo period predates Gutenberg’s European metal-type printing by approximately two centuries.

That historical achievement makes the promotional phrase “strike with scholarship” especially appropriate, even though Goryeo is classified as Cultural and Diplomatic rather than Scientific.

The civilization spreads the value of knowledge through institutions, diplomatic relationships and improvements rather than receiving a direct universal Science bonus.

This distinguishes Goryeo from a simplistic interpretation where printing history automatically becomes additional research output.

Its scholarship is treated as cultural organization: the ability to preserve knowledge, develop traditions and turn relationships with other societies into lasting internal strength.

Players expecting a conventional Korean Science civilization may initially find the attribute combination surprising. The design instead focuses on the systems that allow cultural and intellectual achievements to circulate across an empire.

A civilization built to preserve every layer of its history

Goryeo’s strongest feature is not any single yield bonus.

It is the way almost every mechanic contributes to the same long-term structure.

Endeavors provide Culture and accelerate Improvement construction. Unique Improvements generate Culture in Towns and Influence in Cities. Bongwan adds Happiness and helps acquire more City-State improvements. Hoguk Jonggyo turns stable settlements into further Influence. Sagae Chibubeop converts Culture into Gold.

Sambyeolcho adds Food and Production, while Buseoksa rewards the happiest regional improvement networks. The Hwacha and Tobang protect those settlements without forcing Goryeo into permanent aggression.

By Modernity, the accumulated improvements also produce Tourism.

The civilization therefore becomes stronger by preserving what it built in previous Ages and adding new layers around it. Old improvements, City-State rewards and Gama tiles all remain part of the final strategy.

Goryeo joins Civilization VII through the Brush and Blade Collection as an Exploration Age civilization capable of operating across the full campaign.

Its empire is not defined only by how many cities it controls. It is defined by how effectively every agreement, settlement and historical improvement has been woven into one cultural landscape.