Prior to the fifteenth century, trade and exchange in Korea were conducted principally through the use of cloth currency. Additionally, people met their material needs through private barter, with rice often serving as the medium of exchange. Neighboring China, however, had long been using coins and paper currency. The world’s first banknotes were issued in China during the Tang and Song dynasties of the seventh century. Of course, coins minted with precious metals had been in use since ancient times. When Taejong assumed power as the king of Korea, he was determined to reform the nation’s monetary system. To that end, he issued edicts calling for the use of paper currency (rather than cloth). Later, during the reign of his successor, Sejong, coinage was introduced. A number of the king’s ministers, however, noted problems with the new monetary regime. They argued to the king that at bottom the people simply did not like or trust the use of paper currency, which they regarded as worthless. The kings insisted, however, and the establishment of paper currency and coins was a major step in the modernization of Korea, as it would be in other nations, adding to the ability of nations to engage in trade and of merchants to price and trade their goods.