Joseon ( CHOH-sun; Korean: 조선; Hanja: 朝鮮; also romanized as Chosun), officially Great Joseon State (대조선국; 大朝鮮國), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in 1897. The kingdom was founded after the overthrow of Goryeo in what is today the city of Kaesong. In 1393, Korea was retitled and the capital was moved to modern-day Seoul. The kingdom's northernmost borders were expanded to the natural boundaries at the rivers of Amnok and Tuman through the subjugation of the Jurchens.
Over the centuries, Joseon encouraged the entrenchment of Confucian ideals and doctrines in Korean society. Neo-Confucianism was installed as the new state's ideology. Buddhism was accordingly discouraged, and occasionally Buddhists faced persecution. Joseon consolidated its effective rule over the Korean peninsula and saw the height of classical Korean culture, trade, literature, science, and technology. The kingdom was severely weakened by failed Japanese invasions in 1592 and 1598, which were followed by invasions by the Later Jin dynasty in 1627 and the Qing dynasty in 1636–1637. The country pursued an increasingly harsh isolationist policy, becoming known as the "hermit kingdom" in Western literature. After the end of these invasions from Manchuria, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of peace and prosperity, along with cultural and technological development. What power the kingdom recovered during its isolation waned as the 18th century came to a close. Faced with internal strife, power struggles, international pressure, and rebellions at home, the kingdom declined rapidly in the late 19th century.
The Joseon period left a substantial legacy. Modern Korean bureaucracy and administrative divisions were established during it. The modern Korean language and its dialects derive from the culture and traditions of Joseon, as does much of Korean culture, etiquette, norms, and societal attitudes.
History
Early period (late 14th-mid 16th century)
Founding
By the late 14th century, the nearly 500-year-old Goryeo established in 918 was tottering; its foundations were collapsing from years of war spilled over from the disintegrating Yuan dynasty. Following the emergence of the Ming dynasty, the royal court in Goryeo split into two conflicting factions, one favoring neutrality and the other wanting to retake the Liaodong peninsula, which many in Goryeo believed was theirs. Goryeo remained a neutral third-party observer in the conflict between the Yuan and the Ming and had friendly diplomatic relations with both. In 1388, a Ming messenger came to Goryeo to demand that territories of the former Ssangseong Prefecture be handed over to Ming China. The tract of land was taken by Mongol forces during the invasion of Korea, but had been reclaimed by Goryeo in 1356 as the Yuan dynasty weakened. The act caused an uproar among the Goryeo court, and General Ch'oe Yŏng seized the chance to argue for an invasion of the Ming-controlled Liaodong Peninsula.
General Yi Sŏnggye was chosen to lead the attack; he revolted, swept back to the capital Kaegyŏng (now Kaesong) and initiated a coup d'état, overthrowing King U of Goryeo in favor of his son, Chang of Goryeo (1388). Neo-Confucian scholars, who were a small and medium-sized power at the time, were able to use this incident as an opportunity to lay a political foundation, and in particular, Chŏng Tojŏn, a friend of Yi Sŏnggye, wanted to use this incident as an opportunity to reform the corrupt nobles and the Buddhist community. He later killed King U and his son after a failed restoration and forcibly placed a royal named Wang Yo on the throne (he became King Gongyang of Goryeo). In 1392, Yi eliminated Chŏng Mong-ju, a highly respected leader of a group loyal to the Goryeo dynasty, and dethroned King Gongyang, exiling him to Wonju, and he ascended the throne himself. The Goryeo kingdom had come to an end after 474 years of rule.
At the beginning of his reign, Yi Sŏnggye, now ruler of Korea, intended to continue to use the name Goryeo for the country he ruled and simply change the royal line of descent to his own, thus maintaining the façade of continuing the 500-year-old Goryeo tradition. After numerous threats of mutiny from the drastically weakened but still influential Gwonmun nobles, who continued to swear allegiance to the remnants of the Goryeo and to the now-demoted House of Wang, the consensus in the reformed court was that a new dynastic title was needed to signify the change. In naming the new kingdom, Taejo contemplated two possibilities: "Hwaryeong" (his place of birth) and "Joseon". After much internal deliberation, as well as endorsement by the neighboring Ming dynasty's emperor, Taejo declared the name of the kingdom to be Joseon, a tribute to the ancient Korean state of Gojoseon. He also moved the capital to Hanseong (modern Seoul) from Kaegyŏng (modern Kaesong).
Strifes of princes
When the new dynasty was brought into existence, Taejo brought up the issue of which son would be his successor. Although Yi Pangwŏn, Taejo's fifth son by Queen Sinui, had contributed the most to assisting his father's rise to power, Chief State Councillor Jeong Dojeon and Nam Ŭn used their influence on the king to name Yi Pangsŏk, his eighth son (second son of Queen Sindeok), as crown prince in 1392. This conflict arose largely because Chŏng Tojŏn, who shaped and laid down ideological, institutional, and legal foundations of the new kingdom more than anyone else, saw Joseon as a kingdom led by ministers appointed by the king while Yi Pangwŏn wanted to establish an absolute monarchy ruled directly by the king. With Taejo's support, Chŏng Tojŏn kept limiting the royal family's power by prohibiting the political involvement of princes and attempting to abolish their private armies. Both sides were well aware of each other's great animosity and were getting ready to strike first.
After the sudden death of Queen Sindeok, while King Taejo was still in mourning for his second wife, Yi Pangwŏn struck first by raiding the palace, and killed Chŏng Tojŏn and his supporters as well as Queen Sindeok's two sons (his half-brothers), including the crown prince in 1398. This incident became known as the First Strife of Princes.
Aghast at the fact that his sons were willing to kill each other for the crown, and psychologically exhausted from the death of his second wife, King Taejo abdicated and immediately crowned his second son Yi Bang-gwa as King Jeongjong. One of King Jeongjong's first acts as monarch was to revert the capital to Kaegyŏng, where he is believed to have been considerably more comfortable, away from the toxic power strife. Yet Yi Pangwŏn retained real power and was soon in conflict with his disgruntled older brother, Yi Panggan, who also yearned for power. In 1400, the tensions between Yi Pangwŏn's faction and Yi Panggan's camp escalated into an all-out conflict that came to be known as the "Second Strife of Princes". In the aftermath of the struggle, the defeated Yi Panggan was exiled to Dosan while his supporters were executed. Thoroughly intimidated, King Jeongjong immediately invested Yi Pangwŏn as heir presumptive and voluntarily abdicated. That same year, Yi Pangwŏn assumed the throne of Joseon as King Taejong, third king of the dynasty.
Consolidation of royal power
At the beginning of Taejong's reign, the former King Taejo refused to relinquish the royal seal that signified the legitimacy of any king's rule. Regardless, Taejong initiated policies he believed would prove his qualification to rule. One of his first acts as king was to abolish the privilege enjoyed by the upper echelons of government and the aristocracy to maintain private armies. His revocation of such rights to field independent forces effectively severed their ability to muster large-scale revolts, and drastically increased the number of men employed in the national military. Taejong's next act as king was to revise the existing legislation concerning the taxation of land ownership and the recording of state of subjects. With the discovery of previously hidden land, national income increased twofold.
In 1399, Taejong had played an influential role in scrapping the Dopyeong Assembly, a council of the old government administration that held a monopoly in court power during the waning years of Goryeo, in favor of the State Council of Joseon, a new branch of central administration that revolved around the king and his edicts. After passing the subject documentation and taxation legislation, he issued a new decree in which all decisions passed by the State Council could only come into effect with the approval of the king. This ended the custom of court ministers and advisors making decisions through debate and negotiations amongst themselves, and thus brought the royal power to new heights.
Shortly thereafter, Taejong installed an office, known as the Sinmun Office, to hear cases in which aggrieved subjects felt that they had been exploited or treated unjustly by government officials or aristocrats. He kept Chŏng Tojŏn's reforms intact for the most part. In addition, Taejong executed or exiled many of his supporters who had helped him ascend the throne to strengthen his own royal authority. To limit the influence of in-laws, he killed all four of his wife's brothers and Sim On, the father-in-law of his son Sejong.
Taejong remains a controversial figure who killed many of his rivals and relatives to gain power and yet ruled effectively to improve the populace's lives, strengthen national defense, and lay down a solid foundation for his successor Sejong's rule.
Sejong the Great
In August 1418, following Taejong's abdication two months earlier, Sejong the Great ascended the throne. In May 1419, King Sejong, under the advice and guidance of his father Taejong, embarked upon the Gihae Eastern Expedition to remove the nuisance of waegu (coastal pirates) who had been operating out of Tsushima Island.
In September 1419, the daimyō of Tsushima, Sadamori, capitulated to the Joseon court. In 1443, The Treaty of Gyehae was signed in which the daimyō of Tsushima was granted rights to conduct trade with Korea using fifty ships per year in exchange for sending tribute to Korea and aiding to stop any Waegu coastal pirate raids on Korean ports.
On the northern border, Sejong established four forts and six posts to safeguard his people from the Jurchens, who later became the Manchus, living in Manchuria. In 1433, Sejong sent Kim Chongsŏ, a government official, north to fend off the Jurchens. Kim's military campaign captured several castles, pushed north, and expanded Korean territory, roughly the current border between North Korea and China.
During the rule of Sejong, Korea saw advances in natural science, agriculture, literature, traditional Chinese medicine, and engineering. Because of such success, Sejong was given the title "Sejong the Great". The most remembered contribution of King Sejong is the creation of Hangul, the Korean alphabet, in 1443. Rejected in its time by the scholarly elite, the everyday use of Hanja in writing was eventually surpassed by Hangul in the latter half of the 20th century.
Six martyred ministers
After King Sejong's death, his son Munjong continued his father's legacy but soon died of illness in 1452, just two years after his coronation. He was succeeded by his twelve-year-old son, Danjong. In addition to two regents, Princess Gyeonghye also served as Danjong's guardian and, along with general Kim Chongsŏ, attempted to strengthen royal authority. Danjong's uncle, Grand Prince Suyang, gained control of the government and eventually deposed his nephew to become the seventh king of Joseon himself in 1455, taking the name Sejo. After six ministers loyal to Danjong attempted to assassinate Sejo to return Danjong to the throne, Sejo executed the six ministers and also killed Danjong in his place of exile.
King Sejo enabled the government to determine exact population numbers and to mobilize troops effectively. He also revised the land ordinance to improve the national economy and encouraged the publication of books. Most importantly, he compiled the Grand Code for State Administration, which became the cornerstone of dynastic administration and provided the first form of constitutional law in written form in Korea.
Sejo undermined much of the foundation of many existing systems, including the Jiphyeonjeon which his predecessors, Sejong and Munjong, had carefully laid down. He cut down on everything he deemed unworthy and caused countless complications in the long run. Many of these adjustments were made for his own power, not regarding the consequences and problems that would occur. The favoritism he showed toward the ministers who aided him in taking the throne led to increased corruption in the higher echelons of the political field.
Sejo's weak son Yejong succeeded him as the eighth king, but died two years later in 1469. Yejong's nephew Seongjong ascended the throne. His reign was marked by the prosperity and growth of the national economy and the rise of neo-Confucian scholars called Sarim who were encouraged by Seongjong to enter court politics. He established Hongmun'gwan, the royal library and advisory council composed of Confucian scholars, with whom he discussed philosophy and government policies. He ushered in a cultural golden age that rivaled Sejong's reign by publishing numerous books on geography, ethics, and various other fields.
He also sent several military campaigns against the Jurchens on the northern border in 1491, like many of his predecessors. The campaign, led by General Heo Jong, was successful, and the defeated Jurchens, led by the Udige clan, retreated to the north of the Yalu River. King Seongjong was succeeded by his son, Yeonsangun, in 1494.