Joseon Dynasty (朝鮮 1392~1897)

• In Joseon, many talented people, including King Sejong, developed the country. But Seonggye Lee lacked justification for the founding of Joseon, so with the help of the Ming Dynasty, a country founded by the Han Chinese, Seonggye Lee established the justification for the founding of Joseon, and fell from Goryeo, the kingdom of heaven, to Joseon, the vassal state.

• Joseon's sadistic attitude toward the Chinese Han continued until the establishment of the Korean Empire. Joseon's ruling class benefited from flunkeyism. Through close mental and material exchanges with the ruling class of powerful countries, they strengthened their dominion over the masses and enjoyed wealth and glory. Those who asserted national autonomy, challenged Japan during the Japanese occupation, and fought for independence had no choice but to wander around the periphery without being directly oppressed. What is the reason why the descendants of pro-Japanese people live in prosperity and the descendants of independence activists live in poverty? Flunkeyism has gone beyond the scope of the foreign policy that our nation has survived externally and has become a means of domestic domination by the ruling classes. Even if it has been so far, now that national power is growing, we need to overcome this kind of flunkeyism at home and abroad and strive to enhance subjectivity, independence, and identity.

• Goryeo conducted diplomacy to benefit from many countries while dealing with many countries, while Joseon conducted diplomacy with only one country. As a result, Joseon was invaded by Qing, Japan, and Western countries, not knowing other countries except one. In the Goryeo Dynasty, many diplomats and merchants traveled to other countries, but there is a record of less than 5 people who traveled to other countries during the 500 years of Joseon. South Korea's diplomacy in 2023 seems like that of Joseon.

• In Goryeo, ancestral rites were held to heaven, and the king was called the emperor, and the king's son was called the crown prince (the emperor's son). Joseon could not hold ancestral rites to the sky. The king was called the king, and the king's son was called Seja (successor of monarchy). Goryeo, as an imperial state, had Tamna, East Jurchen, West Jurchen, Chunri, and Heuksu Dynaty as its vassal states. Goryeo was called Haedongcheonja (the country of the emperor in the east). Goryeo thought that there were several countries of the son of heaven. Goryeo thought that there were many countries of the descendants of heaven, and Joseon thought of itself as a vassal state. In other words, Goryeo recognized diversity and developed the country.

• Historically, the countries of Korean ancestry had relationships with other countries based on the national power, culture, and race of other countries. In Goryeo, the most important item was national power. However, in Joseon, the most important thing was race, the Han Chinese. So, when the Ming Dynasty, the country of the Chinese Han people, declined and the Qing Dynasty, the country of the Jurchen people, became a power in East Asia, Joseon was very hesitant about relations with the Qing Dynasty. Currently, the reason why the United States has become a great power is to acknowledge diversity and pursue practical interests. From the Joseon Dynasty, Korea degenerated into a practically weak country. It would be fun to think about whether you always review other people's opinions from a third person's point of view, figure out the pros and cons, and then make decisions, or whether you're only immersed in your own will and can't accept any opinions well.

• Additionally, let's look at the meaning of the names of the kings of Goryeo and Joseon. There is a letter that is the second letter of the two letters of the king's name, 'jo' or 'jong'. The character 'jo' means to establish a country, and otherwise it becomes 'jong'. So, in Goryeo, the only king with the character 'jo' in his name is Wang Geon, the first king of Goryeo. Wang Geon is called Taejo. However, in Joseon, there are several kings with the character 'jo' in the king's name. Joseon used the character 'jo' in the name of the king who overcame the country's difficulties. In other words, the character 'jo' is in the name of the king at the time when Joseon was in danger due to war and then found peace, but it does not match the original meaning. The character of the king's name, 'jo' or 'jong', is the name the king was called after his death. No one could call the name of the living king. King is recorded as 'The highest'.

• The age of marriage during the Joseon Dynasty is as follows. The actual age of marriage differs somewhat depending on the time. According to the analysis of marriage letters of noble families from the 16th to the 19th century, the age of first marriage for women decreased from 17.8 years in the 16th century to 17.8 years in the 19th century, and the age of first marriage for men also decreased from 17.3 years in the 17th century to 15.7 years in the 19th century. It seemed common at the time that Heepung, a 21st generation, getting married at the age of 16.

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Genealogy of Joseon Dynasty kings

 

1st King Taejo (Lee Seonggye) period (1392~1398)

• From 1392 to 1398, Taejo was the 1st king of Joseon, and his name was Seonggye Lee. Politically, he treated the country called 'Ming' caused by the Red Turbans in 'East Asia' and made goodwill between the two countries with the approval of the national name and the throne.

• During the period from March to May 1393, the early days of the founding of the Joseon Dynasty, relatively many cases of invasion by Japanese pirates appeared.

 

3rd King Taejong (Bangwon) and 4th King Sejong (Ido) Period (1400~1450)

• Bangwon Lee was the 5th son of Seonggye Lee and killed several Goryeo loyalists including Anyeol at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty. Bangwon was the 3rd king of Joseon and ascended the throne by fighting his brothers.

• Sejong was the 4th king of Joseon, and his name was 'Ido' and was also called 'Chungnyeongdaegun'. He left several achievements, such as making Hangul (currently Korean characters) and making the instrument for measuring the amount of rain.

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11th King Jungjong (Yeok) and 10th King Injong Period (1506~44)

• King Jungjong was the 11th king of Joseon, and his name was Yeok Lee. In 1520 (the 25th year of King Jungjong's reign), Joseon's aristocratic class learned about Europeans' advance into Asia for the first time by conveying the fact that a country called Portugal had obtained the right of residence in Macau of the Ming Dynasty.

• Injong reigned for eight months, the shortest reign in Joseon Dynasty history.

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14th King Seonjo (Yeon) Period (1567~1608): Limjin War

• Seonjo was the 14th king of Joseon, and his name was Yeon. When the Limjin War broke out in 1592 (Seonjo 25), the Ming Dynasty sent volunteers to help defeat the Japanese army. King Seonjo abandoned the capital and fled to ‘Uiju’ due to the Japanese invasion, and Admiral Yi, Sunsin fought a battle with the Japanese army during this time.

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15th King Gwanghae-gun (Hon), 16th King Injo (Jong) peiod (1608~1649): Byeongja Horan, beginning of contact with the West

• Gwanghaegun was the 15th king of Joseon, and while the national power of the Ming Dynasty was greatly consumed due to the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, Nuruhachi established a country in Manchuria (1616) and named it Later Jin and threatened the Ming Dynasty's borders. Afterwards, Later Jin became more and more powerful, but Joseon raised Injo Rebellion (1623) and used a policy to exclude Later Jin. King Taejong (1626~1643) of the Later Jin Dynasty said that it was necessary to subdue Joseon first to attack the Ming Dynasty, so he sent out an army and invaded (Jeongmyo Horan, January to March 1627). Later Jin further expanded national power, called it emperor, and changed the country's name to Qing. In 1636, under the pretext of refusing the relationship between the king and his subjects, King Taejong of Qing led a large army and invaded Joseon, which was called the Horan in Byeongja year (December 1636 by the lunar calendar to January 1637 by the lunar calendar).

• King Injo was the 16th king of Joseon. He ascended to the throne through Injo rebellion.

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17th King Hyojong (Ho), 18th King Hyunjong (Yeon), 19th King Sukjong (Sun) (1649~1720)

• Hyojong, the 17th king of Joseon, was well-known for his theory of conquering the north to wash away the disgrace of the Byeongja Horan by conquering the Qing Dynasty.

• Hyunjong of Joseon was the 18th king of the Joseon dynasty of Korea, reigning from 1659 to 1674. His reign was mostly marked by heavy conflict among the nation's political factions on various issues, particularly on funeral rites.

• The period during which King Sukjong ruled Joseon was the period in which partisan fighting was fiercest since the founding of Joseon. During his reign, the confrontational relationship between the parties of Namin and Seoin became more intense. From the beginning of 1680, Seoin was divided into Noron and Soron, and they also had a factional fight with each other. And the so-called return to the country politics, in which one faction completely drives out the other faction and conducts one-party politics, has become the main phenomenon.

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20th King Kyungjong (Yun), 21st King Youngjo (Geum), 22nd King Jungjo (San) (1720~1800)

• Kyungjong reigned for about 4 years between the reigns of Sukjong and Youngjo, who boasted a long reign, and died of illness at the age of 37.

• King Youngjo pushed ahead with the Tangpyeong policy, but it failed. Tangpyeong policy (蕩平策) was a policy that tried to balance the political forces between factions in order to prevent party strife during the reigns of Young and Jungjo in the late Joseon Dynasty. He had a conflict with his second son, Sado Prince, and eventually led to his death.

• The time when King Jungjo ascended the throne was when it was at this time that Catholicism began to be accepted as a religion.

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23rd King Sunjo (Gong) Period (1800~1834)

• King Sunjo was the 23rd king. On July 19, 1816 (the 16th year of King Sunjo), it was said that a British Yiyang ship (It is an expression referring to unidentified ships.) appeared in Chungcheong Province.

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24th King Heonjong (Hwan), 25th King Chuljong (Ibyun) (1834~1863)

• Heonjong was the 24th king of Joseon. In the 12th lunar month of 1852 (3rd year of King Chuljong), an American whaling ship appeared off the coast of Yongdangpo, Dongnae-hyeon, and this was the first contact between Joseon and the United States.

• Chuljong was the last king of the Joseon Dynasty to live for life during his reign and the last king to live without descendants to inherit the throne. He is also the last king for whom the annals of the Joseon Dynasty were practically compiled.

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Heungseon Daewongun (Haheung Lee) in power (1864~1873): Seclusion Policy

• Heungseon Daewongun was the father of King Gojong. When King Gojong was young, he exercised kingship by proxy. In the mid-19th century, Joseon did not open its borders to Western trade demands. Heungseon Daewongun suppressed Catholicism and executed French priests. W. B. Preston, an American merchant staying in Ming, invaded the Daedong River with his merchant ship, General Sherman. Using the execution of the clergy as an excuse, France dispatched troops to attack Ganghwado. The French army withdrew after plundering a lot of property (Yangryo in Byeongin year, 1866).

• The US attacked Ganghwado, demanding an apology for the General Sherman incident and trade negotiations. (Yangryo in Shinmi year, April 1871 by the lunar calendar).

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King Gojong (Hee), the 1st emperor of the Korean Empire (1873~) 大韓帝國 1987-1910: Open Doors and Foreign Invasion

• Gojong was the 1st emperor of the Korean Empire. The LimOh Military Rebellion (Military Rebellion in LimOh year, a rebellion in 1882 when the government paid poor wages for 13 months in arrears to old-style soldiers who were fired from Hunyeondogam) broke out (July 1886 Lunar calendar June), and the Min clan, which was pro-Japanese, collapsed, and Heungseon Daewongun seized real power, the Qing Dynasty, as a suzerain, tried to recover its superior vested interests in Joseon, which had been taken away by Japan, under the pretext of protecting its vassals.

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Jurchen and Qing (淸 1636~1912) Dynasty and Ming (明 1368~1644)

• Joseon reached the point where the area south of the Yalu River (압록강鴨綠江) and Tuman River (두만강豆滿江) expanded into Joseon territory. At this time, the Jurchen people, Nurhachi, united several tribes around them to form a new powerful Jurchen (future Qing Dynasty).