History of Korea

YI SUNG-GYE (1335-1408; r. 1392-1398)- founder of the Choson Dynasty. Yi rose from an obscure military family to become one of the most powerful and preeminent military figures in Korean history. He seized political and military power with the support of Neo-Confucian scholar officials to overthrow the Koryo dynasty and inaugurate a new dynasty of his own. Yi named his dynasty Choson, after the most ancient Korean kingdom. Yi also moved the capital from Kaesong to Hanyang (Seoul). Upon the founding of the dynasty, Yi, also known as King T'aejo issued his "founding edict" which asserted his legitimacy, claimed the loyalty of his officials, and set the means for action in various areas of government. Under T'aejo, Korea was transformed into a Confucian state.

CHUNG TOJEON (?-1398)- literati bureaucrat who supported Yi Song-gye and played an important role in the founding of the Choson dynasty. Chung supported the spread of Neo-Confucianism by completely rejecting Buddhism as destructive and ruinous to the state. Chung also fought to renew and tighten the governmental structure of the times. Thus, Chung compiled the Choson kyongguk chon or Administrative Codes of Choson, which advocated Confucianist principles in government. Also, along with Cho Chun, Chung wrote the kyungje yukchun or Six Codes of Governance, a collection of administrative law. Chngg's ideas greatly influenced the legislative process during Choson dynasty's first century.

SEJONG (1397-1450 r. 1418-1450)- fourth ruler of the Choson dynasty. Sejong is considered to be one of the great rulers in Korean history. He was a remarkable scholar who was knowledgeable in many different fields including the classics, literature, linguistics, and science. King Sejong was responsible for the "golden age of creativity" in Korea. With the establishment of the Hall of Worthies, a royal research institute, Sejong assembled the best minds and talents of the country to introduce many remarkable achievements in different fields. The most important was the creation of Hangul or korean alphabet. Sejong was also successful in securing Korea's northern boundary with his military campaigns and settling people in the border regions of Korea.

YI PANG-WON (r. 1400-1418)- Choson's third ruler who placed the dynasty on a solid footing by reorganizing various military groups and restructuring the central government under the State Council. Also known as King T'aejong, he had the Six Codes of Governance expanded and revised it to reflect various new structural arrangements, creating the Basic Six Codes and the Supplemental Six Codes. T'aejong was Yi Sung-gye's fifth son and came to the throne by ordering the assassination of Yi Sung-gye's youngest son and then disposing the rival claim of his older brother.

SEJO (r. 1455-1468)- Choson's seventh ruler who usurped the throne from his nepher, King Tanjong. Sejo killed those who were opposed to him to put himself on the throne. Once on the throne, Sejo made an effort to compile a statutory code to define the structure and functioning of Choson's government, finally producing the National Code or Kyongguk taejeon. Sejo's usurpation of the throne is significant as it raised the moral question of whether usurpation might be justified and legitimated according to the principles of Confucianism.

YONSAN'GUN (r. 1494-1506)- tyrannical tenth ruler of Choson under whom the first literati purge broke out. Yonsan'gun led a life of luxury and pleasure which led to financial difficulties for the state. Thus, he attempted to confiscate land and slaves from the meritorious elite, who naturally rebelled against the king. Yonsan'gun thus sought to eliminate all sources of resistance to his authority. He was also responsible for the death or banishment for many members of the meritorious elite, which led to the second literati purge of 1504. Finally, two years later, Yongsan'gun was removed from the throne by those who had survived the purges, as the king's cruelty and terror escalated.

CHO KWANG-JO (1482-1519)- Neo-Confucian scholar whom Chungjong, Choson's eleventh ruler, appointed in various influential positions in the government. Cho sought to establish a government that was in accordance with the Confucian ideal. Cho put into effect the hyangyak or village code, which was a means of local self-government. Cho also advocated the spread of Confucianist ideals among the populace at large, not just to a minority group of people. He also fought to replace the civil service examinations with the recommendation examination. Cho's main concern was the cultivation of personal virtue in the rulers of the time. In the end, Cho Kwang-jo and his supporters were given death sentences as opponents, the meritorious elites, feared the growth of Cho's power and influence on Chungjong. Thus, Cho became the most prominent victim of the literati purge of 1519.

YI HWANG (1501-1570)- was the foremost Korean Confucianist philosopher during his time. Yi Hwang stressed the primary of i and developed a full explication of the primacy of i over ki. Yi or T'oegye is known as Korea's Chu Hsi, as he emphasized personal experience and moral self-cultivation as the essence of learning. Opposing him was Yi I, who advocated the primacy of ki. This debate, also known as the Four-Seven Debate, constituted the major intellectual divide through three centuries of the Choson dynasty. Yi Hwang's many writings contributed greatly to the i/ki debate.

YI I (1536-1584)- Yi I or Yulgok is considered to be the other foremost Korean Confucianist philosopher of the Choson dynasty. Yi I was a great statesman, theorist of government, and a metaphysical thinker. After the death of Yi Hwang, Yi I resurrected the position of Ki Taeshung, who advocated the primacy of ki over i, which oppossed the views of Yi Hwang. Yi I also carried out many reform proposals concerning the government, the economy, and national defense, as well as contributing to the most famous philosophical controversy in Korea's history.

YI SUN SHIN (1545-1598)- one of Korea's most famed and respected military heroes. With the use of his "turtle ships," Admiral Yi defeated the Japanese naval forces from 1592-1598 in the Hideyoshi invasions. In Korea, Yi is honored as being a patriot and a strong and honorable defender of Korea against the Japanese. Admiral Yi apparently did not lose a single battle against the Japanese during the last battle when a stray bullet struck him. Many memorials can be found of Yi Sun Shin in Korea.

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