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Three Offices Of Joseon
Three Offices, or ''Samsa'' (삼사·三司), is a collective name for three government offices in Joseon Dynasty that functioned as major organ of press and provided checks and balance on the king and the officials. These were Office of Inspector General (Saheonbu·사헌부), Office of Censors (Saganwon·사간원), and Office of Special Advisors (Hongmungwan·홍문관). While modeled after Chinese system of Censorate, they played much more prominent roles in Joseon government than their Chinese counterparts. Some historians credit Three Offices for absence of abuses by eunuchs that were prevalent throughout Chinese history. The officials who served in these offices, called "daegan" (대간), tended to be younger and of lower rank compared to other offices such as Six Ministries but had strong academic reputation and enjoyed special privileges and great prestige. To be appointed, they went through more thorough review of character and family background. The children o ...
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Joseon
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom was founded following the aftermath of the overthrow of Goryeo in what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul. The kingdom's northernmost borders were expanded to the natural boundaries at the rivers of Amrok and Tuman through the subjugation of the Jurchens. During its 500-year duration, 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 the practitioners faced persecutions. Joseon consolidated its effective rule over the territory of current Korea and saw the ...
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Danjong Of Joseon
Danjong of Joseon (18 August 1441 – 17 November 1457), personal name Yi Hong-wi (Korean language, Korean: 이홍위; Hanja: 李弘暐), was the sixth ruler of the Joseon, Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was forced to abdicate by his uncle, Grand Prince Suyang (the future Sejo of Joseon, King Sejo), and was put to death after being exiled to Yeongwol County, Yeongwol. Biography The future Danjong was born during the reign of his grandfather, Sejong the Great, King Sejong. His mother, Crown Princess Consort Gwon (posthumously honored as Queen Hyeondeok), didn’t recover after giving birth and died the next day. He had one older sister, Princess Gyeonghye, and one older half-sister, Princess Gyeongsuk. In 1452, Yi Hong-wi succeeded his father, Munjong of Joseon, King Munjong, at the age of 12. Since he was too young to rule, the governing of the country fell to Yeonguijeong, Chief State Councillor Hwangbo In, and Jwauijeong, Left State Councillor General Kim Jong-seo (general), G ...
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Jo Gwang-jo
Jo Gwangjo (, 23 August 1482 – 10 January 1520), also often called by his pen name Jeong-am (), was Neo-Confucianism, Korean Neo-Confucian scholar who pursued radical reforms during the reign of Jungjong of Joseon in the early 16th century. He was framed with charges of factionalism by the power elite that opposed his reform measures and was sentenced to drink poison in the Korean literati purges, Third Literati Purge of 1519. He has been widely venerated as a Confucian martyr and an embodiment of "seonbi spirit" by later generations in Korea. Some historians consider him one of the most influential figures in 16th century Korea. He is known as one of the 18 Sages of Korea () and honored as Munmyo Baehyang (). Life Early years Jo Gwangjo was the son of Jo Wongang (조원강, 趙元綱) and was from the Hanyang Jo clan (한양조씨, 漢陽趙氏). Jo studied under neo-Confucian scholar Kim Gwoeng-pil, Kim Jong-jik's disciple who was in exile at the time following the Ko ...
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Jungjong Of Joseon
Jungjong of Joseon (16 April 1488 – 29 November 1544), personal name Yi Yeok (Korean: 이역; Hanja: 李懌), firstly titled Grand Prince Jinseong (Korean: 진성대군; Hanja: 晉城大君), was the 11th ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He succeeded to the throne after the deposition of his older half-brother, the tyrannical Yeonsangun. Biography Rise to power In September 1506, on the day Yeonsangun was deposed, soldiers belonging to the coup's leaders surrounded the house of Grand Prince Jinseong. He was about to commit suicide, thinking that his older half-brother was finally going to kill him, but after being dissuaded by his wife, Lady Shin (later known as Queen Dangyeong), Grand Prince Jinseong found himself becoming the eleventh king of Joseon. Jo Gwang-jo's reforms Jungjong worked hard to wipe out the remnants of Yeonsangun's era by reopening Sungkyunkwan (the royal university) and the Office of Censors (which criticizes inappropriate actions of the king ...
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Korean Literati Purges
The term "Literati purges" is a translation of the Korean term 'sahwa' ( ko, 사화 士禍), whose literal meaning is "scholars' calamity". It refers to a series of political purges in the late 15th and 16th centuries, in which Sarim scholars suffered persecution at the hands of their political rivals. The politics of the Middle Joseon Dynasty were primarily marked by a power struggle between two social groups among the yangban aristocracy. People in place were the 'Meritorious Subjects', rewarded for helping the establishment of Joseon against the former Goryeo, and subsequent accomplishments. Referred as the Hungu faction (Hungupa, 훈구파, 勳舊派), they held the key positions in the State Council and the Six Ministries that carried out state affairs. The newcomers were the so-called Sarim (Sarimpa, 사림파, 士林派), who belonged to the neo-Confucian school of Kim Jong-jik and other thinkers. The Sarim scholars generally shunned the royal court and studied neo-Confu ...
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State Council Of Joseon
The State Council of Joseon or Uijeongbu was the highest organ of government under the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. It was led by three officials known as the High State Councillors. The Councilors were entrusted to deliberate over key problems of state, advising the king, and conveying royal decisions to the Six Ministries. The Council was formed under the reign of Jeongjong, just before Taejong seized power in 1400. It replaced an earlier institution called the "Privy Council," which had been dominated by Jeong Dojeon and other key figures behind the dynasty's founding. The State Council gradually declined in importance over the 500 years of Joseon's rule. Finally, the Council was replaced by the cabinet in 1907, forced by Japanese intervention Today, there's a city which was named after this organ (Uijeongbu) in Gyeonggi-do. Structure The State Council comprised: * the Chief State Councilor (영의정 領議政), rank 1a * the Left and Right State Councilors (좌ㆍ우의정 ...
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Sarim Scholars
The Sarim (sometimes Saarim), or "forest of scholars", was a powerful faction of literati that dominated Middle and Late Joseon politics in Korea. History of Sarim faction Early beginning The philosophical lineage of the Sarim scholars originated from the neo-Confucian school of Gil Jae (1353–1419), a Goryeo scholar who studied under Yi Saek and Jeong Mong-ju. After the fall of the Goryeo dynasty, he retreated to his home village refusing to serve the new Joseon dynasty despite King Taejong's request. Gil Jae concentrated on cultivating a new generation of neo-Confucian scholars including Kim Suk-ja and his son Kim Jong-jik. When King Seongjong became the ninth king of Joseon, he invited Kim Jong-jik and his disciples, who came to be called Sarim scholars, to his court and supported their political growth. They primarily served in so-called Three Offices, from which challenged the entrenched "Hungu" officials, who accumulated great power and wealth by supporting King Sejo w ...
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Seongjong Of Joseon
Seongjong of Joseon (19 August 1457 – 20 January 1495), personal name Yi Hyeol (Korean: ; Hanja: ), was the ninth ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Before succeeding his uncle, King Yejong, he was known as Grand Prince Jalsan (Korean: 잘산대군; Hanja: 乽山大君). Biography Early life Yi Hyeol was born as the second son of Crown Prince Yi Jang and Crown Princess Su of the Cheongju Han clan. His father however died few months after his birth. In 1461, he was named Prince Jasan (자산군) which was changed to Prince Jalsan (잘산군) in 1468. In 1467, he married Han Song-yi, the youngest daughter of Han Myeong-hoe. One of Lady Han's older sisters was the late Crown Princess Jangsun, first wife of King Yejong. Despite having an older brother and his uncle leaving behind a biological son, Jalsan was chosen as successor and was made the adopted son of King Yejong and his second wife, Queen Han (posthumously known as Queen Ansun). After he ascended to the t ...
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Neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Warring States period (), during a period known as the " Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural develop ... influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (philosopher), Li Ao (772–841) in the Tang Dynasty, and became prominent during the Song dynasty, Song and Ming dynasty, Ming dynasties under the formulations of Zhu Xi (1130–1200). After the Mongol conquest of China in the thirteenth century, Chinese scholars and officials restored and preserved neo-Confucianism as a way to safeguard the cultural heritage of China. Neo-Confucianism could have been an attempt to create a more rationalist and secular form of Confucianism by rejecting superstitious and m ...
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Goryeo Dynasty
Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unification" by Korean historians as it not only unified the Later Three Kingdoms but also incorporated much of the ruling class of the northern kingdom of Balhae, who had origins in Goguryeo of the earlier Three Kingdoms of Korea. The name "Korea" is derived from the name of Goryeo, also spelled Koryŏ, which was first used in the early 5th century by Goguryeo. According to Korean historians, it was during the Goryeo period that the individual identities of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla were successfully merged into a single entity that became the basis of modern-day 'Korean' identity. Throughout its existence, Goryeo, alongside Unified Silla, was known to be the "Golden Age of Buddhism" in Korea. As the state religion, Buddhism achieved its highest ...
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Six Martyred Ministers
The six martyred ministers or Sayuksin were six ministers of the Joseon Dynasty who were executed by King Sejo in 1456 for plotting to assassinate him and restore the former king Danjong to the throne. The Six were Seong Sam-mun, Pak Paeng-nyeon, Ha Wi-ji, Yi Gae, Yu Eung-bu, and Yu Seong-won. Most were members of the Hall of Worthies, a royal research institute, who had been appointed by King Sejong. Both King Sejong and King Munjong had charged them with looking after King Danjong (son and grandson respectively), and they reacted with outrage to Sejo's usurpation of the throne in 1455. Together with Kim Jil, they plotted a coup to coincide with the visit of a Ming Dynasty envoy. When the banquet and subsequently the assassination plot were postponed, Kim Jil lost his heart and betrayed the plot to his father-in-law, who reported to Sejo. The Six except Yu Seong-won, who committed suicide with his wife, were seized and tortured. Sejo felt deeply betrayed for he had valued t ...
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Censorate
The Censorate was a high-level supervisory agency in Imperial China, first established during the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). The Censorate was a highly effective agency during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the Censorate was a branch of the centralized bureaucracy, paralleling the Six Ministries and the five Chief Military Commissions, and was directly responsible to the emperor. The investigating censors were "the eyes and ears" of the emperor and checked administrators at each level to prevent corruption and malfeasance, a common feature of that period. Popular stories told of righteous censors revealing corruption as well as censors who accepted bribes. Generally speaking, they were feared and disliked, and had to move around constantly to perform their duties. Internal structure The Censorate was divided into three branches (). * The Palace Branch () was responsible for monitoring the behavior of official ...
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