The Hall of Worthies, or Jiphyeonjeon (; ), was a royal research institute set up by

Sejong the Great Sejong of Joseon (15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), personal name Yi Do (Korean: 이도; Hanja: 李祹), widely known as Sejong the Great (Korean: 세종대왕; Hanja: 世宗大王), was the fourth ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Initial ...

of the

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Joseon Dynasty 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 re ...

in March 1420. Set up during the beginning of his reign, King Sejong staffed the Hall of Worthies with talented scholars and instructed them to conduct a variety of research activities to strengthen his rule and the nation. The Hall of Worthies is well-known for its role in compiling the

Hunminjeongeum ''Hunminjeong'eum'' () is a document describing an entirely new and native script for the Korean language. The script was initially named after the publication but later came to be known as hangul. Originally containing 28 characters, it was c ...

, the original treatise on

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

Purpose

The Hall of Worthies originally served an advisory role to the king, and King Sejong restructured and expanded its role into an academic research institute. During the early part of King Sejong's reign, the Hall of Worthies served as a legislative system, but its role eventually grew to hold discussions regarding Joseon's national policy. The Hall of Worthies would also later act as an organ of press.

Achievements

The Hall of Worthies participated in various scholarly endeavors, one of which was compiling the

was personally created by

, and revealed by him in 1443. Afterward, King Sejong wrote the preface to the Hunminjeongeum, explaining the origin and purpose of Hangul and providing brief examples and explanations, and then tasked the Hall of Worthies to write detailed examples and explanations. The head of the Hall of Worthies,

Jeong In-ji Jeong In-ji (; December 28, 1396 – November 26, 1478) was a Korean Neo-Confucian scholar, historian who served as Vice Minister of Education or Deputy Chief Scholar (Head of Office for Special Advisors) during the reign of King Sejong the Gre ...

, was responsible for compiling the Hunminjeongeum. The Hunminjeongeum was published and promulgated to the public in 1446. Confucianism ideals were very important to King Sejong, and he wanted his subjects to have a medium through which they could learn the ethics and morals of Confucianism. During his 14th year in power, King Sejong instructed his scholars at the Hall of Worthies to compile outstanding examples of the fundamental principles in human relationships (filial piety, loyalty to the state, and wifely devotion) from both Korean and Chinese history. This compilation of works would become the book "Conduct of the Three Fundamental Principles in Human Relationships" (Samgang Haengshildo, Hanja: 三綱行實圖, Hangul: 삼강행실도). Unfortunately, this work was originally recorded in Chinese characters, and thus, the general public could not read it until it was translated into hangul some 30 years later. Besides contributing to the Hunminjeongeum and publishing the Samgang Haengshildo, the Hall of Worthies was involved in publication of numerous scholarly and scientific writings, which contributed to reputation of Sejong's reign as the golden age of Korean culture.

Disbandment

The Hall of Worthies was disbanded by

King Sejo Sejo of Joseon (2 November 1417 – 23 September 1468), personal name Yi Yu (Korean: 이유; Hanja: 李瑈), sometimes known as Grand Prince Suyang (Korean: 수양대군; Hanja: 首陽大君), was the seventh ruler of the Joseon dynasty of K ...

( ko, 세조) after many of its members (notably the

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-nye ...

) plotted to assassinate Sejo in 1456, following the latter's usurpation of the throne from King Danjong. However, a similar organization, the

Hongmungwan Hongmungwan ( ko, 홍문관. ), or the Office of Special Advisors, was one of the Three Offices of Joseon; it acted as the Joseon dynasty's administrative and research agency. History Hongmungwan was one of the Three offices of Joseon, togeth ...

( ko, 홍문관), Office of Special Advisors, continued much of the same work, though without enjoying the same prestige or output it had during the earlier period.

Famous scholars

Jeong Inji Jeong In-ji (; December 28, 1396 – November 26, 1478) was a Korean Neo-Confucian scholar, historian who served as Vice Minister of Education or Deputy Chief Scholar (Head of Office for Special Advisors) during the reign of King Sejong the Grea ...

(, 1396-1478) *

Shin Suk-ju Shin Suk-ju ( ko, 신숙주, hanja: ; August 2, 1417 – July 23, 1475) was a Korean politician during the Joseon Dynasty. He served as Prime Minister from 1461 to 1466 and again from 1471 to 1475. He came from the Goryeong Shin clan (고령 ...

(, 1417-1475) *Choi Hang (, 1409-1474) *

Seong Sammun Seong Sam-mun (1418 — 8 June 1456) was a scholar-official of early Joseon who rose to prominence in the court of King Sejong the Great (r. 1418–1450). He was executed after being implicated in a plot to dethrone King Sejo (r. 1455–1468) an ...

(, 1418-1456) *

Pak Paengnyeon Pak Paeng-nyeon (박팽년, 朴彭年; 1417–1456) was a scholar-official of the early Joseon Dynasty, and is known as one of the six martyred ministers. He was born to a yangban family of the Suncheon Park clan, and was the son of high ministe ...

(, 1417-1456) *

Yi Gae Yi Gae (; 1417–1456) was a scholar-official of the Joseon Dynasty who came from the yangban family Hansan Yi clan and one of the six martyred ministers. He was the great-grandson of Goryeo period philosopher Yi Saek and third cousin of Yi San- ...

(, 1417-1456) *

Yu Seong-won Yu Seong-won (also Ryu Seong-won) (died 1456) was a scholar-official of the early Joseon Dynasty, who is remembered as one of the six murdered ministers. He was born to a yangban family of the Munhwa Ryu lineage, but his date of birth is not kn ...

(, ?-1456) *Yi Sukhyeong (, 1415-1477) *

Seo Geojeong Seo or SEO may refer to: * Search engine optimization, the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines Organisations * SEO Economic Research, a scientific institute * Spanish Ornithological Society (''Socied ...

(, 1420-1488)

Members of the Hall of Worthies who plotted against King Sejo

Pak Jungrim Pak or PAK may refer to: Places * Pakistan (country code PAK) * Pak, Afghanistan * Pak Island, in the Admiralty Islands group of Papua New Guinea * Pak Tea House, a café in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan Arts and entertainment * PAK (band), an Ame ...

: minister, father of Pak Paengnyeon *

: vice-minister, one of

Ha Wiji Ha Wiji (1387–1456) was a scholar-official of the early Joseon Dynasty, and is remembered as one of the six martyred ministers. He was born to a yangban family of the Jinju Ha lineage. He passed the lower national service examination in 1435 ...

: vice-minister, one of six martyred ministers *

: royal secretary, one of six martyred ministers *

: chief of the Hall of Worthies, one of six martyred ministers *

: high official of

Sungkyunkwan Sungkyunkwan was the foremost educational institution in Korea during the late Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties. Today, it sits in its original location, at the south end of the Humanities and Social Sciences Campus of Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul ...

, one of six martyred ministers *Pak Innyeon: younger brother of Pak Paengnyeon *Pak Kinyeon: younger brother of Pak Paengnyeon *Heo Jo: brother-in-law of

*Sim Shin

References