Hongmungwan ( ko, 홍문관. ), or the Office of Special Advisors, was one of the

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 ...

; it acted as the Joseon dynasty's administrative and research agency.

History

Hongmungwan was one of the

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 ...

, together with the Saheonbu and the Saganwon. It was also known as the ''Ok-dang'' (옥당, 玉堂), ''Ok-seo'' (옥서, 玉署), and ''Yeong-gak'' (영각, 瀛閣). It was established in 1463 to replace the

Hall of Worthies The Hall of Worthies, or Jiphyeonjeon (; ), was a royal research institute set up by Sejong the Great of the Korean Joseon Dynasty in March 1420. Set up during the beginning of his reign, King Sejong staffed the Hall of Worthies with talented sc ...

(Jiphyeonjeon·집현전). The Hall of Worthies was the body originally tasked with answering the kings' questions, however it was abolished in 1456 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 ...

; when many of its key officials (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-ny ...

") became involved in an assassination plot in their effort to restore deposed king

Danjong Danjong of Joseon (18 August 1441 – 17 November 1457), personal name Yi Hong-wi (Korean: 이홍위; Hanja: 李弘暐), was the sixth ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was forced to abdicate by his uncle, Grand Prince Suyang (the futu ...

to the throne. The books stored in the Hall of Worthies were moved to Yemungwan. In 1463, the

Jangseogak The Janseogak refers to an archival collection currently held at the Academy of Korean Studies (''Hangukhak jungang yeon'guwon'') outside of Seoul, South Korea. The collection focuses on works dealing with traditional Korean history and culture a ...

was renamed the Hongmungwan. In 1478, Hongmungwan was divided and reformed from Yemungwan. Hongmungwan maintained the books of the royal library, archived the kings writings. It also served as a research institute in the study of Confucian philosophy and to answer the king's questions. Its officials took part in the daily lessons called ''gyeongyeon'' (경연), in which they discussed history and Confucian philosophy with the king. Gyeongyeons generally took place three times a day although few kings such as

Taejong Taejong of Joseon (13 June 1367 – 8 June 1422), personal name Yi Bang-won (Korean: 이방원; Hanja: 李芳遠), was the third ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea and the father of King Sejong the Great. Before ascending to the throne, he wa ...

and

Yeonsangun Yeonsangun of Joseon or Prince Yeonsan of Joseon (23 November 1476 – 20 November 1506), personal name Yi Yung ( Korean: 이융; Hanja: 李㦕), was the tenth ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Often considered the worst tyrant in Joseon's ...

abolished them. Since these discussions often led to commentary on current political issues, its officials had significant influence as advisors. It was headed by the Chief Scholar (Daejehak·대제학), who served concurrently in another high post (such as in the State Council), and Deputy Chief Scholar (Bujehak·부제학), who actually ran the office. There was great prestige attached to being Chief Scholar in this deeply Confucian society. After the Seongjong period, Hongmungwan also acted on inspections and remonstrations. The Hongmungwan was abandoned in 1907.

References

Archives in South Korea Joseon dynasty {{Korea-hist-stub