Gwanghaegun of Joseon explained

Gwanghaegun

Dynasty:Yi
Succession:King of Joseon
Reign:March 1608 – 12 April 1623
Reign-Type:Reign
Predecessor:Seonjo
Successor:Injo
Succession1:Regent of Joseon
Reign1:1592–1608
Reign-Type1:Regency
Regent1:Seonjo
Reg-Type1:Monarch
Spouse-Type:Spouse(s)
Issue:4 sons, 1 daughter
Full Name:Yi Hon (이혼; 李琿)
House:Jeonju Yi
House-Type:Clan
Father:Seonjo of Joseon
Mother:Royal Noble Consort Gong
Birth Date:4 June 1575
Birth Place:Hanseong, Joseon
Death Place:Jeju Island, Joseon
Burial Place:Gwanghaegunmyo Mausoleum, Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
Hangul:광해군
Rr:Gwanghae
Mr:Kwanghae
Hangulborn:이혼
Rrborn:I Hon
Mrborn:I Hon

Gwanghaegun or Prince Gwanghae (; 4 June 1575 – 7 August 1641), personal name Yi Hon, was the 15th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. As he was deposed in a coup d'état, he did not receive a temple name.

Biography

Birth and background

Gwanghaegun was the second son of King Seonjo, born to Lady Kim Gong-Bin, a concubine. When Japan invaded Korea to attack the Ming Empire, he was installed as Crown Prince. When the king fled north to the border of Ming, he set up a branch court and fought defensive battles. During and after the Imjin Wars (1592–1598), he acted as the de facto ruler of the Joseon Dynasty, commanding battles and taking care of the reconstruction of the nation after the devastating wars, in the place of old and weak King Seonjo.[1]

Although it brought prestige to him, his position was still unstable. He had an elder but incompetent brother Prince Imhae (Imhaegun, 임해군, 臨海君) and a younger but legitimate brother Grand Prince Yeongchang (Yeongchang Daegun, 영창대군, 永昌大君), who was supported by the Lesser Northerners faction. Fortunately for Gwanghae, King Seonjo's abrupt death made it impossible for his favorite son Yeongchang to succeed to the throne.

Violence of Greater Northerner faction

Before King Seonjo died, he named Prince Gwanghae as his official successor to the throne and ordered his advisers to make a royal document. However, Lyu Young-gyong of the Lesser Northerners faction hid the document and plotted to install Grand Prince Yeongchang as king, only to be found out by the head of the Great Northerners faction, Jeong In-hong. Lyu was executed immediately and Grand Prince Yeongchang was arrested and executed the following year.

After the incident, Gwanghae tried to bring officials from various political and regional background to his court, but his plan was interrupted by Greater Northerners including Yi I-cheom and Jeong In-hong. Then, Greater Northerners began to take members of other political factions out of the government, especially Lesser Northerners. In 1613, the Greater Northerners moved against Grand Prince Yeongchang; his grandfather Kim Je-nam was found guilty of treason and executed, while Yeongchang was sent into exile, where he too was executed. At the same time, Greater Northerners suppressed the Lesser Northerners; in 1618, Yeongchang's mother, Queen Inmok, was stripped of her title and imprisoned. Gwanghae had no power to stop this even though he was the official head of the government.

Achievements

Despite his poor reputation after his death, he was a talented and pragmatic politician. He endeavored to restore the country and sponsored the restoration of documents. As a part of reconstruction, he revised land ordinance and redistributed land to the people; he also ordered the rebuilding of Changdeok Palace along with several other palaces. Additionally, he was responsible for the reintroduction of the hopae identification system after a long period of disuse.[2]

In foreign affairs he sought a balance between the Ming Empire and the Manchus. Since he realized Joseon was unable to compete with Manchu military power, he tried to maintain friendly relationship with the Manchus while the kingdom was still under the suzerainty of Ming, which angered the Ming and dogmatic Confucian Koreans. The critically worsened Manchu-Ming relationship forced him to send ten thousand soldiers to aid Ming in 1619.[3] However, the Battle of Sarhū ended in Manchu's overwhelming victory. The Korean General Gang Hong-rip lost two-thirds of his troops and surrendered to Nurhaci. Gwanghaegun negotiated independently for peace with the Manchus and managed to avoid another war. He also restored diplomatic relationship with Japan in 1609 when he reopened trade with Japan through Treaty of Giyu, and sent his ambassadors to Japan in 1617.

In the domestic sphere, Gwanghaegun implemented the Daedong law, which let his subjects pay their taxes more easily. However, this law was activated only in Gyeonggi Province, which was the largest granary zone at that time, and it took a century for the law to be extended across the whole kingdom. He encouraged publishing in order to accelerate reconstruction and to restore the kingdom's former prosperity. Many books were written during his reign, including the medical book Dongui Bogam, and several historical records were rewritten in this period. In 1616, tobacco was first introduced to Korea and it soon became popular amongst the Korean aristocracy.

Dethronement and later life

On April 11, 1623, Gwanghaegun was deposed in a coup by the Westerners faction. The coup directed by Kim Yu took place at night, Gwanghaegun fled but was captured later.[4] He was confined first on Ganghwa Island and then on Jeju Island, where he died in 1641.[5] He does not have a royal mausoleum like the other Joseon rulers. His and Lady Ryu's remains were buried at a comparatively humble site in Namyangju in Gyeonggi Province. The Westerners faction installed Neungyanggun as the sixteenth king Injo who promulgated pro-Ming and anti-Manchu policies, which resulted in two subsequent Manchu invasions.

Legacy

Gwanghaegun is one of only two deposed kings who were not restored and given a temple name (the other one being Yeonsangun).

He remains a polarizing figure among historians. Historian Oh Hang-nyeong strongly criticized the king, writing that he "practically used up the country’s entire budget solely for the construction of palaces, his policies were flawed and moreover, he was absent in many of the cabinet meetings. Gwanghaegun failed to communicate with his servants and with his people." However, historian Lee Duk-il praised the king, did that he "indeed made some political errors, but during his reign, the famous oriental medical book 'Donguibogam' was published and he created the tax system 'Daedong law' that was enforced for the benefit of the people." Despite the controversy over the king's handling of domestic policies, most historians have a positive assessment of Gwanghae's acts regarding foreign affairs.[6]

Family

Consort(s) and their respective issue

In popular culture

Film and television

Music

Literature

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. Quartermain . Thomas . State Symbols, Group Identity, and Communal Memory in Jeong Gyeong-un's Godae illok, 1592-1598 . The Review of Korean Studie . December 2019 . 22 . 2 . 77 . 15 January 2024.
  2. Book: Rutt, Richard. Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary. Routledge. United Kingdom. 1999. Pratt, Keith L. . Hoare, James . 0-7007-0463-9. (p252)
  3. News: The lament of Prince Gwanghae . 15 January 2024 . Dong A Ilbo . November 26, 2019.
  4. Web site: 승정원일기 1책(탈초본 1책) 인조 1년 3월 12일 임인. 승정원일기. 12 December 2017.
  5. Web site: Woo . Jiwon . [Jeju Playbook] Banished to the Island! ]. Korea Foundation . 15 January 2024.
  6. Web site: Controversy reignited over King Gwanghae . 2022-06-30 . . 16 September 2012 . en.
  7. Web site: Agust D. Suga (rapper). May 22, 2020. D-2. bot: unknown. https://web.archive.org/web/20210411002403/https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NUX8_Q0wkVn-TzrEVjUyd4BfeDdqRmTC. 11 April 2021. 2021-04-10. Big Hit Music. Korean.
  8. Web site: Agust D. Suga (rapper). May 22, 2020. 'D-2'. live. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nt0odudabfears1/AACfSMu0zZVDcIJX1ly35T-ta?dl=0. May 22, 2020. 2021-04-10. Big Hit Music. Korean.
  9. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
  10. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
  11. Web site: Baek. Byung-yeul. Recent Book: Gwanghae's Lover. The Korea Times. 2014-01-24. 31 May 2013.