| Jeongjo 정조 正祖 | |||||||||||||
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| King of Joseon | |||||||||||||
| Reign | 27 April 1776 – 18 August 1800 | ||||||||||||
| Enthronement | Sungjeongmun Gate,Gyeonghuigung,Hanseong | ||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Yeongjo | ||||||||||||
| Successor | Sunjo | ||||||||||||
| Regent ofJoseon | |||||||||||||
| Tenure | 1775 – 27 April 1776 | ||||||||||||
| Monarch | Yeongjo | ||||||||||||
| Grand Heir of Joseon | |||||||||||||
| Tenure | 10 March 1759 – 27 April 1776 | ||||||||||||
| Born | 28 October 1752 Gyeongchunjeon Hall,Changgyeonggung,Hanseong,Joseon | ||||||||||||
| Died | 18 August 1800(1800-08-18) (aged 47) Yeongchunheon Hall,Changgyeonggung,Hanseong,Joseon | ||||||||||||
| Burial | Geonneung Mausoleum,Yonggeonneung Cluster,Hwaseong, South Korea | ||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||
| Issue among others... | Sunjo of Joseon | ||||||||||||
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| Clan | Jeonju Yi | ||||||||||||
| Dynasty | Yi | ||||||||||||
| Father |
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| Mother |
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| Religion | Korean Confucianism(Neo-Confucianism) | ||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 이산 / 이성 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 李祘 |
| RR | I San / I Seong |
| MR | I San / I Sŏng |
| Monarch name | |
| Hangul | 정조 |
| Hanja | 正祖 |
| RR | Jeongjo |
| MR | Chŏngjo |
| Art name | |
| Hangul | 홍재 |
| Hanja | 弘齋 |
| RR | Hongjae |
| MR | Hongjae |
| Courtesy name | |
| Hangul | 형운 |
| Hanja | 亨運 |
| RR | Hyeongun |
| MR | Hyŏngun |
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| Joseon monarchs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jeongjo (Korean: 정조;Hanja: 正祖; 28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800), personal nameYi San (이산;李祘), sometimes calledJeongjo the Great (정조대왕;正祖大王), was the 22nd monarch of theJoseon dynasty ofKorea. He was the second son ofCrown Prince Sado andLady Hyegyŏng, and succeeded his grandfather,King Yeongjo, in 1776.
His father,Crown Prince Sado, was executed in 1762, leading to conflicts over Yi San’s legitimacy as heir. As king, he sought to clear his father’s name, balance political factions, and strengthen royal authority. He built theHwaseong Fortress, reformed governance, and promoted talented scholars. Facing assassination attempts, he created the Changyongyeong royal guards. Jeongjo established theKyujanggak royal library, expanded social mobility, and encouragedNeo-Confucian scholarship. His reign marked a cultural and political renaissance, but factional struggles persisted. He is also remembered for his various efforts to reform and improve the nation. The era of Jeongjo's rule is considered one of the highest points of theJoseon era and today he is generally considered to be among the greatest leaders in Korean history.[2]
He was the son ofCrown Prince Sado (who was put to death when Jeongjo was 11 by his father,King Yeongjo) andLady Hyegyŏng (who wrote theMemoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng, which details her life as the ill-fated Crown Princess of Korea, and offers advice and explanations for her grandson about the deaths of his grandfather and many maternal relatives). His elder brotherCrown Prince Uiso died in infancy. His mother Lady Hyegyŏng's collection of memoirs serves as a significant source of historical information on the political happenings during the reigns ofKing Yeongjo (her father-in-law), King Jeongjo (her son), andKing Sunjo (her grandson).
In 1762, his father,Crown Prince Sado, was executed (by imprisonment in arice chest) by King Yeongjo (Crown Prince Sado's father and Prince Yi San's grandfather) after long conflicts and Sado's years of mental illness. Crown Prince Sado opposed the rulingNoron party. He started to hate the parties of Joseon.[3] Eight years later Yi San asked to visit Sado's living quarter but his Grandfather King Yeongjo refused. So he refused to attend Crown Prince Sado's funeral. On 21 February 1764, Yi San became the adoptive son ofCrown Prince Hyojang andPrincess Consort Hyosun by the order of King Yeongjo.[4]Crown Prince Hyojang was the elder half-brother of his father, Crown Prince Sado. Crown Prince Hyojang though, had died during his childhood. King Yeongjo made Yi San a part of Hyojang's family because he was concerned that Yi San, who was Sado's son and successor, would be opposed. The Noron faction protested Yi San's legitimacy as the royal successor under the claim that Yi San was the 'Son of a prisoner' or 'Son of a madman' and thus ineligible to succeed the throne. This was a major source of vexation forKing Yeongjo for an extended period.
After 1762 to 1777, some members ofNoron attempted to depose Jeongjo for his relation toCrown Prince Sado and open the path of succession for his half-brothers Prince Eunjeon, Prince Euneon and, Prince Eunshin. His grand uncleHong In-han andJeong Hu-gyeom, adopted son ofPrincess Hwawan, were amongst them.
When he was the Crown Prince, King Jeongjo metHong Guk-yeong[5] (홍국영;洪國榮), a controversial politician who first strongly supported Jeongjo's accession and toiled to improve the king's power, but ended up being expelled because of his desire and ambition for power. Another helper was Kim Jong-su (김종수;金鍾秀), despite being a member ofNoron.
In 1775, one year before King Yeongjo's death, King Jeongjo was appointed regent. However, King Yeongjo did not give him any military power.
Before Yeongjo died, Jeongjo had his coronation inGyeonghuigung on 10 March 1776.[6] After his coronation, Jeongjo chose his spouse.[7] The first thing that Jeongjo said to his officials was that he was the son ofJangjo (temple name of Crown Prince Sado) who was executed by the former king.[8]
Jeongjo tried to empathize with his people.[9] During his second year of reign, a great drought came. During the drought, Jeongjo was nervous just like the people and did arainmaking ritual for his people.[10] He also was deeply concerned about the continuing outbreaks of measles epidemics, and among other things supplied free public medicines in an attempt curb the death rates.[11]
Concerned about political factions, Jeongjo continued his grandfather's policy ofTangpyeong [ko] (political harmony policy) in an attempt to balance political factions.[12] By this, he tried to get rid of the parties which caused his father's death.[3]
From the first day of the reign, Jeongjo spent much of hisreign trying to clear his father's name.[9] One of the first things Jeongjo said following his ascension to the throne of Joseon was declaring that he was the son of Crown Prince Sado.[13][14] He also moved the court to the city ofSuwon to be closer to his father'sgrave. He builtHwaseong Fortress to guard the tomb. It is now aUNESCO World Heritage Site.
Jeongjo was always threatened by some of his officials who were against his reign. He was able to overcome these challenges with the help ofHong Guk-yeong and others.[3]
During his accession, he also issued a royal decree that his mother, Lady Hyegyŏng, be a Dowager Queen since his father, her husband, was supposed to be the King before him. Thus, she became the Queen Dowager, the widow ofJangjo. From then on, King Jeongjo experienced many turbulent periods, but overcame them with the aid of Hong Guk-yeong,[5] Kim Chong-su.
In 1776, Hong Sang-beom, Hong Kye-neung and other some member ofNoron unsuccessfully attempted to stage a militarycoup d'état and assassinate him. Jeongjo fought the rebels who were secretly in royal palace and personally arrested his assassins. Jeongjo executed Hong Sang-beom, Hong Kye-neung, and another some member ofNorons, and put to death Prince Eunjeon, Hong In-han, and Chung Hu-kyom.
Jeongjo tried to impeachHong Guk-yeong in an attempt to stop the concentration of political power in single civil family but the impeachment failed.
In 1785 he established Changyongyeong (장용영;壯勇營) as the King's royal bodyguards. Jeongjo had started selecting officers by competitive examination since 1782 to recruit them into the Changyongyeong unit, to replace theNaekeunwe (corps of Joseon royal bodyguards created byTaejong of Joseon in 1407), which he no longer trusted.
King Jeongjo led the renaissance of Joseon, but was initially busy continuing the policy ofYeongjo's Tangpyeong ("Magnificent Harmony"; 蕩平, 탕평) policy of political reconciliation between the parties. He tried to control the politics of the whole nation to advance and further national progress.
He made various reforms throughout his reign, notably establishingKyujanggak (규장각), a royal library. The primary purpose of Kyujanggak was to improve the cultural and political stance of Joseon and to recruit gifted officers to help run the nation. Jeongjo also spearheaded bold new social initiatives, including opening government positions to those who were previously barred because of theirsocial status.
He cultivated knowledge of humanities and philosophy (Neo-Confucianism). He was known to be studious and well-read. Among the King's entourage, one that had a great influence and became both a great teacher and father figure for him was Kim Jong-su. Jeongjo also had the support of the manySilhak scholars who favored regal power over the parties, including scholarsChŏng Yagyong,Pak Chiwŏn,Pak Chega andYu Deuk-gong. His reign also saw the further growth and development of Joseon's popular culture.
Jeongjo favored members of theSoron andNamin party over those of the powerfulNoron faction, as a way to establish checks and balances and strengthen royal authority.
He was opposed to new fashions in the composition style of Korean writing and personally taught composition to some intellectuals and bureaucrats calledMunchebanjong [ko] (문체반정 文體反正 –literary criticism/reform).
In 1791, Jeongjo got a report fromCh'ae Chegong that the people were having difficulty surviving by selling the fruit of their labor.[15] Jeongjo then established the new law ofShinhae Tonggong [ko] (free trade law), which allowed anyone to sell their goods at the market. This abolished the previous law ofGumnanjeonguoun [ko],[16] which reserved this right exclusively to members of merchant groups in the capital.[17][unreliable source?]
In his final years, Jeongjo arranged for the marriage of his second son and successorSunjo of Joseon to Lady Kim of the Andong clan, daughter ofKim Jo-sun, but did not live to see his son's marriage. In 1800, Jeongjo died suddenly under uncertain circumstances at the age of 47, without seeing much of his life's work come to fruition under his son, Sunjo.[18] There are many books regarding the mystery behind his death, and speculation as to the cause of his death continues even today.[19]
He is buried with his wife,Queen Hyoui, at the royal tomb ofGeonneung (건릉;健陵) in the city ofHwaseong.
On 7 December 1899, Jeongjo posthumously became Jeongjo Sanghwangjae.[20]
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Consort(s) and their respective issue
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Media related toJeongjo of Joseon at Wikimedia CommonsJeongjo of Joseon Born: 22 September 1752 Died: 28 June 1800 | ||
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| Preceded by | King of Joseon 1776–1800 | Succeeded by |
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| King of Joseon (1392–1897) |
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| Emperor of Korea (1897–1910) | |||||||
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| King Yi[note 4] (1910–1947) |
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