Joseon

Early History

At the beginning of the dynasty, the capital of the country was Seoul (then known as Hanyang, later Hanson ). In 1394, the construction of the Gyeongbokgung Imperial Palace began.

Taejo asked the Chinese emperor to choose a name for his country from two options he presented - Hvarёn (at the place of origin of his family in northeast Korea) and Joseon (based on the legendary ancestor Tangong Ancient Joseon ). The Minsk government opted for the second option (because Ancient Joseon was mentioned in Chinese sources), and from that moment Joseon (morning freshness) became the official name. Also, the capital of the state was Seoul .

At the beginning of the dynasty, relations between Buddhist monasteries and Confucian officials escalated, especially with regard to land ownership. The government opted for Confucianism, which became a state ideology. In 1443, King Sejong adopted the unique Korean Hangul alphabet, which was also developed by Shin Sukchu . Prior to this, Korea used only Hancha script based on Chinese characters.

During the Joseon Dynasty, an administrative system was established, based on the involvement of the Yanbans who worked as advisers to the royal court and were put on top posts in the army. Buddhism began to slowly give up their positions in favor of Confucianism .

The Joseon Dynasty went through two periods of cultural prosperity, during which a Korean tea ceremony was created, Korean gardens and extensive encyclopedias were written. The royal dynasty also built several fortresses, ports and palaces ^{[ what? ]} .

Under King Mungion , the world's first pluviometer was developed ^[2] .

In the days of Koryo, Korea had strong trade ties with Arabs , Japanese, Chinese, and Manchus . One of the most prosperous international ports was Pyeongnam . The main items of Korean exports were fabric, ginseng , silk and porcelain . However, during the Joseon era, exports declined significantly due to growing tensions with China and increased Buddhist influence ^{[to clarify ]} .

The absence of regular merchant shipping across the East China Sea between Korea and the commercial centers of China in the lower Yangtze at the end of the 15th century is evidenced by the fact that when in 1488, a Korean coastal ship drifted into a storm in Zhejiang , its crew and passengers, led by It turned out that the Korean official Choi Pu who was on the ship (who wrote about this story) had to return to his homeland along China's inland waterways and land roads, through Beijing and Liaoning .

In the history of Korea, Japanese raids on the country from the sea were frequent. Most of the wako pirates in the Sea of ​​Japan were samurai , combined into brigades.

However, in 1592, the Japanese ruler ( Taiko ) Toyotomi Hideyoshi , setting out to conquer China and Korea with the help of rifles obtained from the Portuguese, made an invasion of Korea with the support of daimyo and their troops. This war was called the Imda War , or the Seven Years War (1592-1598). Palace intrigues, failures in diplomacy and a lag in armaments predetermined the poor preparedness of the Kingdom of Joseon for war. The effect of surprise attacks and European weapons - wick arquebuses - allowed the Japanese to capture the entire southern part of the peninsula in a few days, as well as Pyongyang and Hanson (modern Seoul).

Local resistance, however, created problems for Japan to move deeper into the country, and Admiral Lee Songsin’s naval victories left Korea in control of the coast. In addition, in 1593, Minsk entered Korea from the west, pushing back both Korean and Japanese troops. During the war in Korea, new types of gunpowder were developed, and the world's first rowing ships with metal armor, armed with cannons - turtle ships , or kobuksons (the first information about which date back to 1413) were actively used. The Sino-Korean coalition defeated the Japanese, but Korea won the victory at a high price - the country's economy was in decline, a significant part of the working-age population died or was taken to Japan. The Japanese also took with them many historical and cultural values. The long war reduced the land fund of agriculture from 1708 thousand col to 541 thousand col. In addition, Japanese troops mutilated about 20,000 Koreans, cutting off their ears. According to legend, Hill in Kyoto was built from these ears. Relations between the two countries improved only after 10 years, when in 1607 a diplomatic mission went to Japan.

After these events, the Korean state began to pursue a policy of isolationism . The border with China, where the new Qing Dynasty reigned, was diligently strengthened.

Despite this, there were trade relations with Mongolia , North Asia, China and Japan.

In the XVII century, Korea suffered from raids by the Manchus - the first invasion occurred in 1627, and the second in 1636-1637. As a result, Korea became a Qing tributary.

When in 1863, van Choljon died without leaving an heir, the Dowager Queen suggested that Choljong's distant relative, Lee Myungbok, who would later receive the temple name Kojong, be placed on the throne . Since the new van was a minor, his father, Li Khayn , who went down in history under his title tevonggun (great prince , prince regent ), became the regent with him . Taewong Gong generally sought to pursue a policy of closing Korea. Under his leadership, repression against Korean Christians was carried out.

In the second half of the 19th century, pro-Western reforms in Korea, modeled on Japan (which received Western military technology after the Meiji Restoration ), were attempted by the influential official Park Kyu Su , but they were carried out extremely slowly and stopped after his death.

Despite the sending of significant forces - seven French warships (in 1866) and five warships and the expeditionary force of the United States (in 1871), these powers did not succeed in imposing unequal trade agreements on the Korean authorities.

In 1873, Li Khayn was removed from power by Queen Ming , the wife of Kojong.

In 1875, Japan decided to try to make Korea open to the outside world. After the Japanese fleet approached Kanghwado Island, Korean artillery opened fire. During the clash, two Japanese were slightly injured, 35 Koreans died and 16 were taken prisoner. The Japanese took this battle as an occasion to conclude an unequal treaty with Korea, similar to those that had previously been concluded by Western countries with Japan itself.

On January 15, 1876, the Japanese fleet, under the command of Kuroda Kiyotaki, arrived on the shores of Korea. On February 26 of the same year, the Kanhwan peace treaty was signed between Japan and Korea, according to which Japanese ships gained the right to free navigation in the territorial waters of Korea, and, in the future, opened two additional ports (besides Busan) for trade with the Japanese. The Japanese got the right to move deep into Korea at a distance of 10 li from the coast. Soon, similar treaties were signed by Korea with the United States , Italy , Russia , Germany and France .

In 1882, Li Haeing briefly returned to power after the so-called . But he was soon taken to China, and Queen Ming regained power.

It began in 1893-94. The revolutionary movement, led by representatives of the Tonhak movement, forced the king to turn to China for help. The Chinese government sent its troops to Korea, to which Japan responded by sending its own.

As a result, the friction that emerged during the nineteenth century between China and Japan resulted in the Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895). Korea did not officially participate in it, but it was fought over Korea, and most of the hostilities took place on its territory. The defeat of China in 1895 led to the signing of a treaty in Shimonoseki , which officially guaranteed Korea independence from China, which led to a significant increase in the influence of Japan in Korea.

After the war, Korea actually fell under the protectorate of Japan. The king ruled from now on under the strict control of Japan. In 1895, the Japanese killed Queen Ming . The scandal was so wide that a show trial was launched over the killers in Japan, but all of them were found not guilty.

In 1894, King Kodjon announced the creation of the “ Great Khan Empire ” ( 대한 제국, 大 韓帝國 ) and proclaimed himself emperor in order to emphasize the independence of Korea and put himself on the same level as the emperor of China and Japan. This event is considered the end of the Joseon era. On February 11, 1896, van Kodjon fled the palace and took refuge in the Russian embassy in Seoul, where he lived for a year. Only in March 1897 he returned to his palace, after which, announcing the beginning of a new era of Kwangmu ( cor. 광무 ^? , 光武^? ), He accepted the title of emperor, in fact, having practically no power.

Japanese annexation put an end to the three-year reign of his son Emperor Sungjon and the 519-year rule of the Li dynasty.

After the annexation of Korea, the imperial house moved to Japan. Heir to the throne Lee Eun married the Japanese princess Masako Nasimoto. They had two sons, Li Chin and Li Gu . His older brother Yy had twelve sons and nine daughters from different wives and concubines.

• Emperor Kojon (1852-1919) - 26th chapter of the Joseon House
  • Emperor Songjon (1874-1926) - 27th chapter of the Joseon House
  • Prince Kang (1877-1955)
    • Prince Kun (1909-1991)
    • Prince U (1912-1945)
      • Lee Chun (1936-)
    • Prince Cap (1938-)
      • Crown Prince of the Empire Vaughn (Hvansason) (1962-) - 30th head of the Joseon House
        • 1st son (1998-)
        • 2nd son (1999-)
      • Lee Jung
    • Prince Juice (1941-)
      • Lee Hong (1976-)
      • Lee Chin (1979-)
      • Lee Jung Hung (1980-)
  • Crown Prince Eimin (1897-1970) - 28th chapter of the Joseon House
    • Prince Chin (1921-1922)
    • Crown Prince Ho Eun (1931-2005) - 29th chapter of the Joseon House
  • Princess Tok He (1912-1989)
    • Jung Hye
       

      Tombs of the Kings of Joseon , one of UNESCO World Heritage Sites

• " Annals of the Joseon Dynasty "
• Battle of Busan (1592)
• History of Korea
• List of Korean monarchs # Joseon
• Korean empire
• Cho Sik
• Hvachha

• Joseon Dynasty
• Kurbanov O.S. The history of Korea from antiquity to the beginning of the XXI century .. - SPb: Publishing house of S.-Petersburg University, 2009. - ISBN 9785288048524 .
• Tikhonov V.M., Kang Mangil. History of Korea. - M .: Natalis, 2011. - T. 1: From ancient times until 1904. - (Orientalia et Classica: Proceedings of the Institute of Oriental Culture and Antiquity). - ISBN 978-5-8062-0343-5 .