Heungseon Daewongun

Heungseon Daewongun Regent of the Joseon Dynasty Father of King Gojong
Heungseon Daewongun (1869)
Spelling of names
Hangeul	흥선 대원군
Hanja	興 宣 大院君
Revised Romanization	Heungseon Daewongun
McCune-Reischauer	Hŭngsŏn Taewŏn'gun
Life dates
Born on the	January 24, 1821
place of birth	Hanseong , Joseon
Birth Name	이하응
Hanja	李 昰 應
Revised Romanization	Yi Ha-eung
McCune-Reischauer	Yi Ha-ŭng
father	Prince Namyeongun
Death dates
Died on	February 22, 1898
Place of death	Unhyeongung , Hanseong
tomb	Yongsan-gu , Hanseong

Heungseon Daewongun ( Korean : 흥선 대원군 ), also known as Daewongun ( 대원군 ), (born December 21, 1820 in Hanseong , Joseon , † February 1898 in Seongjeosimni, Korean Empire ) was the father of the 26th King of the Joseon Dynasty , King Gojong and while his son was too young to rule, ruler of the kingdom from 1864 to 1873 .

Early life

Heungseon Daewongun was born on December 21, 1820 under the name Yi Ha-eung ( 이하응 ) in Hanseong . His father was Namyeongun ( 님 영군 ), a grandson of Prince Sado ( 사도 ), who was killed at the time by his father, King Yeongjo ( 영조 ). Yi Ha-eung's adult name was later Sibaek ( 시백 , 時 伯 ), his nickname Seokpa ( 석파 , 石坡 ) and after his death he was given the title Heonui ( 헌의 , 獻 懿 ).

Regent of the Joseon Empire

When Heungseon Daewongun's son, Yi Myeong-bok ( 이명복 ), had to succeed King Cheoljong ( 철종 ) on January 21, 1864 (December 13, 1863 according to the lunar calendar) , his son was just eleven years old and thus unable to rule the country. As a result, Heungseon Daewongun took over the affairs of state in the name of his son and two years later ordered the marriage of King Gojong to the one year older Min Chi Rok, a daughter of the Min clan, known as Queen Myeongseong ( 명성 ) or, in short, Queen Min ( 민 ) became known. The wedding took place according to the lunar calendar on March 20, 1866 in Changdeokgung ( 창덕궁 ), the Palace of Brilliant Virtue in Hanseong .

Heungseon Daewongun used his power for reforms that he pursued with the aim of forging a strong monarchy. So he disempowered the four most influential clans in the country, which alternately had strong influence on the royal court and the affairs of government. He also changed the taxation system so that the so-called military clothing tax, which the common people had to pay, was changed into a household tax, which now also affects the Yangban class ( 양반 ). He also ensured that the Gyeongbokgung Palace ( 경복궁 ), which was destroyed by Japanese invaders during the Imjin War , was rebuilt. The reconstruction of the palace took only two years and cost the state a fortune.

In foreign policy, Heungseon Daewongun pursued isolation from the European colonial powers and western influences.In domestic politics, he tried to reduce the influence of the private academies in the country, known as Seowon ( 서원 ), through his repressive policies, which, among other things, led to many enemies in the class the scholar created. In 1871 he closed 650 of these institutions and allowed only 47 institutions to continue operating. He also gave up his initially relatively tolerant policy towards the Christian movement in the country and from the beginning of 1866 had Christians persecuted in the country and executed nine French missionaries and a large number of converts to Christianity.

Heungseon Daewongun expanded the country's military power and was able to repel two attacks by the French and US navies in 1866 and 1871, which resulted from the killing of the French missionaries and the destruction of a US merchant ship.

Disempowerment

With the disempowerment of the Yangban class and his fight against the Seowon, Heungseon Daewongun had made many enemies over the almost ten years of his reign , and the fact that he helped a representative of the Min clan to power at court made things even more difficult. In December 1873 he finally had to surrender his power to his son Gojong after the Confucian scholar Ikhyeon ( 익현 ) drafted a complaint against him and denounced him. King Gojong and his wife took the opportunity to remove Heungseon Daewongun from the government to end Daewongun's isolationist policy and reopen the empire to other countries.

His struggle for power

In 1881 Heungseon Daewongun sought to regain power by trying to replace his son King Gojong with his eldest son, Yi Jae-seon ( 이재선 ). The conspiracy in 1882 failed and King Gojong and his wife were able to escape. Queen Min called the Chinese government for help, which shortly thereafter sent 4,000 soldiers to the palace in Hanseong and ended the uprising. Yi Jae-seon and more than 30 of his followers were executed. Heungseon Daewongun was arrested by Chinese troops and taken to Beijing , where he had to stay until 1885. In the course of the Gabo reforms , the influence of the Japanese government ensured that Heungseon Daewongun became part of the government again in 1894 and should support the reform. But the Ming clan, who stood behind the queen, made sure that Heungseon Daewongun was removed from the government.

On the morning of October 8, 1895, Heungseon Daewongun participated in the storming of King Gojong's palace by Japanese soldiers. Gojong was imprisoned in the palace while the soldiers shot Queen Min and later burned her body. What role Heungseon Daewongun played in the murder of the queen he hated remained unclear.

death

Heungseon Daewongun lived in Unhyeongung ( 운현궁 ), the palace built in 1864 by King Gojong, until his death . He died on February 22, 1898 and was buried in Yongsan-gu ( 용산구 ).

Photo gallery

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  Portrait, drawing around 1870

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  Painting from 1880

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  Photo from 1883

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  Heungseon Daewongun's tomb in Yongsan-gu

literature

• FA McKenzie : The Tragedy of Korea . EP Dutton & Co. , New York 1908 (English, online [PDF; 13.4 MB ; accessed on March 30, 2019]).
• Ki-baik Lee : A New History of Korea . Harvard University Press , Seoul 1984, ISBN 0-674-61576-X (English, Chinese: 韓國 史 新 論 . 1961. Translated by Edward W. Wagner).
• Tatiana M. Simbirtseva: Queen Min of Korea: Coming to Power . In: Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch (Ed.): Transactions . Volume 71 . Seoul 1996, p. 41–54 (English, online [PDF; 28.2 MB ; accessed on March 28, 2019]).
• Hiyoul Kim: Korean History. Introduction to Korean history from prehistory to modern times . Ed .: Heinrich P. Kelz (=  languages ​​and language learning . Volume 204 ). Asgard-Verlag, St. Augustin 2004, ISBN 3-537-82040-2 .
• Han Young Woo : Joseon Era . In: A Review of Korean History . Volume 2 . Kyongsaewon Publishing Company , Pajubookcity, Gyeonggi-do 2010, ISBN 978-89-8341-092-4 (English).

Web links

Commons : Heungseon Daewongun  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Unhyeon Palace: the site of modern Korean history. KBS World Radio , November 1, 2011, accessed March 30, 2019 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Entry in Bibliothèque nationale de France
2. ↑ Han : Joseon Era . 2010, p.  308 .
3. ↑ Set of Twenty-six Seals of Yi Ha-eung (1820-1898) . National Palace Museum of Korea , accessed March 30, 2019 .  
4. ↑ Simbirtseva: Queen Min of Korea: Coming to Power . 1996, p. 44 .
5. ↑ Simbirtseva: Queen Min of Korea: Coming to Power . 1996, p. 41 .
6. ↑ Simbirtseva: Queen Min of Korea: Coming to Power . 1996, p. 47 .
7. ^ ^{A b} Lee : A New History of Korea . 1984, p.  261 .
8. ^ ^{A b} Lee : A New History of Korea . 1984, p.  263 .
9. ^ Lee : A New History of Korea . 1984, p.  262 .
10. ^ Lecture 6 - Late Joseon and 19th Century . (PDF 251 kB) The Daewongun, King / Emperor Gojong and Queen Min . University of Helsinki , p. 4 , accessed March 30, 2019 .  
11. ^ Lee : A New History of Korea . 1984, p.  263 f .
12. ↑ ^{a b} Kim: Korean History. Introduction to Korean history from prehistory to modern times . 2004, p. 194 .
13. ^ Lee : A New History of Korea . 1984, p.  268 .
14. ^ McKenzie : The Tragedy of Korea . 1908, p.  16-18 .
15. ^ Lee : A New History of Korea . 1984, p.  272 .
16. ^ Lee : A New History of Korea . 1984, p.  272 ff .
17. ^ Lecture 6 - Late Joseon and 19th Century . (PDF 251 kB) The Daewongun, King / Emperor Gojong and Queen Min . University of Helsinki , p. 5 , accessed March 30, 2019 .  
18. ^ McKenzie : The Tragedy of Korea . 1908, p.  64-66 .
19. ↑ The Unhyeon Palace: The Site of Modern Korean History. KBS World Radio , November 1, 2011, accessed March 30, 2019 .