Danjong

Danjong 6th King of the Joseon Dynasty
King Danjong sitting on horseback (a work from 1927)
Spelling of names
Hangeul	단종
Hanja	端 宗
Revised Romanization	Danjong
McCune-Reischauer	Danjong
Reign
Reign of	1452
Reign until	1455
predecessor	King Munjong
successor	King Sejo
Life dates
Born on the	August 9, 1441
place of birth	Gyeongbokgung Palace, Hanseong , Joseon
Birth Name	이홍 위
Hanja	李弘 暐
Revised Romanization	Yi Hongwi
McCune-Reischauer	Yi Hongwi
father	King Munjong
mother	Queen Hyeondeok
Death dates
Died on	November 7, 1457
Place of death	Yeongwol -gun, Gangwon-do , Joseon
tomb	Jangneung, Danjong-ro, Yeongwol-eup, Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do
Spouses, mistresses, offspring
Woman (s)	Queen Jeongsun Suk-Ui of the Sangsan Kim clan Suk-Ui of the Andong Kwon clan

Danjong ( Korean : 단종 ) (born August 9, 1441 in Hanseong , Joseon ; † November 7, 1457 in Yeongwol -gun ( 영월 ), Gangwon-do Province ( 강원도 )), was the 6th during his reign from 1452 to 1455. King of the Joseon Dynasty ( 조선 왕조 ) (1392–1910) in Korea .

Life

Danjong was born on August 9, 1441 as the only son of the Crown Prince and later King Munjong under the name Hongwi ( 홍위 ) in Gyeongbokgung in Hanseong . It was the 23rd year of his grandfather's reign, Sejong the Great . When his father Munjong took over the reign after the death of King Sejong, his father's health was not in good shape, which is why his father settled the succession to the throne shortly after his enthronement and Danjong became crown prince at the age of 10 under the name Nosan ( 노산 ) appointed.

Reign

Danjong was about to turn 12 when his father died on June 1, 1452 and he had to take the throne. Even before his father's death, he regulated how power in the state should be secured after his death and how the business of government should be continued by Prime Minister Hwang Bo-in ( 황보 인 ) and his deputy General Kim Jong-seo ( 김종서 ). At 12, Danjong was too young to rule and needed protection from attacks on the throne, because Prince Suyang ( 수양 ) and Prince Anpyeong ( 안평 ), second and third sons of King Sejong's first wife, also had strong ambitions for the throne.

Almost 1 1/2 years later, Danjong's uncle, Prince Suyang , staged a conspiracy against the throne. Known under the name Gyeyu-jeongnan ( 계유 정난 ), Suyang reached on October 10, 1453, with the help of the scholar Han Myung-hoi ( 한명회 ) and some other high-ranking royal servants, that in a plot Prince Anpyeong was proclaimed king has been. Prince Suyang presented himself as a savior, intervened, took power in the palace and sent his brother Prince Anpyeong into exile on Ganghwado Island , where he was poisoned eight days later. Also Hwang Bo-in and General Kim Jongseo were killed. In June 1455, Prince Geumseong ( 금성 ), another uncle of Danjong, was also exiled. Under the constant urging of the scholar Han Myung-hoi and his followers, Danjong finally gave in and finally passed power to his uncle Suyang , who took over the throne on June 11, 1455 as King Sejo ( 세조 ). Danjong himself remained king, but without any power.

As the attempt of the scholars Seong Sam-mun ( 성삼문 ), Bak Paeng-nyeon ( 박 팽년 ), Ha Wi-ji ( 하위지 ), Yi Gae ( 이개 ), Yu Seong-won ( 유 성원 ) and the military leader Yu Eung -bu ( 유응부 ) failed to bring Danjong back to the throne in June 1456, all six of them were executed (known as Sayuksin ( 사육신 ) (six killed royal servants)), Danjong demoted to Prince Nosan ( 노산군 ) a year later and exiled to Cheongryoengpo ( 청령포 ), Yeongwol ( 영월 ) in Gangwon-do Province ( 강원도 ).

In September 1457 Danjong's uncle, Prince Geumseong , who himself had to live in exile in Gyeongsang Province ( 경상도 ), tried to enable Danjong to return to the throne. He was arrested and Danjong was demoted to scholarly rank as a punishment.

death

Danjong died shortly afterwards on November 7th, 1457 (October 24th according to the lunar calendar) under unexplained circumstances. But it stands to reason that he was murdered, because King Sejo had declared that if someone were to bury the body of King Danjong, death would be expected. Other sources state that his body was thrown into the Dongang River. However, the governor of Yeongwol-gun County, Eom Heung-do, found the body and buried it in what was later called Jangneung ( 장능 ) and is now in Danjong-ro ( 단종 로 ), Yeongwol-eup ( 영월 읖 ) , Yeongwol-gun ( 영월군 ), Gangwon-do Province ( 강원도 ).

literature

• 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).
• Kang Jae-eun : The Land of Scholars: Two Thousands Years of Korean Confucianism . Homa & Sekey Books , New Jersey 2005, ISBN 1-931907-37-4 (English).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kang : The Land of Scholars . 2005, p.  238 .
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Yeongwol area where King Danjong breathed his last breath . KBS World , December 14, 2012, archived from the original on December 21, 2012 ; accessed on February 7, 2019 (English, original website no longer available). }  
3. ↑ Kang : The Land of Scholars . 2005, p.  239 .
4. ↑ Jangneung Royal Tomb (UNESCO World Heritage) ( 영월 장릉 (단종) (유네스코 세계 문화 유산) ). In: Visit Korea . Korea Tourism Organization , accessed February 7, 2019 .