Gwanghaegun

Gwanghaegun 15th King of the Joseon Dynasty
Spelling of names
Hangeul	광해군
Hanja	光 海 君
Revised Romanization	Gwanghae
McCune-Reischauer	Kwanghae
Reign
Reign of	1608
Reign until	April 6, 1623
predecessor	King Seonjo
successor	King Injo
Life dates
Born on the	June 4, 1575
place of birth	Hamheung, Hamgyeong-do Province , Goryeo
Birth Name	이혼
Hanja	李 琿
Revised Romanization	Yi Hon
McCune-Reischauer	Yi Hon
father	King Seonjo
mother	gong royal consort of the Gimhae Kim clan
Death dates
Died on	August 7, 1641
Place of death	Jejudo Island
tomb	GwanghaeGun-Myo Tomb, Namyangju City , Gyeonggi-do Province
Spouses, mistresses, offspring
Woman (s)	Queen Yu So-ui of the Papyeong Yun clan So-ui of the Hong clan So-ui of the Kwon clan Suk-ui of the Yangcheon Heo clan Suk-ui of the Wonju Won clan So-yong of the Dongnae Jeong clan So-yong of the Pungcheon In clan So -won of the Shin clan Suk-won of the Han clan
Sons	Prince Yi Ji
Daughters	1 daughter, name unknown

Gwanghaegun ( Korean : 광해군 ; * June 4, 1575 , Joseon ; † August 7, 1641 ibid) was during his reign from 1608 to 1623 the 15th King of the Joseon Dynasty ( 조선 왕조 ; 1392-1910) in Korea .

Life

Gwanghaegun was the son of the lady-in-waiting Kim ( 김 ) and King Seonjo ( 선조 ) and when he died in 1608, Gwanghaegun, whose birth name was Hon ( 혼 ), took power in the kingdom. Years earlier, during the Hideyoshi invasion (1592–1598), led by the Japanese general Toyotomi Hideyoshi ( 豊 臣 秀吉 ) and known as the Imjin War , King Seonjo named his son Gwanghaegun crown prince and thus his successor after his death .

After the birth of Prince Yeongchang ( 영창 ), who was the second-born son of King Seonjo and the son of Queen Inmok ( 인목 ), a competitive situation arose at court between Gwanghaegun and Yeongchang, which split the court into supporters of each other. While some insisted that Yeongchang was the legitimate heir to the royal throne, others insisted that Gwanghaegun was the more capable of the two and had shown qualities of leadership during the Imjin War. His supporters trusted him to build a strong, centrally organized state with a strong army.

After Gwanghaegun came to power in 1608, he and his government staff, in addition to censusing and surveying the land, renewed the country's infrastructure, revised the tax system, renewed the fortifications and improved military training. In order to combat diseases that had led to a decline in the population, he made use of the practices of Daoist medicine in addition to the existing medical knowledge . During his reign, the medical work Donguibogam ( 동의보감 ), which the physician Heo Jun ( 허준 ) (1539-1615) had created on behalf of King Seonjo in 16 years of work, was published in 1613.

Gwanghaegun's foreign policy

But above all Gwanghaegun's foreign policy found echo in the history books. He began to expand his influence westwards and in 1618 formally declared war on the ailing empire of the Ming Dynasty . But when the Jurchen founded the Later Jin Dynasty in northeast China and the Ming Empire wanted to recapture lost territory, Gwanghaegun was asked by the Ming Emperor Wanli ( Chinese 萬曆 ) for military support. Gwanghaegun's military was 13,000 strong at the time. After his general Gang Hong-rip ( 강홍립 ) concluded an armistice between the Joseon Empire and the Ming Empire, Gwanghaegun declared himself neutral in the conflict between the two Chinese powers. On the one hand, however, he had the army of the Ming Dynasty supported with food and equipment and, on the other hand, maintained a friendly relationship with the Juchen dynasty, a policy that was not universally accepted in Joseon.  

Domestically, he had his critics persecuted and killed and saw to it that his half-brother and competitor Yeongchang ( 영창 ) was killed in 1613 . He removed his stepmother Inmok ( 인목 ) from her royal position and limited her options within the court. But the resistance to his domestic policy, the attempt to eliminate the opposition and the deception felt by many against the rulers of the Ming dynasty ultimately led to his deposition as king in 1623, led by influential people like Kim Ryu ( 김류 ), Yi Gwi ( 이귀 ) and Yi Gwal ( 이괄 ). Gwanghaegun was first sent into exile on Ganghwado Island ( 강화도 ) and then later on Jejudo Island ( 제주도 ). In August 1641 he was killed and buried in the city of Namyangju ( 남양주 ) in Gyeonggi-do ( 경기도 ) province . His wife, Queen Yu ( 유 ) was also dethroned and exiled and died on Ganghwado Island, but was later also buried in her husband's tomb.

Movie

• In 2012 the feature film Gwanghae: Wang-i Doen Namja ( 광해: 왕 이 된 남자 , intl. Title: Masquerade ) was released, which reached over 12 million visitors in South Korea. The film was based on the annals of the Joseon Dynasty . In these the records of 15 consecutive days are missing.
• On April 13, 2015, the television series Hwajeong ( 화정 ) started on MBC . In 50 episodes, the series tells the story of Gwanghaegun, combining facts and fiction without distorting the story.

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).
• Rober Kong Chan : Korea-China Relations in History and Contemporary Implications . Palgrave Macmillan , 2018, ISBN 978-3-319-62264-4 , pp. 88-100 (English).
• Minjungs Korean-German Dictionary . Korean Society for German Studies, Seoul 1981, ISBN 978-89-387-0502-0 (Korean).

Web links

• Jung Hyun-mo : Controversy reignited over King Gwanghae . Korea Joongang Daily , September 17, 2012, accessed November 2, 2018 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Han : Joseon Era . In: A Review of Korean History . 2010, p.  307 .
2. ↑ ^{a b} Han : Joseon Era . In: A Review of Korean History . 2010, p.  145 .
3. ↑ ^{a b} Han : Joseon Era . In: A Review of Korean History . 2010, p.  179 .
4. ↑ Yeon Kyung : Donguibogam: Precious Book of Medicine . In: UNESCO (Ed.): The UNESCO Courier . Number 9 , 2009, ISSN 1993-8616 , p.   18–19 (English, online [PDF; 1,2 MB ; accessed on November 10, 2018]).
5. ↑ ^{a b} Han : Joseon Era . In: A Review of Korean History . 2010, p.  180 .
6. ↑ ^{a b} Jung Hyun-mo : Controversy reignited over King Gwanghae . Korea Joongang Daily , September 17, 2012, accessed November 2, 2018 .  
7. ↑ Han : Joseon Era . In: A Review of Korean History . 2010, p.  181 f .
8. ↑ ^{a b} Gwanghaegun-Myo . Gyeonggi Province , July 29, 2015, accessed January 11, 2019 .  
9. ^ Masquerade (2012). In: Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved November 3, 2018 .  
10. ↑ Kwon Ji-youn : Gwanghaegun returns in 'factional' drama . Korea Times , April 7, 2015, accessed November 2, 2018 .