History of Corea

The Obstinacy: 1623–1670

Reigns of Indjo and Sangdjong
1623–1670
Monarch(s)	Indjo (1623–1649) Hjodong (1649–1662) Hjôndjong (1662–1670)

The Obstinacy ('state of stubbornness') was a brief period of Corean history starting with the 1623 Restoration of Indjo and ending with the death–overthrow of his grandson Hjôndjong. It was defined by the social and political domination of Ming loyalists, acute political factionalism, the expansion of the state, as well as the resurgence of the Corean military for the first time since the Imdjin Wars.

Indjo's reign

In 1623, King Indjo dethroned Prince Gwanghê with the help of the Westerner Party (西人, Sô-in). Upon his ascension, deemed a "restoration" (反正, banjông), he broke his predecessor's policy of neutrality and declared Corea a pro-Ming and anti-Qing state. In passive opposition, the Northern Party (北人, Boek-in)'s influence in the country waned, though their most unblemished members still retained high government positions. This coup subsequently invited Manchu invasions in 1627 and 1636, resulting in forced Corean conformation to the Qing's new order. Several members of the royal family, including Indjo's sons Crown Prince Sohjôn and Grand Prince Bongrim, were taken as hostage by the Qing in Mukden (the modern Corean city of Sjimjang). Additionally, around half a million Coreans were forcibly relocated to Manchuria.

During Indjo's tenure as king, the Westerners and the Northerners encouraged state control of industry, the revamping of the military, and the passing of the Uniform Land Tax Law (大同法, Dêdongbôb), which was a regressive tax system targeting the peasantry. The Westerner–Northerner policies experienced massive pushback in Corea's southwestern provinces, where the Southerner Party (南人, Nam-in) continued to dominate. In 1631, a Portuguese Jesuit by the name of João Rodrigues gifted a number of Western items, including a firearm, to King Indjo — this otherwise minor event is often characterized as the birth of the Sahak (西學, sôhag, 'Western Learning') movement in the Corean peninsula.

Djo Djioen (조지운; fl. 1600s) was a notable painter of the Djosôn era who was particularly adored for his paintings of cats, birds, and plum blossoms.

In 1645, Crown Prince Sohjôn and many other hostages were returned to Corea. The Crown Prince, a pro-Qing figure, posed a threat to the continuation of Indjo's policies and ideology. Though the exact details of his death are unknown, it is widely supposed that the Crown Prince was murdered by his father in order to make way for the similarly-minded Grand Prince Bongrim to inherit the throne. Soon after, the late Prince's wife Crown Princess Minheu was accused of treason and sentenced to death. The Crown Prince was survived by his son Prince Gjôngan, who possessed a legitimate blood claim to the throne. On 6 February 1649, King Indjo died after years of unsuccessful medical treatment. He was naturally succeeded by his son Prince Bongrim, who became King Hjodjong.

Hjodong and Hjôndjong

Deeply concerned due to the rise of wêgoe (倭寇, 'dwarf pirates') and the consistent growth of Koxinga's Zeng organization, the government of King Hjodong dispatched an emissary to Beiging in 1656 with the purpose of establishing an anti-warlord coalition with the Qing dynasty and colonial Tauland. Two years later, flotillas under the authority of the Djosôn Navy aided Qing forces in the 1658 Battle of Namging, ultimately defeating the Ming loyalist pirate Koxinga and ridding large swathes of the East China Sea of illegal pirate activity.

In 1662, a negotiation between Dutch authorities and the Corean government allowed sailor Hendrick Hamel to leave Corea for Tauland after seven years of captivity. Reputedly, he brought to Tauland a Corean wife and a number of Corean colonists who eventually settled on the outskirts of the modern day city of New Hague. This group is widely considered the first major population of Corean immigrants on the island, though their exact numbers and the historical significance of the event are disputed by scholars. The king's life was cut short in January of the same year when he died of hypovolemic shock brought on by infection. Naturally, his eldest surviving son Crown Prince Ie Jôn supplanted him, taking on the regnal name Hjôndjong.

In 1668, the central government under King Hjôndjong introduced copper coinage to facilitate commercial exchange across the country. From this point on, regional economies within Corea began to consolidate into an integrated market area. By the end of the decade, Corean merchants met their Japanese counterparts four times a month and their Taulander counterparts on average one or twice a month. Few months before his death, the King issued the Pine Policy, protecting numerous forests of Corean red pine as a matter of economic security and prestige. Wood was continuously imported from the island of Tauland in order to satisfy domestic demand for timber and fuel.

Political chaos and the Mutiny of Gjôngsoel

Gim Oe-mjông (1619–1670) is often caricatured as an embodiment of political incompetence and nepotism in the mid-Djosôn period.

Increased factionalism gradually led to violence in the capital. The Sambok (三福) — three minor grandsons of King Indjo — were increasingly seen as a political threat to the succession of Crown Prince Ie Bo, the eight-year-old heir apparent. Amidst this tension, the ostracized Prince Gjôngan returned to the capital, aiming to capitalize on the chaos plaguing the nation. The Southerner Party, particularly politicians Joen Hjoe and Hô Mok, supported the Sambok against accusations of treasons made by the Westerner Party. They particularly feuded with Gim Oe-mjông, the father-in-law of the King and son of famous scholar Gim Joek. It is in this disorder that the exiled Prince forged a diverse coalition of Southerners, members of the Westerner Mountain faction, non-partisan officials, as well as several soldiers, promising to restore Corean neutrality, reform taxation, and correct the immorality of the ruling government — all of which were succinctly summarized with the centuries-old catchphrase Hjôngmjôngron (革命論, 'revolutionary teachings').

The King, experiencing severe eye disease and abscess compounded with immense stress, passed away suddenly in May 1670, triggering the struggle for the throne. In mid-June, the Prince's coalition successfully detained Queen Mjôngsông (명성왕후), the wife of the deceased King and daughter of Gim Oe-mjông. Shortly after, the deposed Queen and her father both committed suicide within days of each other. Meanwhile the Sambok, with the exception of Prince Bokpjông (福平君), fell in line. On 28 June, the Regent for Crown Prince Ie Bo was executed and Prince Gjôngan, at the age of twenty-six, was crowned monarch with the regnal name of Soendjo (순조, 純祖).

Moendjo's reign

Reign of King Moendjo
1766–1817
Monarch(s)	Moendjo

King Moendjo was the longest reigning monarch of the Tsjasjan dynasty, ruling from 1766 to 1817 for a total of 51 years. He is often compared to the Gwangzi Emperor of the 18th-century Qing due to his longevity, reforms, and administrative prowess.

Sôgwang dynasty

First Sino-Corean War (1886-1888)

Main article: Sino-Corean War

The Qing state, now severely weakened by internal strife, did not like what was happening in Corea. They decide to intervene in the Corean situation. Believing that the Coreans had strayed further away from Qing influence, the Qing state decides to send whatever troops they had left and restore order in Corea, a rash and ill-fated decision that would cost them their entire empire. This marks the beginning of the Sino-Corean War. Expectedly, the odds were not in the Qing's favor. The Qing once again requests their Dutch allies to intervene. This time, however, no Dutch reinforcements were coming to their aid. The Qing were alone in the fight against Corea. It was later uncovered that King Tedjo had secured a secret pact with the Dutch a year earlier and got them to promise not to intervene in any case of Qing aggression. Furthermore, the new Corean state had secured the support of the Russians. Russian and Dutch support fueled the Corean war effort. The war ended with the Treaty of Peking (1888), with Manchuria partitioned between Corea and the Russians.

Shortly after, Tedjo established the Kingdom of Poeja, borrowing the name from the ancient Corean kingdom of Poeja. He installed his brother as the king of Poeja. In 1889, Tedjo declared the Corea's imperial status and stylised himself as the Emperor of Corea and King of Poeja. In response to Corean aggression, Russia annexed northern Manchuria to prevent further Corean expansion. In 1889, Corea and Russia signed the Treaty of Kirim, in which each party promised not to expand into China any further.

Second Sino-Corean War

The monarchy of Canton had been overthrown in 1931 by the Huaxia National Reform Party, who established the First Chinese Republic. This threatened Corea's dominance in Northeast Asia. Fearing that the First Republic would seek to reunify China and invade the waning Qing dynasty, Corea pre-emptively invaded the Great Chinese Plainson the 8th of February, 1931, violating the Treaty of Peking of 1888.

After three months of fighting, the city and Qing capital of Peking fell to Corean forces. The Kingdom of Haboek was established as a Corean puppet state, with a member of the Ki dynasty chosen to serve as king.

Russo-Corean War

Main article: Russo-Corean War

National republican era: 1935–

After the abolition of the Sjakwang dynasty, the ideology of national republicanism became dominant in Corea. Several political parties and associations - many of them formerly persecuted by the imperial government - coalesced to form a republican administration with Russian support in the mid-1930s.

Reforms of 1939

The new capital

As part of the early national republican policies, the capital of the country was moved to Pjangjang, which was renamed Rjoekjang (류경, lit. capital of willow trees). This decision was seen as the eventual fulfilment of the wishes of the Mjoetsjang uprising that occurred 900 years prior.