Joseon

History

Early period (late 14th-mid 16th century)

By the late 14th century, the nearly 500-year-old Goryeo established in 918 was tottering; its foundations were collapsing from years of war spilled over from the disintegrating Yuan dynasty. Following the emergence of the Ming dynasty, the royal court in Goryeo split into two conflicting factions, one favoring neutrality and the other wanting to retake the Liaodong peninsula, which many in Goryeo believed was theirs. Goryeo remained a neutral third-party observer in the conflict between the Yuan and the Ming and had friendly diplomatic relations with both. In 1388, a Ming messenger came to Goryeo to demand that territories of the former Ssangseong Prefecture be handed over to Ming China. The tract of land was taken by Mongol forces during the invasion of Korea, but had been reclaimed by Goryeo in 1356 as the Yuan dynasty weakened. The act caused an uproar among the Goryeo court, and General Ch'oe Yŏng seized the chance to argue for an invasion of the Ming-controlled Liaodong Peninsula.

General Yi Sŏnggye was chosen to lead the attack; he revolted, swept back to the capital Kaegyŏng (now Kaesong) and initiated a coup d'état, overthrowing King U of Goryeo in favor of his son, Chang of Goryeo (1388). Neo-Confucian scholars, who were a small and medium-sized power at the time, were able to use this incident as an opportunity to lay a political foundation, and in particular, Chŏng Tojŏn, a friend of Yi Sŏnggye, wanted to use this incident as an opportunity to reform the corrupt nobles and the Buddhist community. He later killed King U and his son after a failed restoration and forcibly placed a royal named Wang Yo on the throne (he became King Gongyang of Goryeo). In 1392, Yi eliminated Chŏng Mong-ju, a highly respected leader of a group loyal to the Goryeo dynasty, and dethroned King Gongyang, exiling him to Wonju, and he ascended the throne himself. The Goryeo kingdom had come to an end after 474 years of rule.

At the beginning of his reign, Yi Sŏnggye, now ruler of Korea, intended to continue to use the name Goryeo for the country he ruled and simply change the royal line of descent to his own, thus maintaining the façade of continuing the 500-year-old Goryeo tradition. After numerous threats of mutiny from the drastically weakened but still influential Gwonmun nobles, who continued to swear allegiance to the remnants of the Goryeo and to the now-demoted House of Wang, the consensus in the reformed court was that a new dynastic title was needed to signify the change. In naming the new kingdom, Taejo contemplated two possibilities: "Hwaryeong" (his place of birth) and "Joseon". After much internal deliberation, as well as endorsement by the neighboring Ming dynasty's emperor, Taejo declared the name of the kingdom to be Joseon, a tribute to the ancient Korean state of Gojoseon. He also moved the capital to Hanseong (modern Seoul) from Kaegyŏng (modern Kaesong).

Middle period (mid 16th-mid 17th century)

The middle Joseon period was marked by intense and bloody power struggles between political factions that weakened the country, and by large-scale invasions by Japan and Manchu which nearly toppled the kingdom.

The Sarim faction had suffered a series of political defeats during the reigns of Yeonsangun, Jungjong, and Myeongjong, but it gained control of the government during the reign of King Seonjo. It soon split into opposing factions known as the Easterners and the Westerners by their political or philosophical masters. Easterners mainly followed the teachings and philosophy of Yi Hwang and Jo Sik while the Westerners followed the philosophy of Yi I and Song Hon. Within decades the Easterners themselves divided into the Southerners and the Northerners; in the seventeenth century the Westerners also permanently split into the Noron and the Soron. Factions in the Joseon dynasty were formed based on their different interpretations of Confucian philosophy, which mainly differed according to who their master was and what they believed in. The alternations in power among these factions were often accompanied by charges of treason and bloody purges, initiating a cycle of revenge with each change of regime.

One example is the 1589 rebellion of Chŏng Yŏrip, one of the bloodiest political purges of Joseon. Chŏng Yŏrip, an Easterner, had formed a society with a group of supporters that also received military training to fight against Waegu. There is still a dispute about the nature and purpose of his group, which reflected the desire for a classless society and spread throughout Honam. He was subsequently accused of conspiracy to start a rebellion. Chŏng Ch'ŏl, head of the Westerner faction, was in charge of investigating the case and used this event to affect the widespread purge of Easterners who had the slightest connection to Chŏng Yŏrip. Eventually 1000 Easterners were killed or exiled in the aftermath.

Throughout Korean history, there was frequent piracy on the sea and brigandage on land. The only purpose of the Joseon navy was to secure the maritime trade against the Waegu. The navy repelled pirates using advanced gunpowder technologies including cannons and fire arrows in the form of singijeon deployed by hwacha.

During the Japanese invasions in the 1590s, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, plotting the conquest of Ming China with Portuguese guns, invaded Korea with his daimyōs and their troops, intending to use Korea as a stepping stone. Factional division in the Joseon court, inability to assess Japanese military capability, and failed attempts at diplomacy led to poor preparation on Joseon's part. The use of superior firearms by the Japanese left most of the southern part of the Korean Peninsula occupied within months, with both Hanseong (present-day Seoul) and Pyongyang captured.

Late period (mid 17th-late 19th century)

After invasions from Japan and Manchuria, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of peace. Joseon witnessed the emergence of Silhak (Practical Learning). The early group of Silhak scholars advocated comprehensive reform of civil service examination, taxation, natural sciences and the improvement in agromanagerial and agricultural techniques. It aimed to rebuild Joseon society after it had been devastated by the two invasions. Under the leadership of Kim Yuk, the chief minister of King Hyeonjong, the implementation of reforms proved highly advantageous both to state revenues and to the lot of the peasants.

In 1666, during Hyeonjong's reign, Dutchman Hendrick Hamel left Korea after more than thirteen years of captivity. From 1670 to 1671, Korea endured a devastating famine brought on by cold weather and poor harvests. While the death toll remains difficult to measure, hundreds of thousands of Koreans may have died. In total, scholars estimate that the Kyŏngsin Famine and the Eulbyeong famine in the years 1695–1696 may have killed 23–33% of Korea's population. The countryside remained scarred by these calamities and population growth would remain depressed for most of the 18th century.

The co-existence system between Southerners and Westerners which was established after the Injo coup started to fall. After the Yesong debate, factional conflict grew particularly intense under the reigns of the kings Sukjong and Gyeongjong, with major rapid reversals of the ruling faction, known as hwanguk being commonplace. During the early reign of Sukjong, the southerners managed to become a ruling faction and made westerners lose power. But the southerners' rise to power was temporary. Sukjong, who believed that political factions would weaken the king's power started rapid reversals of the ruling faction, which resulted in bloody killings between factions. After the three bloody hwanguk, the Southerners lost their influence in the central government, and the ruling Westerners were divided into hard-line Noron who rejected the Southerners and moderate Soron who were friendly to the Southerners. This shift resulted in political radicalism which viewed other factions as the ones that should be eliminated. In response, the next kings, Yeongjo (r. 1724–1776) and Jeongjo (r. 1776–1800), generally pursued the Tangpyeongchaek – a policy of maintaining balance and equality between the factions.

The two kings led a second renaissance of the Joseon kingdom. Yeongjo's grandson, the enlightened King Jeongjo enacted various reforms throughout his reign, notably establishing Kyujanggak, a royal library to improve the cultural and political position of Joseon and to recruit gifted officers to run the nation. King Jeongjo also spearheaded bold social initiatives, opening government positions to those who would previously have been barred because of their social status. King Jeongjo had the support of many Silhak scholars. King Jeongjo's reign also saw the further growth and development of Joseon's popular culture. At that time, the group of Silhak scholars encouraged the individual to reflect on state traditions and lifestyle, initiating the studies of Korea that addressed its history, geography, epigraphy, and language.

Government

Joseon was a highly centralized monarchy, and neo-Confucian bureaucracy as codified by Kyŏngguk taejŏn, a sort of Joseon constitution.

King

The king had absolute authority, but his actual power varied with political circumstances. He was bound by tradition, precedents set by earlier kings, Kyŏngguk taejŏn, and Confucian teachings. The king commanded absolute loyalty from his officials and subjects, but the officials were also expected to persuade the king to the right path if the latter was thought to be mistaken. Natural disasters were thought to be due to the king's failings, and therefore, Joseon kings were very sensitive to their occurrences. When there was a severe drought or a series of disasters, the king often formally sought criticism from officials and the citizenry. On those occasions, critics were immune from prosecution, regardless of what they said or wrote (although there were a few exceptions).

Direct communication between the king and the common people was possible through the sangeon (상언; 上言) written petition system and the gyeokjaeng oral petition system. Through the gyeokjaeng oral petition system, commoners could strike a gong or drum in front of the palace or during the king's public processions to appeal their grievances or petition the king directly. This allowed even the illiterate members of Joseon society to make a petition to the king. More than 1,300 gyeokjaeng-related accounts are recorded in the Ilseongnok.

Officials

Government officials were ranked in 18 levels, ranging from first senior rank down to ninth junior rank. Seniority and promotion were achieved through royal decree, based on examination or recommendation. The officials from 1st senior rank to 3rd senior rank wore red robes. Those from 3rd junior rank to 6th junior rank wore blue. Those below wore green robes.

Here, "government official" means one who occupied an office which gave its holder yangban status – hereditary nobility for three generations. To become such an official, one had to pass a series of gwageo examinations. There were three kinds of gwageo exams – literary, military, and miscellaneous. The literary route was the most prestigious. Many key posts, including all Censorate posts, were open only to officials who advanced through literary exam. The literary route involved a series of four tests. To qualify, one had to pass them all. 33 candidates who were chosen in this manner would take the final exam, before the king. The candidate with the highest score was appointed to a position of 6th junior rank (a jump of six ranks). The two candidates with the next highest scores were appointed to a position of 7th junior rank. The seven candidates with next highest scores were assigned to 8th junior rank. The remaining 23 candidates were given 9th junior rank, the lowest of 18 ranks.

The officials of 1st senior rank, 1st junior rank, and 2nd senior rank were addressed with the honorific "daegam" while those of 2nd junior rank and 3rd senior rank were addressed with the honorific "yeonggam". These red-robed officials, collectively called "dangsanggwan", took part in deciding government policies by attending cabinet meetings. The rest of the ranked officials were called "danghagwan".

Central government

State Council (Uijeongbu) was the highest deliberative body, whose power declined over the course of the period. The Chief State Councillor (Yŏngŭijŏng), Left State Councillor (Chwaŭijŏng), and Right State Councillor (Uŭijŏng) were the highest-ranking officials in the government (all three were of 1st senior rank). They were assisted by Left Minister (Jwachanseong) and Right Minister (Uichangseong), both of 1st junior rank, and seven lower-ranking officials. The power of State Council was inversely proportional to the king's power. There were periods when it directly controlled the Six Ministries, the chief executive body of Joseon government, but it primarily served in an advisory role under stronger kings. State councillors served in several other positions concurrently.

Six Ministries (Yukjo) made up the chief executive body. Each minister (Panseo) was of 2nd senior rank and was assisted by a deputy minister (Champan), who was of 2nd junior rank. The Ministry of Personnel was the most senior of six ministries. As the influence of the State Council waned over time, the Minister of Personnel was often the de facto head of ministers. In order of seniority, the ministries were:

Ministry of Personnel (Ijo) – was primarily concerned with the appointment of officials

Ministry of Taxation (Hojo) – taxation, finances, census, agriculture, and land policies

Ministry of Rites (Yejo) – rituals, culture, diplomacy, gwageo exam

Ministry of Defense (Byeongjo) – military affairs

Office of Police Bureau (Podocheong) – office for public order

Ministry of Justice (Hyeongjo) – administration of law, slavery, punishments

Ministry of Commerce (Gongjo) – industry, public works, manufacturing, mining

Government offices of each organization were located where the current Gwanghwamun Plaza is located, so it was also called "Yukjo Street" after the six ministries.

Local government

The officials of high rank were sent from the central government. Sometimes a secret royal inspector (Amhaengeosa) was appointed by the king to travel incognito and monitor the provincial officials. These undercover inspectors were generally young officials of lower rank but were invested with the royal authority to dismiss corrupt officials.

Provinces (Do) – There were eight provinces, each of which was governed by a Governor (Gwanchalsa), a position of 2nd junior rank.

Bu – administrative offices in charge of major cities in provinces. Each bu was led by Buyun, which was equivalent to Governor in rank.

Mok– There were twenty moks, which governed large counties named ju. They were run by Moksa, of the 3rd senior rank.

County (Gun) – There were eighty counties in Joseon, each governed by Gunsu, a 4th junior rank.

Hyeon – Large hyeons were governed by Hyeonryeong of 5th junior rank while smaller hyeons were governed by Hyeongam of 6th junior rank.

Administrative divisions

During most of the Joseon period, Korea was divided into eight provinces (do). The eight provinces' boundaries remained unchanged for almost five centuries from 1413 to 1895, and formed a geographic paradigm that is still reflected today in the Korean Peninsula's administrative divisions, dialects, and regional distinctions. The names of all eight provinces are still preserved today, in one form or another.

Military

The army consists of the central army and the provincial armies. Each was made of peasant soldiers, cavalry, pengbaesu and gabsa elite soldiers, archers, musketeers, and artillery. The king appointed their generals.

The Joseon Navy consisted of two types of main warships, the panokseon and the turtle ship. They also used small vessels and fishing boats for reconnaissance and landings. The king also appoints their admirals.

The Naegeumwi were royal guards defending the king, queen, and ministers. These were soldiers hand-selected by the king. The King's Royal Palace Gatekeepers, the Wanggung Sumunjang were a royal guard unit tasked with defending the gates of the five palaces and Hanseong's city gates.

Foreign relations

Joseon was a tributary state of China that was ritually subordinate to the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty but exercised a high level of independence and sovereignty. The ruling Yi family proclaimed their indigenous legitimacy but institutionalized structures that limited Joseon monarch power, which modern scholars view as producing contradictory statuses from a modern view of sovereignty. Joseon maintained the highest position among China's tributary states, which also included countries such as Japan, Vietnam, Ryukyu, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Brunei, and the Philippines, among others. In addition, Joseon received tribute from Jurchens and Sō clan of Tsushima until the 17th century, and had a small enclave in the Ryukyu Kingdom that engaged in trade with Siam and Java.

China

In 1392, General Yi Sŏng-gye led a successful coup to take political power in Korea from the King. General Yi's followers forced him to take the crown as Taejo of Joseon, thus establishing a new dynasty. In search of a justification for its rule given the lack of a royal bloodline, the new regime wanted recognition from other countries such as China. Furthermore, the only way to establish diplomatic relations and trade with China was to accept the tributary system of China. Thus, Joseon joined the Imperial Chinese tributary system in 1401 within the context of the Mandate of Heaven, in return for recognition. Within this tributary system, China assumed the role of a "big brother", with Korea maintaining the highest position among the tributary states, which also included countries such as the Ashikaga shogunate, Ryukyu Kingdom, Lan Xang, Đại Việt, and the Ayutthaya Kingdom, in return for accepting the subordinate tributary role of a "younger brother". A series of diplomatic ventures illustrate the persistence of Joseon's sadae (serving the great or serving Ming China) diplomacy in dealings with Ming dynasty. Sadae construes China as the center of a Confucian moral universe and describes a foreign policy characterized by the various ways a weaker nation-state such as Korea acknowledges the strength of a greater power such as China. Sadae is made manifest in the actions of the weaker nation-state as it conveys goodwill and respect through its envoys. Sadaejuui conflates an attitude of subservience with the political realism which accompanies the prudent recognition of greater power. As a foundation of diplomacy, the Joseon kingdom presumed that the Korean state was positioned within a Sinocentristic milieu.

During the 1400s, the connection between Ming and Joseon was mainly pragmatic and somewhat contractual based on the concept of Sadae, which implied a commitment to serve Ming China due to their greater power. However, historian Ji-Young Lee argues that Joseon compliance with the Ming tributary system was not merely acceptance of hegemonic practices by the most powerful state or predicated solely on material interests, but specifically entrenched in a Confucian worldview centered on the Ming dynasty as opposed to the Qing dynasty, led by the Manchus. By the early 1500s, Joseon elites began to regard the Ming emperor not just as a suzerain but also as a ritual father figure, reinforcing the relationship between the Ming and Joseon through a father-son dynamic. This transformation held significant weight because unlike the interchangeable loyalty to a ruler, the Confucian principle of filial piety was considered immutable and irrevocable. The Joseon historian Choe Bu referred to his country and the Ming as "one family". Joseon envoys and officials seem to have held genuine fondness for the Ming emperor in contrast with the Qing. The Joseon kings would sometimes send more than the necessary amount of tributary missions and occasionally hold memorial services for deceased Ming emperors to increase their political legitimacy at home. In contrast, when the Qing addressed their ruler as emperor in a letter to Joseon, the Korean envoy refused to deliver it, and another refused to attend the Qing emperor's coronation, for which he was punished with a beating. While Joseon requested permission to send more than the requested amount of tributary missions, during which China was obligated to give gifts of higher value than the tribute itself, these tribute missions were kept to a minimum during the early Qing period and no memorials were held for Qing emperors.

Gyorin

This long-term, strategic policy contrasts with the gyorin (kyorin) (neighborly relations) diplomacy in dealings with Jurchens, Japan, Ryukyu Kingdom, Siam and Java. Gyorin was applied to a multi-national foreign policy. The unique nature of these bilateral diplomatic exchanges evolved from a conceptual framework developed by the Chinese. Gradually, the theoretical models would be modified, mirroring the evolution of a unique relationship.

As an initial step, a diplomatic mission was dispatched to Japan in 1402. The Joseon envoy sought to bring about the re-establishment of amicable relations between the two countries and he was charged to commemorate the good relations which existed in ancient times. This mission was successful, and shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was reported to have been favorably impressed by this initial embassy. Not less than 70 diplomatic missions were dispatched from the Joseon capital to Japan before the beginning of Japan's Edo period.

Reciprocal missions were construed as a means of communication between Korean kings and Japanese shōguns of almost equal ranking. The emperors of Japan at the time were figureheads with no actual political or military power, and the actual political and military rulers of Japan that Joseon communicated with were the shoguns who were represented as Tycoon of Japan in many foreign communications to avoid the conflict with the Sinocentric system in which the emperor of China was the highest authority, and all rulers of tributary states were known as "kings".

Society

The exact population figures of Joseon-era Korea are disputed as government records of households are considered unreliable in this period. Between 1810 and 1850, the population declined approximately 10% and remained stable. Before the introduction of modern medicine by the Korean Empire government in the early 20th century, the average life expectancy for peasant and commoner Korean males was 24 years and for females 26 years, accounting for infant mortality.

Joseon Korea installed a centralized administrative system controlled by civil bureaucrats and military officers who were collectively called yangban. By the end of the 18th century, the yangban had acquired most of the traits of a hereditary nobility except that the status was based on a unique mixture of family position, gwageo examinations for Confucian learning, and a civil service system. The family of a yangban who did not succeed in becoming a government official for the third generation lost their yangban status and became commoners. For the most part, the only way to become a government official was to pass a series of gwageo exams (one had to pass the "lesser gwageo" exam (소과) in both of two stages to qualify for the greater gwageo exam, which again one had to pass in both of two stages to become a government official). The yangban and the king, in an uneasy balance, controlled the central government and military institutions. The proportion of yangban may have reached as high as 30% by 1800, due to the later practices of transaction of yangban status to peasants, although there was considerable local variation. As the government was small, a great many yangban were local gentry of high social status, but not always of high income.

Another portion of the population was slaves or serfs (nobi), "low-borns" (cheonmin) or untouchable outcastes (baekjeong). Slavery in Korea was hereditary, as well as a form of legal punishment. The nobi were socially indistinct from freemen other than the ruling yangban class, and some possessed property rights, legal entities and civil rights. Hence, some scholars argue that it is inappropriate to call them "slaves", while some scholars describe them as serfs. There were both government- and privately owned nobi, and the government occasionally gave them to yangban. Privately owned nobi could be inherited as personal property. During poor harvests, many sangmin people would voluntarily become nobi to survive. The nobi population could fluctuate up to about one-third of the population, but on average the nobi made up about 10% of the total population. Joseon slaves could, and often did, own property. Private slaves could buy their freedom.

Seonbis

Seonbis played a major role within political factions of the Joseon dynasty. Etymologically derived from a native Korean word meaning "someone who is wise and knowledgeable", the word later became synonymous with the Chinese character 士 (shì), which meant "scholar" or "retainer". As the Joseon dynasty encouraged the study of Confucianism, seonbis were interpreted as "students who study Confucianism" in Joseon-era Korean society.

Seonbis lived under strict, standardized Confucianist guidelines. Although they were encouraged to participate in politics and act as advisors to the King, many seonbis lived quiet lives in secluded regions, unaffiliated with any government office. These seonbis often organized scholarly communities which often imposed a huge influence over local regions. Those who became office-holders acted as aristocrats, boasting influence over Joseon politics.

Seonbis consistently used debate as a major decision-making method. Seonbis expressed their views on problems to be solved in front of the king and discussed the wrongdoings of the other faction's argument. These political clashes often led to violence, such as the Korean literati purges.

Seonbis also participated in righteous armies during times of war, as archery was taught as a liberal arts subject for seonbis. Seonbis such as Kwak Chaeu, Ko Kyŏngmyŏng, and Cho Hŏn led armies in battle. As seonbis also acted as village leaders, they often united local peasants and led armies into war.

Culture

The Joseon dynasty presided over two periods of great cultural growth, during which Joseon culture created the first Korean tea ceremony, Korean gardens, and extensive historic works. The royal dynasty also built several fortresses and palaces.

Noble Korean women during this time were suppressed, along with shamans, in the 15th century because of Neo-Confucianist social norms when they previously led some of the least restricted lives out of anyone in Asia.

Clothing

During the Joseon period, jeogori of women's hanbok became gradually tightened and shortened. In the 16th century, jeogori was baggy and reached below the waist, but by the 19th century, jeogori was shortened to the point that it did not cover the breasts, so another piece of cloth (heoritti) was used to cover them. At the end of the 19th century, Heungseon Daewongun introduced Magoja, a Manchu-style jacket, to Korea, which is often worn with hanbok to this day.

Chima was full-skirted and jeogori was short and tight in the late Joseon period. Fullness in the skirt was emphasized round the hips. Many undergarments were worn underneath chima such as darisokgot, soksokgot, dansokgot, and gojengi to achieve a desired silhouette. Because jeogori was so short it became natural to expose heoritti or heorimari which functioned like a corset. The white linen cloth exposed under the jeogori in the picture is heoritti.

The upper classes wore hanbok of closely woven ramie cloth or other high-grade lightweight materials in warm weather and of plain and patterned silks the rest of the year. Commoners were restricted by law as well as resources to cotton at best. The upper classes wore a variety of colors, though bright colors were generally worn by children and girls and subdued colors by middle-aged men and women. Commoners were restricted by law to everyday clothes of white, but for special occasions they wore dull shades of pale pink, light green, gray, and charcoal. Formally, when Korean men went outdoors, they were required to wear overcoats known as durumagi which reach the knees.

Art

The Mid-Joseon period painting styles moved toward increased realism. A national painting style of landscapes called "true view" began – moving from the traditional Chinese style of idealized general landscapes to particular locations exactly rendered. While not photographic, the style was academic enough to become established and supported as a standardized style in Korean painting. At this time China ceased to have pre-eminent influence, Korean art took its own course, and became increasingly distinctive to the traditional Chinese painting.

Ceramics are a form of popular art during the Joseon period. Examples of ceramics include white porcelain or white porcelain decorated with cobalt, copper red underglaze, blue underglaze and iron underglaze. Ceramics from the Joseon period differ from other periods because artists felt that each piece of art deserved its own uniquely cultivated personality.

Beginning in the 10th century, white porcelain has been crafted in Korea. Historically overshadowed by the popularity of celadon, it was not until the 15th and 16th centuries that white porcelain, also known as baekje, was recognized for its artistic value. Among the most prized of Korean ceramics are large white jars. Their shape is symbolic of the moon and their color is associated with the ideals of purity and modesty of Confucianism. During this period, the bureau that oversaw the meals and court banquets of the royal family strictly controlled the production of white porcelain.

Blue and white porcelain artifacts decorating white porcelain with paintings and designs in underglaze by using natural cobalt pigment are another example of popular wares of the Joseon period. Many of these items were created by court painters employed by the royal family. During this period, the popular style of landscape paintings is mirrored in the decoration of ceramics. Initially developed by the Chinese at the Jingdezhen kilns in the mid-14th century, Joseon began to produce this type of porcelain from the 15th century under Chinese influence. The first cobalt imported from China was used by Korean artists. In 1463 when sources of cobalt were discovered in Korea, artists and their buyers found the material was inferior in quality and preferred the more expensive imported cobalt. Korean porcelain with imported cobalt decoration contradict the emphasis of an orderly, frugal and moderate life in Neo-Confucianism.

Strikingly different from cobalt, porcelain items with a copper-red underglaze are the most difficult to successfully craft. During production, these items require great skill and attention or will turn gray during the process of firing. While the birthplace of ceramics with copper red underglaze is widely disputed, these items originated during 12th century in Korea and became increasingly popular during the second half of the Joseon period. Some experts have pointed to the kilns of Bunwon-ri in Gwangju, a city that played a significant role in the production of ceramics during the Joseon period, as a possible birthplace.

Literature

During the Joseon period, the yangban scholars and educated literati studied Confucian classics and Neo-Confucian literature.

The middle and upper classes of Joseon society were proficient in Classical Chinese. The Joseon official records (such as the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty and Seungjeongwon ilgi) and the written works of the Yangban literati were written in Classical Chinese.

Newspapers like the Hwangsŏng sinmun toward the end of the period were written in the Korean language using the Korean mixed script.

The Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty (also known as the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty) are the annual records of the Joseon dynasty, which were kept from 1413 to 1865. The annals, or sillok, consist of 1,893 volumes and are thought to cover the longest continual period of a single dynasty in the world. With the exception of two sillok compiled during the colonial era, the Annals are the 151st national treasure of Korea and listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World registry.

Uigwe is a collection of royal protocols of the Joseon period, which records and prescribes through text and stylized illustration the important ceremonies and rites of the royal family.

Religion and philosophy

The Joseon kingdom was noted for having Confucianism as its main philosophy, and also included some Buddhism. The study of literary exchanges between Confucian scholar officials and Buddhists shows that Buddhism was not cast out. Their literary exchanges show a middle ground of both philosophies. "scholar-officials – Some who in public castigated Buddhism as a heresy and deluded tradition, in private visited temples and associated closely with monks." This shows that while in public some scholars shamed Buddhists, their exchanges with Buddhists show that at the very least it was not cast outside of the kingdom.

One example of this is a famous Joseon scholar official Park Se-dang (1629–1703). He argues against Buddhism with the following, "People say that Han Yu and Ouyang Xiu have harshly criticized Buddhism and therefore have only discussed what is aberrant and have not fully investigated what is profound. People say, their understanding is lacking and they have not fully examined it [its profoundness]. I, myself, don't think that is the case… The heresies under heaven, they are also rather foul. Among them, Buddhism is the worst. If a person is inclined to Buddhism, then he is of the kind that pursues what is foul. Is it not clear that there is nothing further to discuss? It is like Mencius who [also felt no need to argue in detail when he] criticized Yang Zhu and Mozi. Surely, he did not argue further than to say Yang Zhu and Mozi did not respect their fathers and their emperors."

Buddhism was a part of the Joseon kingdom. While not supported publicly, privately it was very prevalent in Confucian-scholar officials. Many monarchs and members of the royal court also practiced or tolerated Buddhism among their family and court advisors and commissioned or were patrons of Buddhist art.

Pope Gregory XVI established an Apostolic Vicariate for the Kingdom of Korea on September 8, 1831, to provide for the spiritual care of Catholics in the kingdom and separating Korea from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Beijing.

Music

The Joseon period developed several musical forms. The form with the most extant pieces is sijo. Sijo is a poetic form consisting of three lines, each with four feet, traditionally sung very slowly. In Korean verse, a foot is generally a short syntactic unit, such as a noun with an adjective or a verb with an adverb.

Here, like other Korean musical forms, each foot can stand on its own. As sijo were sung in Korean, the pioneering of Hangul created the possibility for sijo to be written down without the use of substitutions such as Idu script. The first copy of sijo is of the 'Twelve Songs of Dosan' by Yi Hwang written in 1565, which were written 100 years after the proclamation of Hangul. Additionally, the first anthology of sijo was compiled by Kim Cheontaek in 1728; before the anthology few sijo were written.

Kim Cheontaek's anthology represents a change in the authorship of sijo. At first, sijo were primarily composed by the yangban aristocracy and entertainers of the Kisaeng class. By the mid-seventeenth century, the jungin or "professional class" were composing sijo as well. This also coincided with a new form of sijo called "narrative sijo", in which the first two lines were greatly lengthened. This expansion is likely a development from the so-called "irregular sijo", in which there was a minor lengthening of one of the first two lines. While there are very few remaining irregular sijo, and the form has not been revived, there is a sizable body of narrative sijo and the form continues to evolve.

Pansori is another musical form that combines singing and prose to portray a story. Its development likely originates from shaman rituals and the songs within the Jeolla Province. It became a full-fledged musical form by the middle of the eighteenth century, and not long thereafter the yangban aristocracy also became interested in it. Originally there was a set of twelve stories that were sung, but only five were written down, and hence those five are the only ones sung today. Having been developed by commoners, p'ansori usually reflected their attitudes and aspirations, but by becoming popular with the yangban, p'ansori shifted somewhat toward yangban sensibilities and restrictions. P'ansori had a strong influence of the writing of the time, both because of the p'ansori novel (each based on one of the twelve stories) and by increasing the realism of the classical novel.

Science and technology

15th century

The Joseon period under the reign of Sejong the Great was Korea's greatest period of scientific advancement. Under Sejong's new policy, Cheonmin (low-status) people such as Chang Yŏngsil were allowed to work for the government. At a young age, Chang displayed talent as an inventor and engineer, creating machines to facilitate agricultural work. These included supervising the building of aqueducts and canals.

Some of his inventions were an automated (self-striking) water clock (the Jagyeokru) which worked by activating motions of wooden figures to indicate time visually (invented in 1434 by Chang), a subsequent more complicated water-clock with additional astronomical devices, and an improved model of the previous metal movable printing type created in the Goryeo period. The new model was of even higher quality and was twice as fast. Other inventions were the sight glass, and the udometer.

The highpoint of Korean astronomy was during the Joseon period, where men such as Chang created devices such as celestial globes which indicated the positions of the sun, moon, and the stars. Later celestial globes (Kyup'yo) were attuned to the seasonal variations.

The apex of astronomical and calendarial advances under King Sejong was the Chiljeongsan, which compiled computations of the courses of the seven heavenly objects (five visible planets, the sun, and moon), developed in 1442. This work made it possible for scientists to calculate and accurately predict all the major heavenly phenomena, such as solar eclipses and other stellar movements. Honcheonsigye is an astronomical clock created by Song I-yeong in 1669. The clock has an armillary sphere with a diameter of 40 cm. The sphere is activated by a working clock mechanism, showing the position of celestial objects at any given time.

Gangnido, a Korean-made map of the world was created in 1402 by Kim Sa-hyeong, Yi Mu, and Yi Hoe. The map was created in the second year of the reign of Taejong of Joseon. The map was made by combining Chinese, Korean and Japanese maps.

16th–19th century

The scientific and technological advance in the late Joseon period progressed slower than the early Joseon period.

16th-century court physician, Heo Jun wrote a number of medical texts, his most significant achievement being Dongui Bogam, which is often noted as the defining text of Traditional Korean medicine. The work spread to China and Japan.

The first soft ballistic vest, myeonjebaegab, was invented in Joseon Korea in the 1860s shortly after the French campaign against Korea. Heungseon Daewongun ordered development of bulletproof armor because of increasing threats from Western armies. Kim Gi-du and Gang Yun found that cotton could protect against bullets if thick enough, and devised bullet-proof vests made of 30 layers of cotton. The vests were used in battle during the United States expedition to Korea (1871), when the U.S. Navy attacked Ganghwa Island in 1871.

House of Yi

The following is a simplified relation of Joseon royalty (Korean Imperial Family) during the late period of the dynasty:

Emperor Gojong (1852–1919) – 26th head of the Korean Imperial Household, adoptive heir to Crown Prince Hyomyeong

Emperor Sunjong (1874–1926) – 27th head of the Korean Imperial Household

Yi Kang, Prince Imperial Ui (1877–1955) – 5th son of Gojong

Prince Yi Geon (1909–1991) – eldest son of Yi Kang; renounced the Imperial title and heritage by becoming a Japanese citizen in 1947

Prince Yi U (1912–1945) – 2nd son of Yi Kang; adopted as the heir to Yi Jun-yong, grandson of Heungseon Daewongun

Yi Cheong (1936–)

Yi Jong (1940–1966)

Yi Hae-won (1919–2020) – 2nd daughter of Yi Kang; married in 1936 to Yi Seung-gyu from the Yongin Yi clan

Yi Gap (1938–2014) – 9th son of Yi Kang

Yi Won (1962–) – eldest son of Yi Gap; adopted by Yi Ku as the 30th head of the Korean Imperial Household

1st son (1998–)

2nd son (1999–)

Yi Seok (1941–) – 10th son of Yi Kang; self-claimed head of the Korean Imperial Household

Yi Hong (1976–), first daughter of Yi Seok