Faction Politics
Throughout the Dynasty, various regional and ideological factions struggled for dominance of the political system. The factions evolved and shifted with the generations. In the earliest years of Joseon, tension between the capital faction and the Yeongnam-based Sarim faction predominated. Village Seowon, which combined the function of Confucian shrines with educational institutions, often reflected the factional alignment of the local elites. In areas where the Western faction predominated, key figures of Westerner thought such as were enshrined. In the 16th century, a nationwide split occurred between the Eastern faction (Dong-in) and Western factions (Seo-in). The Eastern faction in turn split under the reign of Seonjo between the hard-line Northern faction (Buk-in) and the moderate Southern faction (Nam-in). The Western faction later split in its turn, between the Old Learning (Noron) and the Young Learning (Soron).
These factional splits were often driven by questions of royal succession or appropriate royal conduct. For example, the split between the Northerners and Southerners was driven by questions involving the proper successor to Seonjo, who had no legitimate son. The Northerners came to support the Gwanghaegun; accordingly, they flourished under his reign (1608–1623) but were swept from power by the Westerners after the succession of Injo.
Under the reigns of Yeongjo and Jeongjo in the 18th century, the kings pursued a strict politcy of equality, favoring no faction over another. However, in Jeongjo's reign strife re-emerged between the Byeokpa and Sipa, two groups which cut across the earlier factions and differed in their attitudes towards Yeongjo's murder of his son, who was also Jeongjo's father. In the 19th century, the playing field shifted once more, and in-law families rather than scholarly factions came to dominate the throne. For most of the 19th century, the Jangdong branch of the Andong Kim clan was in control of the government; however, there was a brief interlude in which control shifted to the Pungyang Jo clan.
When Heungseon Daewongun's reign, Faction politics started declining and completely disappeared in the 19th century.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Joseon Dynasty
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