History of The Joseon Dynasty - Late Joseon Period

Late Joseon Period

After invasions from Manchuria, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of peace. King Yeongjo and King Jeongjo led a new renaissance of the Joseon dynasty. King Sukjong and his son King Yeongjo tried to solve the problems resulting from faction politics. Tangpyeong's policy was to effectively freeze the parties' disputes.

Yeongjo's grandson, King Jeongjo made various reforms throughout his reign, notably establishing Kyujanggak, an imperial library. However, its purpose was to improve the cultural and political position of Joseon and to recruit gifted officers to run the nation. King Jeongjo also spearheaded bold new social initiatives, opening government positions to those who would have previously been barred because of their social status. King Jeongjo had the support of the many Silhak scholars, and in addition the Silhak scholars supported Jeongjo's regal power. King Jeongjo's reign also saw the further growth and development of Joseon's popular culture.

During the 1800s, drought and floods alternately struck rice fields and farms in Korea and caused great famines. Making the matter worse, the Joseon rulers increased taxes on farm crops and forced more free labor on the starving peasants. Anti-government and anti-landlord sentiment boiled over into violent uprisings.

In 1812, Hong Gyeong-nae led the peasants of Gasan in the northern part of Korea into an armed rebellion and occupied the region for several months. An army was sent to quell the rebellion and only after a savage scorched-earth campaign, the revolt was put down. All over Korea, all the way to Jeju Island, peasants continued to defy the king and ministers in Seoul, as well as the local nobility and wealthy landlords. In 1862, A group of farmers in Jinju, Gyeongsang province, rose up against their oppressive provincial officials and the wealthy landowners. This uprising was the result of the exploitation of destitute farmers by the local landlords. The whole of Joseon was plunged in confusion, while Choe Je-u (최제우, 崔濟愚, 1824–1894) established the ideology of Donghak (Eastern Learning) in the 1860s. Roman Catholicism was introduced in this period, but Christianity in Korea, in all its forms (Catholic and non-Catholic), were brutally oppressed by the Joseon government until the late 1880s.

In 1863 King Gojong took the throne. His father, Regent Heungseon Daewongun, ruled for him until Gojong reached adulthood. Daewongun is also largely held to be responsible for the brutal suppression of Christianity in Korea during his regency.

During the mid-1860s he was the main proponent of isolationism and the instrument of the persecution of native and foreign Catholics, a policy that led directly to the French Campaign against Korea, 1866. The early years of his rule also witnessed a large effort to restore the largely dilapidated Gyeongbok Palace, the seat of royal authority. During Heungseon Daewongun's reign, faction politics and power wielded by the Andong Kim clan completely disappeared.

In 1873, King Gojong announced his direct royal rule. With the subsequent retirement of Heungseon Daewongun, the to-be Queen Min (later called Empress Myeongseong) gained complete control over her court, placing her family in high court positions.