Joseon Dynasty

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Royal throne of the Joseon Dynasty, c. 1800-1900, in front of Sun, Moon, and Five Peaks Screen, also c. 1800-1900, at Asian Art Museum, San Francisco
  • Dates: 1392-1897
  • Korean/Japanese: 朝鮮 (Joseon, Chosŏn / Chousen)

The Joseon Dynasty ruled a united Korea from 1392 until 1897.

History

The dynasty was founded by Yi Sŏnggye, who then took the name King Taejo, ruling from 1392 until 1398.[1]

At the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty, the population of Korea was likely around 3.5 million, up from 3 million a century earlier.[2]

Wakô pirate raids on the Korean and Chinese coasts were perhaps the most major concern in Japan's relations with both Joseon Korea and Ming Dynasty China in the 15th-16th centuries. The wakô (lit. "Japanese pirates") were in fact people from all over the region, mainly Chinese, under the direct control of no central or prominent Japanese authority. Despite demands from Joseon and Ming to the Ashikaga shogunate to put an end to the piracy, it was not within the shogun's power to command the pirates. In the 15th century, Joseon made several attempts to curb or cut off this pirate activity, eventually entering into an arrangement in 1443 with the Sô samurai clan of Tsushima, who were granted a variety of privileges in exchange for taking a leading role in ensuring that all Japanese trading ships traveling to Korea were properly licensed and authorized, and in taking care of those which were not (i.e. the pirates).[3] In the Edo period, the Sô came to be the only Japanese traveling or communicating between Korea and Japan, wielding considerable power as the only intermediaries between the Joseon court and the Tokugawa shogunate, overseeing and managing all trade and diplomatic interactions between the two lands.

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Kings of Joseon

References

  • In Grand Style, San Francisco: Asian Art Museum (2013), xxii-xxiii.
  1. ↑ Robert Hellyer, Defining Engagement, Harvard University Press (2009), 30.
  2. ↑ Robert Tignor, Benjamin Elman, et al, Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, vol B, Fourth Edition, W.W. Norton & Co (2014), 410.
  3. ↑ Robert Hellyer, Defining Engagement, Harvard University Press (2009), 31.
Preceded by:
Goryeo (Koryŏ) 		Song Dynasty
1392-1897 		Succeeded by:
Korean Empire
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