Injo of Joseon (7 December 1595 – 17 June 1649), born Yi Jong, was the 16th ruler of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He was the grandson of King Seonjo and son of Prince Jeongwon. He was the king during the Later Jin invasion of Joseon, in which Later Jin withdrew the armies after their demands were met. However, in the subsequent Qing invasion, King Injo surrendered in 1636, agreeing to the subjugating terms outlined by the Qing.
Yi Jong is considered a weak and incompetent ruler as during his reign, Korea experienced Yi Gwal's Rebellion, invasions from the Later Jin and Qing dynasty, and an economic recession.[citation needed]
Biography
Birth and background
King Injo was born in 1595 as a son of Prince Jeongwon,[1] whose father was the ruling monarch King Seonjo. In 1607, Prince Jeongwon's son was given the title, Lord Neungyang (綾陽都正, 능양도정) and later Prince Neungyang (綾陽君, 능양군); and lived as a royal family member, unsupported by any political factions that were in control of Korean politics at the time.
In 1608, King Seonjo fell sick and died, and his son, Gwanghaegun, succeeded him to the throne. At the time, the government was divided by various political factions and the liberal Eastern political faction came out strong after the Japanese invasions of 1582-1598, as they fought most actively against the Japanese. The Eastern faction split during the last days of King Seonjo into the Northern and Southern political factions. The Northern faction wanted radical reform, while the Southern faction supported more moderate measures. At the time of Seonjo's death, the Northern faction, which gained control of the government at the time, was divided into left-wing Greater Northerners and more moderate Lesser Northerners. As Gwanghaegun inherited the throne, the Greater Northern political faction, which supported him as heir to the crown, became the major political faction in the royal court. Meanwhile, the conservative Western political faction remained a minor player, unable to gain power; however many members of the Western faction continued to look for opportunities to return to politics as the ruling faction.
Although King Gwanghaegun (光海君, 광해군) was an outstanding administrator and great diplomat, he was largely unsupported by many politicians, scholars, and aristocrats because he was not the first-born and he was born of a concubine. Greater Northerners tried to stomp out those opinions, suppressing Lesser Northerners and killing Prince Imhae (臨海君, 임해군), the oldest son of Seonjo, and Grand Prince Yeongchang (永昌大君, 영창대군), the queen's son. It was not Gwanghaegun's plan to keep his throne; and in fact, he actually tried to bring minor factions into the government, but was blocked by opposition from members of the Greater Northerners, such as Jeong In-hong and Yi I-cheom. The actions made Gwanghaegun even more unpopular among wealthy aristocrats, and they finally began plotting against him.
In 1623, members of the ultra-conservative Westerners faction, Kim Ja-jeom, Kim Ryu, Yi Gwi and Yi Gwal, launched a coup that resulted in the dethroning of Gwanghaegun, who was sent into exile on Jeju Island. Jeong In-hong and Yi Yicheom were killed, and this was followed suddenly by the Westerners replacing the Greater Northerners as the ruling political faction. The Westerners brought Injo to the palace and crowned him as the new King of Joseon. Although Injo was king, he did not have any authority since almost all of the power was held by the Western faction that had dethroned Gwanghaegun.
Yi Gwal thought he was mistreated and received too small a reward for his role in the coup. In 1624, he rebelled against Injo after being sent to the Northern front as military commander of Pyongyang to fight against the expanding Manchus, while other significant leaders of the coup were rewarded with positions in the King's court. Yi Gwal led 12,000 troops, including 100 Japanese (who defected to Joseon during Japanese invasions of Korea), to the capital, Hanseong, where Yi Gwal defeated a regular army under the command of General Jang Man (张晚) and surrounded Hanseong in what is known as the Battle of Jeotan. Injo fled to Gongju, and Hanseong fell into the hands of the rebels.
On February 11, 1624, Yi Gwal enthroned Prince Heungan (興安君, 흥안군) as the new King. However, General Jang Man soon returned with another regiment and defeated Yi Gwal's forces. The Korean army recaptured the capital soon after, and Yi Gwal was murdered by his bodyguard, ending the rebellion. Even though Injo kept his throne, the uprising displayed the weaknesses of royal authority while asserting the superiority of the aristocrats, who had gained even more power by fighting against the rebellion. The economy, which was experiencing a slight recovery from Gwanghaegun's reconstruction, was again ruined, and Korea would remain in a poor economic state for a few centuries.
King Gwanghaegun, who was considered a wise diplomat, kept his neutral policy between the Ming dynasty, which was Joseon's traditional ally, and the growing Jurchens (later Manchus and Qing dynasty). However, following the fall of Gwanghaegun, conservative Westerners took a hard-line policy toward the Jurchen-led Later Jin dynasty, keeping their alliance with Ming dynasty. The Later Jin, who had up until that time remained mostly friendly to Joseon, began to regard Joseon as an enemy. Han Yun, who participated in the rebellion of Yi Gwal, fled to Manchuria and urged the Later Jin ruler Nurhaci to attack Joseon; thus the friendly relationship between the Later Jin and Joseon ended.
In 1627, 30,000 Manchu cavalry under General Amin (阿敏) and former Korean General Gang Hong-rip invaded Joseon, calling for the restoration of Gwanghaegun and the execution of Westerners leaders, including Kim Ja-jeom. General Jang Man again fought against the Later Jin, but was unable to repel the invasion. Once again, Injo fled to Ganghwa Island. Meanwhile, the Later Jin had no reason to attack Joseon and decided to go back to prepare for war against the Ming, and peace soon settled. The Later Jin and Joseon dynasties were declared brother nations and the Later Jin withdrew from the Korean peninsula.
However, most Westerners kept their hard-line policy despite the war. Nurhaci, who had generally good opinion toward Korea, did not invade Korea again; however, when Nurhaci died and Hong Taiji succeeded him as ruler, the Later Jin again began to seek another chance for war. King Injo provided refuge to Ming general Mao Wenlong and with his unit, after they fled from the Later Jin and came to Korea; this action caused the Later Jin to invade Korea once again.
In 1636, Hong Taiji officially renamed his dynasty the Qing dynasty, and proceeded to invade Joseon personally. The Qing forces purposely avoided battle with General Im Gyeong-eop, a prominent Joseon army commander who was guarding the Uiju Fortress at the time. A Qing army of 128,000 men marched directly into Hanseong before Injo could escape to Ganghwa Island, driving Injo to Namhan Mountain Fortress instead. Running out of food and supplies after the Manchu managed to cut all supply lines, Injo finally surrendered to the Qing dynasty ceremoniously bowing to the Hong Taiji nine times as Hong Taiji's servant, and agreeing to the Treaty of Samjeondo, which required Injo's first and second son to be taken to China as captives.
After Qing conquered Beijing in 1644,[2] the two princes returned to Korea. Injo's first son, Crown Prince Sohyeon, brought many new products from the western world, including Christianity, and urged Injo for reform. However, the conservative Injo would not accept his ideas and persecuted the Crown Prince for attempting to bring in foreign Catholicism and Western science into Korea.
The Crown Prince was mysteriously found dead in the King's room, bleeding severely from the head. Legends say that Injo killed his own son with an ink slab that Sohyeon brought from China; however, some historians suggest he was poisoned by the fact that he had black spots all over his body after his death and that his body decomposed rapidly. Many, including his wife, tried to uncover what happened but Injo ordered immediate burial and greatly reduced the grandeur of the practice of Crown Prince's funeral. King Injo even shortened the funeral period for his son.[3] Later, Injo also executed Sohyeon's wife who tried to find out the real reason for her husband's death.
King Injo appointed Grand Prince Bongrim as new Crown Prince (who later became King Hyojong) rather than Prince Sohyeon's oldest son, Prince Gyeongseon. Soon after, Injo ordered the exile of Prince Sohyeon's three sons to Jeju Island (from which only the youngest son, Prince Gyeongan, returned to the mainland alive) and the execution of Sohyeon's wife, Crown Princess Minhoe, for treason.
Legacy
Today, Injo is mostly regarded as a weak, indecisive and unstable ruler; for he caused the Yi Gwal Rebellion, two wars with the Qing dynasty, and a devastation of the economy. He is often compared to his predecessor, Gwanghaegun, who was dethroned, while Injo had almost no achievements during his reign and was still given a temple name. Blamed for not taking care of his kingdom, many people regard King Injo as a model for politicians not to follow; yet, he is credited for reforming the military and expanding the defense of the nation to prepare for war, since the nation had several military conflicts from 1592 to 1636. Injo died in 1649. His tomb is located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.
^As the sixth illegitimate son of King Seonjo, he became Prince Jeongwon. In 1623, he was given the posthusmous title Daewongun as the birth father of King Injo. After considerable opposition, he was posthusmously honoured as King Wonjong in 1632.
^In 1623, she was given the title Lady Gyewoon (계운궁, 啓運宮) as the birth mother of King Injo. She was also known as Princess Consort Yeonju (연주군부인, 連珠郡夫人), and Lady Yeonju (연주부부인, 連珠府夫人)
^Her uncle, Gu Sa-an (구사안, 具思顔) (1523 – 22 April 1562), married Princess Hyosun (a daughter of King Jungjong and Queen Munjeong)
^Married Princess Consort Bokcheon of the Dongbok Oh clan (복천부부인 오씨, 福川府夫人 吳氏) (22 April 1622 – 6 August 1658), and had 10 children (6 sons, 4 daughters).
^Died at the age of 5; Yi Yeon, Prince Bokpyeong (복평군 이연, 福平君 李㮒) became his adoptive son. He was the 4th son of his older brother, Prince Inpyeong.
# denotes that the king was deposed and never received a temple name.
^Those who were listed were not reigning monarchs but posthumously recognized; the year following means the year of recognition.
^Only the crown princes that didn't become the king were listed; the former year indicates when one officially became the heir and the latter one is that when one died/deposed. Those who ascended to the throne were excluded in the list for simplification.
^The title given to the biological father, who never reigned, of the kings who were adopted as the heir to a precedent king.
^The de jure monarch of Korea during the era was the Emperor of Japan, while the former Korean emperors were given nobility title "King Yi" instead.
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