Person1534 – 1567

Myeongjong

Thirteenth king of Joseon, enthroned at twelve under the regency of his mother Queen Munjeong, while her brother Yun Won-hyeong held power

The Eulsa Purge broke out in 1545, the year he took the throne, and in 1547 the sarim suffered again in the Yangjae Station wall-poster affair. After the Eulmyo Japanese Raid of 1555 the Bibyeonsa became a permanent body, and in 1556 the Jikjeon Law was abolished, leaving officials with salaries only. Amid in-law abuses and famine, Im Kkeok-jeong rose in revolt around Hwanghae Province from 1559.

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4 related events

1
1545Eulsa Purgemonarch
When the boy king Myeongjong came to the throne, his maternal uncle Yun Won-hyeong (the “Lesser Yun”) destroyed Yun Im (the “Greater Yun”) and the scholars around him — the fourth literati purge.
2
1555Eulmyo Japanese Raidmonarch
Japanese raiders in some seventy ships landed at Dalyang in Jeolla and ravaged Yeongam, Jangheung and other counties; afterwards the Border Defence Council (Bibyeonsa) became a permanent body.
3
1556Office Land Abolished; Salaries Onlymonarch
Under Myeongjong, with no land left to grant, office land ceased and officials received only salaries — ending the grant of rent rights.
4
1559 – 1562Im Kkeok-jeong’s Rebellionmonarch
Under King Myeongjong, Im Kkeok-jeong, a butcher’s son from Yangju, raided government offices and granaries from Mount Guwol in Hwanghae for over three years before his capture.

People who appear alongside

Yun Won-hyeong1565
Brother of Queen Munjeong and head of the “Lesser Yun” faction, who purged the rival “Greater Yun” in 1545
Queen Munjeong1501 – 1565
Queen of Jungjong and mother of Myeongjong; as regent she ruled with her brother Yun Won-hyeong and revived Buddhism through the monk Bou
Yi Eon-jeok (Hoejae)1491 – 1553
Neo-Confucian scholar who pioneered the primacy of li and influenced Yi Hwang; died in exile at Ganggye after the purge of 1547
Im Kkeok-jeong1562
Outlaw leader of butcher (baekjeong) origin from Yangju who raided government offices from Mt. Guwol in Hwanghae under Myeongjong

Themes this person appears in

Factional Politics in Joseon1498 – 1863
From the literati purges to in-law government — how Sarim factions moved from coexistence and checks to purges and one-faction rule, then through Tangpyeong to the dominance of a few clans
Changes in the Land SystemAD 687 – 1950
From nogeup to the end of office land — how the rights granted to officials shrank, and gave way to modern land ownership
Central Government Through the AgesAD 250 – 1899
From the noble councils of the Three Kingdoms to the State Council, the Border Defense Council and the Gabo cabinet — how central government shifted between aristocratic consensus and royal power
Ming, Qing and Edo Japan1500 – 1800
The age when the Ming, shaken by northern raiders, southern pirates and the silver economy, fell to Li Zicheng’s rebels, and the Manchu Qing reached its greatest extent and prosperity under Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong — as Japan was unified out of the Warring States into the Edo shogunate’s bakuhan order and closed country, and Joseon, after two great wars, met its neighbours through embassies to Edo and the Northern Learning