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
| Event | King | What happened | Outcome (faction in power) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Literati purges (1498–1545) | Yeonsangun–Myeongjong | Meritorious elite and in-laws strike the Sarim | Sarim set back, regrow via seowon and hyangyak |
| East–West split (1575) | Seonjo | Clash over the Ijo jeongnang post (Kim Hyo-won, Sim Ui-gyeom) | Easterners and Westerners |
| Jeong Yeo-rip case, Gichuk purge (1589) | Seonjo | Westerner Jeong Cheol punishes Easterners; heir dispute | Easterners split into South and North |
| Northerner government | Gwanghaegun | Neutral diplomacy; killing of Grand Prince Yeongchang | Northerners in power |
| Injo Restoration (1623) | Injo | Westerners depose Gwanghaegun | Westerners lead, Southerners share (coexistence) |
| Rites controversies (1659, 1674) | Hyeonjong | Mourning period of Queen Dowager Jaui | 1659: Westerners / 1674: Southerners |
| Gyeongsin hwanguk (1680) | Sukjong | Heo Jeok’s tent affair, Heo Gyeon plot | Westerners; split into Noron and Soron |
| Gisa and Gapsul hwanguk (1689, 1694) | Sukjong | Naming the heir / Queen Inhyeon restored | Southerners → Westerners (Southerners finished) |
| Sinim purges (1721–22) | Gyeongjong | Dispute over naming Yeongjo heir and regent | Soron in power; four Noron ministers executed |
| Yeongjo’s Tangpyeong (stele 1742) | Yeongjo | Tangpyeong faction, seowon cut, jeongnang curbed | Moderate Tangpyeong; Noron dominant |
| Jeongjo’s Tangpyeong | Jeongjo | Principled Tangpyeong; Gyujanggak, Jangyongyeong | Sipa vs Byeokpa; stronger kingship |
| In-law government (1800–63) | Sunjo, Heonjong, Cheoljong | In-law clans control the Border Defence Council | Andong Kim and Pungyang Jo clans |
Claiming that Kim Jong-jik's essay had insulted King Sejo, Yeonsangun executed or exiled Gim Il-son and other Sarim scholars — the first literati purge.
Yeonsangun killed many officials linked to the death of his mother, the deposed Queen Yun; his tyranny led to his overthrow two years later.
Park Won-jong and others deposed Yeonsangun and enthroned Grand Prince Jinseong as King Jungjong; Yeonsangun was exiled to Gyodong Island.
Jo Gwang-jo and his reformist Sarim allies were driven out by the old guard; Jo was forced to take poison in exile at Neungju.
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.
A clash between Kim Hyo-won and Sim Ui-gyeom over a key personnel post split the Sarim into Easterners and Westerners, beginning factional politics.
Accused of plotting rebellion, the Easterner Jeong Yeo-rip took his own life, and the purge led by the Westerner Jeong Cheol struck down some thousand Easterners.
At Ming request Joseon sent an army under Gang Hong-rip against the Later Jin; when the Ming were routed at Sarhu, Gang surrendered, and Gwanghaegun kept Joseon neutral between Ming and Jurchens.
The Westerner faction deposed Gwanghaegun and enthroned Prince Neungyang as King Injo; the new pro-Ming stance soured relations with the Later Jin.
Twice, on the deaths of Hyojong and his queen, the Westerners and Southerners clashed over how long the dowager queen should wear mourning; the Westerners won in 1659, the Southerners in 1674.
Three times Sukjong replaced the ruling faction wholesale (1680, 1689, 1694); along the way the Westerners split into the Noron and Soron.
Under King Gyeongjong, the Noron and Soron clashed over naming his brother (the future Yeongjo) heir and regent; the Soron drove out and executed the four Noron ministers and others.
Hard-line Soron and some Southerners, claiming Yeongjo had a hand in Gyeongjong’s death, rose to deny his legitimacy; they seized Cheongju but were soon crushed (the Musin revolt).
Yeongjo inscribed his policy of appointing officials impartially, regardless of faction, on a stele at the royal academy.
Yeongjo deposed the crown prince and locked him in a rice chest in front of Munjeongjeon Hall at Changgyeonggung; Prince Sado died eight days later.
On taking the throne, Jeongjo founded the Gyujanggak in the rear garden of Changdeokgung as a royal library and policy research institute.
Jeongjo created the Jangyongyeong royal guard with an inner garrison in the capital and an outer one at Hwaseong in Suwon; through the chogye munsin system he retrained young officials.
For some sixty years after Jeongjo, through the reigns of Sunjo, Heonjong and Cheoljong, royal in-law clans such as the Andong Kim and Pungyang Jo monopolized power; the three taxes became corrupt and peasant revolts followed.
Twenty-first king of Joseon, known for his impartiality policy and tax reform, and for the death of his son
Eleventh king of Joseon, enthroned by the 1506 coup; raised Jo Gwang-jo and then purged him
Fifteenth king of Joseon who began the Daedong law and balanced Ming and the Later Jin; deposed in 1623
Leader of the Westerners (later the Noron), adviser to Hyojong’s northern campaign plan and chief voice in the mourning-rite disputes; forced to take poison in 1689
Twentieth king of Joseon, son of Sukjong and Royal Consort Jang, backed by the Soron; he died after four years and was succeeded by his half-brother Yeongjo
Twenty-second king of Joseon, founder of the Gyujanggak library and builder of Hwaseong Fortress
Teacher of the Sarim; an essay of his became the pretext for the 1498 purge after his death
Neo-Confucian reformer exiled to Neungju and forced to take poison in the 1519 purge
Brother of Queen Munjeong and head of the “Lesser Yun” faction, who purged the rival “Greater Yun” in 1545