Korea 1500-Present Day This is a timeline on korean kings and relations between Japan and China from the 1500-present. Some kings had short reigns while others were on the throne too long, but each king made a name for themself, good or bad.
By Jazzy.tingz
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Period: 1482 to 1519
Reformation of Government
Jungjong and his tristed secretary (Cho Kwang-jo), along with Confucian liberal politicians, known as the Shilin, made plans to change the Jeoson government. With help, Jungjong argued the change of civil service exams. -
Period: 1494 to 1506
Yeonsangun "The Treacherous"
Succeeded the throne from his father, Seong-Jong. Considered a disgrace to his country after events during his reign, and Jeoson (modern day South Korea) has erased many details about him. -
1504
Beginning of Revenge
Yeonsangun killed off two of his fathers concubines, as well as his grandmother (Queen Insu) -
1504
"Second Literati Purge"
King Yeonsangun assassinated hundreds of Confucian scholars who took part in the death of his biological mother through the decree of the past king, his father. First Literati purge happened in 1498. -
1506
Deposing of yeonsangun
Group officials (Park Won Jong, Sung Hee-Ahn, You Soon-jeong and Hong Kyung Joo) launched plans to depose king Yeonsangun, and replace him with his half brother, Jungjong. leaving yeonsangun demoted as a prince of Jeoson, his punishment was exaltation to Gangwha-do Island, dying the same year. -
Period: 1506 to 1544
Jungjong
Succeeded throne from the deposition of his half-brother yeonsangun -
1519
"Third Literati Purge"
Merit subjects pushed King Jungjong for the removal of Jo Gwang-jo from the king's court and to kill off his followers. leading to more deaths in 1521. Due to Jungjong complying, ruling over Jeoson would no longer be decided the king. -
Period: 1544 to 1545
Injong
Son to past king, Jungjong. Injong was crowned prince of Jeoson in 1520 and succeeded the throne after the death of his father in 1544. as soon he came into office, he tried to change Jeoson's government and brought Sarim scholars who had left after the "Third Literati Purge" -
Period: 1545 to 1567
Myeongjong
Second son of late king Jungjong and half-brother to Injong. Since he was still too young at the time, his mother (Queen Munjeong) governed over Jeoson in his name. -
1548
Bongeunsa Temple
Under Myeongjongs name, queen Munjeong ordered that the temple of Bongeunsa, be rebuilt, because they follow the religion of Buddhism. -
Period: 1567 to
Seonjo "The Most Incompetent"
Dedicated to carrying out reforms, for the people, which didn't end in his favor. His leadership caused a 400 year conflict of power and government. -
Period: 1574 to
Gwanghaegun
Obtained the throne through a controversial birth, second son to King Seonjo. During his time, he worked hard to rebuild parts of the country destroyed during war and stabilizing the government. Gwanghaegun worked hard to erase the cowardly consequences left by the late king Seonjo. Gwanghaegun operated the government in his fathers place after fleeing north during the war. After King seonjo crowned him as prince, before his death, it caused the splitting of government. -
Period: 1575 to
Splitting of governments
After King Seonjo appointed scholars, Sim Ui-Gyeom and Kim Hyowon, the government was split into two factions, east (Kim) and west (Sim). Lasting for over 400 years, the followers of Kim and Sim, stayed on each respected side. Each side disagreed after the kings decision to appoint Gwanghaegun as the crown prince, because his mother was a concubine rather than an actual queen. -
Period: to
Seven-Year War: The start of it all
Toyotomi Hideyoshi of Japan sent people to king Seonjo in 1591, to ask permission to pass through the Korean Peninsula in order to invade China. King Seonjo declined Japans request, and decided to worn China of Japans plans for attack. Seonjo ordered that forts were to be built along coastlines and sent his most trusted generals, Shin Rip and Yi Il to the southern coast in preparation for war. -
Seven-Year War: Continuance 2
Seonjo appointed Kim Myeong-won as Commander-in-chief and Field Marshal, fled to Pyongyang, then forced to go further north to Uiji after japanese defeat. Korea had naval advancement when they cut off Japans supplies from sea. China arrived under general Li Rusong, pushing japan south, taking back Pyongyang. Peace negotiations between China And Japan ended with misunderstandings of korea. -
Seven-Year War: Continuance
Over 700 ships from Japan, Under Konishi Yukinaga invaded Korea. After the burning of Fort Busan and Fort Donglae, Japanese soldiers headed north. The very next day, more soldiers landed in korea, with a Japanese fleet supporting through sea.. -
Seven-Year War: Continuance 3
Japan invaded Korea again, only this time all three countries were prepared for war. Japan had more of a struggle taking over this time. japanese fleet got defeated in the Battle of Myeongnyang, ultimately ending the war. -
Gwanghaegun and Japan
King Gwanghaegun restored korea's relationship with japan, after negotiations, they both agreed to a trade deal. -
Intro to tobacco
Tobacco became popular in korea among many nobleman. -
The Later Jin
Founded in Manchuria by Nurhaci (Qing) stated that Manchuria and Joseon were brother nations, and the manchus retreated from Korea. -
Gwanghaegun's aid to the Ming Dynasty
Gwanghaegun saw how much of a hold the Ming Empire has on Jeoson, he wanted to be on their good side so he sent over 10,000 soldiers to aid the ming dynasty in the Battle of Sarhu. -
Revolts against Gwanghaegun
The Westerners of the governmental oppositions attacked and burned Changdeok Palace, capturing prince Gwanghae. The Westerners took the crown power away, trapping Gwanghae on Ganghwa Island then moved to Jeju Island, where he died in 1641, -
Period: to
Injo
Grandson to Seonjo, Injo placed on the throne through the revolt by the Westerners against late King Gwanghaegun. Even though he was rightfully king, all of the governmental power was in the hands of the Westerners faction. -
Yi Gwal Rebellion
Yi Gwal was the military commander of Pyongyang to defend Jeoson against the Machus. He wanted more recognition, so he gathered around 12,000 troops and went to the capital Hanseong (Modern Seoul) to rebel against king Injo. Injo fled to Gwangju and the capital Hanseong fell to the rebellion. -
Period: to
Manchu invasions
The Manchu invaded Jeoson twice this year, temporarily taking the throne during the first invasion, under Manchu general Yi Gwal, who got killed shortly after. Hong Taiji invaded Jeoson after taking the throne from Nurhaci (Manchu Emperor before). After 45 days, King Injo ended up surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, and sent two of his sons as hostages to China. -
European culture
A Dutchman named Weltevree ended up shipwrecked in Korea and introduced European culture to Korea. -
Period: to
Hyeonjong
Born at the Manchu capital while his father was living there as a political hostage (Hyojong). During the beginning of his reign conflicts between the "westerners" faction and "southerners" faction over the death of his father and his stepmother. The anger subsided after Hyeonjong sided with the westerners and appointed southerner, Heo Jeok as Prime Minister. -
Byeongja-Horan
War where Jeoson helped the Qing Dynasty conquer the Ming. -
Crown Prince returns
After the Qing takes over China, Injo's sons return to korea. Crown Prince Sohyeon brought back products from western civilizations, like christianity, and tried convincing his father to convert. Shortly after his return, the Crown Prince was attacked and his body was left in the King's corridors. The other prince (Prince Bongrim) was appointed Crown Prince after the burial of Sohyeon. -
Period: to
Hyojong "Grand Prince Bongrim"
Second son of late king Injo. Became king after his father's death. -
Jeoson military aid
After expansion of the military, the Qing Dynasty asked Joseon for help against Russia; The Battle of Hutong, won by the Qing-Joseon ally. -
Joseon Military aid again
King Hyojong sent troops to help Qing dynasty against Russia for a second time. Both battles proved that King Hyojong changed the military for the better. -
Book of Joseon
Dutchman Hendrick Hamel wrote a book about the Joseon Dynasty to share his experiences with europe and introduce them to Korea. -
Period: to
Sukjong
Reigned for over 46 years with peace and prosperity. Although conflict broke out when he wanted to crown his son Kyeongjong, from his favorite concubine. -
Sukjong's Government
King Sukjong got his government officials to work with the Qing Dynasty in China to define national borders between the two countries at the Yaly and Tumen Rivers. -
Period: to
Gyeongjong
Son of King Sukjong. Gyeongjong was ill most of his reign, two years into his reign, he crowned his brother (prince Yeoning) Crown Prince. He crowned his brother to take charge of state affairs in his name hoping less stress would help him get better. -
Period: to
Yeongjo
Second son of late king Sukjong, succeeded the throne after his brother Gyeongjong, and reigned for 52 years. He reduced military tax by half, introduced an accounting system to rationalize revenues and expenses. And caused a growth in trade, manufacturing, and mining. -
Yeongjo
King Yeongjo outlawed Catholicism as an evil practice -
Period: to
Jeongjo
son to late Crown Prince sado. Spent most of reign trying to clear his father's name. Also known as innovative despite his political status -
Period: to
Sunjo
Second son of King Jeongjo. -
Revolts against government
riots led by Hong Gyeong-nae against the government because it was very corrupt. -
Period: to
Heonjong
Grandson of Sunjo, came to throne at the age of 8. Since he was too young, his grandmother (Queen Sunwon) served in his name. -
Period: to
Cheoljong
Ascended to the throne after king Heonjong died without an heir to the throne. Even though he was illiterate, they still placed him on the throne. They purposely placed him on the throne because he is easy to manipulate. -
Period: to
Gojong
He was too young when he came to the throne, his father served under his name. -
French invasion
The French invaded korea to spread the religion catholic. -
Gapsin Coup
Five revolutionaries initiated the Gapsin Coup, an attempted coup d'etat, by leading a small anti-old minister army, attempting to detain King Gojong and Queen Min. The coup failed after 3 days. Some of its leaders, including Kim Okgyun, fled to Japan, and others were executed. -
Donghak Peasant Revolution
Donghak Peasant Revolution took hold as an anti-government, anti-yangban and anti-foreign campaign. To suppress the rebellion, the Joseon government requested military aid from Japan, thus deepening Japanese claims to Korea as a protectorate -
Period: to
First Sino-Japanese war
This war was between China and Japan, but was fought on the Korean peninsula. -
Donghak
Japan had won the Sino-Japanese War, gaining influence over the Korean government. The Gabo reforms caused controversy in Korea, creating Korean anti-Japanese sentiments. Some Confucian scholars, as well as farmers, formed over 60 successive righteous armies to fight for Korean freedom. These armies were preceded by the Donghak movement and succeeded by various Korean independence movements. -
Goodbye China
Gojong proclaimed the Korean Empire to justify the country's ending of its traditional tributary subordination to China. -
Japan takeover
Japanese military achieved victory in the Russo-Japanese War. Then came the Protectorate Treaty of 1905 between Korea and Japan, which stripped Korea of its rights as an independent nation, Gojong sent representatives to the Hague Peace Convention of 1907 in order to try to re-assert his sovereignty over Korea. Although the Korean representatives were blocked by the Japanese delegates, they did not give up, and later held interviews with newspapers.
