Dreaming of a Reformed Joseon

In any age there has been at least one person that challenged the powers that be and stood against injustice. In Korean history Jeongam Jo Gwang-jo is such a person.

Born in 1482, Jo moved to North Pyeongan Province at age 17 with his father. There he met Kim Gweng-pil, who was exiled nearby after the First Literati Purge in 1498 and later became Jo’s mentor. The era Jo lived in was a tumultuous one. Then-ruler Yeonsangun was a despot and court officials staged a coup d’état to crown a new king, Jungjong. But the king was a mere puppet, who had to relinquish real power to a group of vassals who planned the usurpation. The nation of Joseon was rocked to the core.

It was fortunate for Jo to have met his mentor Kim, who was known for his integrity, during these rough times as he motivated Jo to resurrect the rule of Confucianism in Joseon.

Dreaming of an Ideal Confucian State

Jo started his government career in 1510 by placing first in a national exam. After serving in various government posts, he gained King Jungjong’s trust when he gave lectures in front of the king. Looking to correct unjust political practices and corruption among government officials, King Jungjong saw hope for a new Joseon in Jo’s neo-Confucian principles.

Having become King Jungjong’s confidant, Jo started attacking corruption in the established power elite, while spreading Confucian morality even to rural areas by disseminating hyangyak, or a set of self-governing rules for local communities. He also tried to stamp out superstitious beliefs and closed down a government branch that oversaw ceremonial rites to heavenly beings.

In 1519 (14th year of King Jungjong’s reign) Jo initiated a new national exam to seat young and capable seonbis or classical Confucian scholars in the court posts. In the process Jo gained quite a following comprised of reformist seonbis, which deeply distressed the old guards. Their ire was even more heightened by the stripping of honor status for the 1506 coup members at the behest of Jo.

Steadfast in Upholding Principles and Order

King Jungjong had bestowed an honorable status to 103 “heroes” who helped oust Yeonsangun and bring Jungjong to power. But Jo claimed that many of the honorees who received the special benefits did not actually contribute to the coup but were named “heroes” by bribe or family connection. He then recommended the king to revoke their status and privileges. As a result, 76 of the honorees were stripped of their founding hero status and benefits in 1519.

This incident enraged the established power group, prompting old leaders to devise a plot to accuse Jo of treason. A phrase “Ju cho will become king” was written in honey on the mulberry leaves in the king’s garden so caterpillars would eat away the honey-written letters. The Chinese characters for “ju” and “cho”, when combined, form a new letter “jo,” which is Jo Gwang-jo’s family name. King Jungjung’s concubines, who sided with the established power, showed the leaves to the king, claiming that the heaven had warned of Jo’s treasonous ambition of wanting to become king. At the time King Jungjong was growing irritated by Jo’s rushed reform plans. Jo had petitioned the king 300 times over the four-year period since 1515, urging the king to speed up the overhaul. Having grown sick of Jo’s overbearing attitude, King Jungjong believed the old political faction’s whispers of Jo’s disloyalty and exiled him to Neungju in South Jeolla Province. Later, the king ordered Jo to be put to death by drinking poison. Thus Joseon’s reformist Jo Gwang-jo died in 1519 at age 37.

When the news of Jo’s death spread across the nation, Confucian scholars and students and even common people came out to the streets crying to lament his death and express their worries about the nation’s future. It was evident even to the lowliest of people that Jo was a person of integrity and true justice. But his unbending adherence to Confucian principles and reformist ideas clashed with the conservative power base which favored the status quo, and eventually alienated one of his staunchest supporters, King Jungjong.

It was tragic that Jo’s brilliant reformist ideas failed to bear lasting fruit. His fault, if there was any, was that he was relentless in pursuit of his goals and did not seek compromise in what he thought was an act of justice. Jo’s life provides answers to today’s people who question, “What is the right path in life and what kind of life is worth living?”