K orea, Popular Rebellions and Uprisings, 1492–1910

Abstract

The Chosun Dynasty (1492–1910) was founded by the military rebellion of General Lee Sung‐gye, who became the first king, Taejo. His rebellion represented the formation of a new ruling class based on a newly emerging elite and military leaders under the auspices of Sung Confucius ideology. For a century, the Chosun Dynasty witnessed impressive developments in science, industry, and institutional reform, including the creation of Hangul, the Korean alphabet, under King Sejong. However, from the sixteenth century, the contradictions of the medieval caste regime began to harden, and divisions among the ruling class, factional struggles, and challenges from below destabilized the social structure, severely weakening the nation. Thus, Chosun was invaded by Japanese forces under Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1592, and by the Ching Dynasty of China in 1637. These foreign invasions further destabilized the legitimacy of the Chosun Dynasty. On the other hand, the rapid development of production by means of two‐crop farming and rice transplantation clashed with feudal land ownership. Thus, while a new class of enriched plebians began to grow as a social force, together with professionals like doctors and other specialists, large numbers of feudal farmers were expelled from their lands and exploited by landowners and government officials.