[2026년 중3 역사 시험대비] 중학교 역사② 4단원 총정리 (조선의 성립과 발전)

Summary: Joseon’s Establishment and Development

Teacher Lim reviews Unit 4 of middle-school Korean history, covering Joseon’s founding and government, political factions, culture, and foreign invasions.

1. Joseon’s Founding and Governing System

Founding and Early Kings

• Wihwado Retreat: At the end of Goryeo, Yi Seong-gye turned his army back from Wihwado rather than follow the order to attack Liaodong. His faction then took political power.
• Gwajeon Law: The new rulers redistributed land held by powerful families and granted land mainly to officials in Gyeonggi Province, strengthening state finances.
• Moderate Neo-Confucian officials, including Jeong Mong-ju, opposed the new order. Jeong was killed, and Yi Seong-gye and reform-minded scholar-officials founded Joseon.
• The capital was moved to Hanyang. Jeong Do-jeon helped shape the new capital and the state’s Confucian political principles, including people-centered government and benevolent rule.

A key sequence to remember is:

Wihwado Retreat → Gwajeon Law → Removal of moderate reform opponents → Founding of Joseon → Relocation to Hanyang

• Taejong: Strengthened royal authority by abolishing private armies, having the king direct the Six Ministries, and implementing a household-registration system to identify taxpayers and candidates for military service.
• Sejong: Promoted Confucian governance and cooperation between the king and officials. His major achievement was creating Hunminjeongeum, the Korean alphabet. He also sponsored many scholarly and scientific projects.
• Sejo: Took the throne after the coup against his nephew Danjong. He abolished some advisory institutions and began compiling Gyeongguk Daejeon, Joseon’s legal code.
• Seongjong: Completed Gyeongguk Daejeon and strengthened institutions such as Hongmungwan. The completed code established a more systematic centralized government.

Government, Military, and Education

• Central government: The Uijeongbu–Six Ministries system divided high-level deliberation and practical administration. Other institutions included:
  • Seungjeongwon, the royal secretariat
  • Uigeumbu, which handled serious crimes and treason
  • Samsa—Sah 헌bu (Sahŏnbu), Saganwon, and Hongmungwan—which scrutinized officials, remonstrated with the king, and advised on policy. Together, these institutions helped sustain public debate.
  • Chunchugwan, which compiled historical records; Seonggyungwan, the highest educational institution; and Hanseongbu, the capital’s administrative office.
• Local government: Joseon was divided into eight provinces, with provincial governors and local magistrates sent from the center. Local clerks assisted magistrates, while hyangso (local self-governing bodies, often called yuhyangso) helped supervise local affairs and promote Confucian norms.
• Military: Commoner men aged 16–60 were subject to military service. Central forces were organized into five divisions, while provincial forces included army and naval units. Beacon fires and relay stations supported emergency communication and transport.
• Officials and education: Civil-service examinations were the main route to office:
  • Mungwa selected civil officials, chiefly from the yangban elite.
  • Mugwa selected military officials.
  • Japgwa selected technical specialists.

Appointment through family privilege or recommendation also existed, but the lecture presents these as less important routes to high office. Education was formally possible beyond the yangban class, but in practice it was concentrated among yangban families.

Foreign Relations

Joseon followed sadae (“serving the great”) in relations with China and gyorin (“neighborly relations”) with neighboring peoples, especially the Jurchens and Japan.

Toward the Jurchens, Joseon combined military action with trade and diplomacy:

• Four Garrisons and Six Fortresses were established in the north during Sejong’s reign.
• Border trading posts were also opened.

Toward Japan, Joseon used both force and conciliation:

• Yi Jong-mu’s expedition to Tsushima was a military measure.
• Trade was permitted through the ports of Busanpo, Yeompo, and Jep’o.

2. Sarim, Political Purges, and Political Factions

• The Hungu were powerful officials who had gained influence through the founding of Joseon and the political changes under Sejo. Han Myeong-hoe is given as a leading figure.
• The Sarim were Neo-Confucian scholars, many of whom had remained outside central politics and built influence in local communities. From Seongjong’s reign onward, they entered government, particularly through the Samsa, and criticized Hungu corruption.
• Conflict between the groups led to four major purges, known collectively as the four Sahwa:
  • Mu-o Sahwa: Connected to Kim Jong-jik’s Jo-ui-je-mun and the actions of his student Kim Il-son.
  • Gapja Sahwa: Followed Yeonsangun’s discovery of the circumstances surrounding the death of his mother, Deposed Queen Yun.
  • Gimyo Sahwa: Jo Gwang-jo’s reforms—including the Hyeollyang-gwa examination, abolition of the Sogyeokseo, and removal of improperly awarded honors—provoked opposition. He was accused of disloyalty and purged.
  • Eulsa Sahwa: A purge arising from conflict involving the royal family and maternal relatives during Myeongjong’s reign.
• Although the Sarim eventually displaced the Hungu, they later divided into factions. A dispute over the personnel post of Ijo-jeonrang helped divide them into:
  • Dongin (Easterners), associated with the scholarly traditions of Yi Hwang and Jo Sik.
  • Seoin (Westerners), associated with Yi I and Seong Hon.
• The Dongin later split into Namin and Bukin. The Seoin later split into Noron and Soron. The Bukin lost power after Gwanghaegun was deposed in the Injo Coup.

Seowon and Hyangyak

• Seowon were local academies that educated local elites and honored respected Confucian scholars. The first, Baegundong Seowon, was founded by Ju Se-bung under Jungjong to honor An Hyang. It later received royal recognition and the name Sosu Seowon. State-recognized seowon received privileges, including tax exemptions, and became bases for local political influence.
• Hyangyak were community agreements combining Confucian ethics with mutual aid. They helped local elites educate villagers and maintain social order. Yi Hwang and Yi I were among the scholars associated with spreading hyangyak.

3. Confucian Culture, Scholarship, and Technology

• Joseon promoted Confucian practices through works such as the Gukjo Oryeui, which set out state ceremonies, and the Samgang Haengsildo, which illustrated examples of filial children, loyal subjects, and virtuous women.
• As Confucian norms spread—especially after the Sarim gained influence—family rituals and practices based on Zhu Xi’s teachings became more common. This helped strengthen the yangban-centered social hierarchy and a more rigid class order.
• Hunminjeongeum: Sejong created the Korean alphabet, described in the lecture as a systematic and original script of 28 letters. Yongbieocheonga, an early work written with it, celebrated the founding of Joseon.
• State-sponsored compilation projects included:
  • Gyeongguk Daejeon, the legal code
  • Dongguk Tonggam, a history from Gojoseon through Goryeo
  • Joseon Wangjo Sillok, the annals of Joseon kings
  • Maps and geographical works such as the Honil Gangni Yeokdaegukdo, a world map, and Dongguk Yeoji Seungnam, a regional gazetteer
• Science and agriculture: The lecture highlights astronomical maps and instruments, the Chiljeongsan calendar, and devices made or developed under Sejong’s patronage, including the Jagyeokru water clock, Angbuilgu sundial, and Cheugugi rain gauge. Practical works included Nongsa Jikseol on farming and medical compilations such as Hyangyak Jipseongbang and Uibang Yuchwi.
• Printing and art: Metal movable type developed, including Gyemija under Taejong and later types under Sejong. In ceramics, buncheong ware was prominent in the 15th century, while white porcelain became popular in the 16th. The lecture names An Gyeon’s Dream of the Peach Blossom Land as a major painting, depicting an imagined rather than observed landscape.

4. The Japanese Invasions and the Manchu Invasions

Imjin War and Its Aftermath

• Japan invaded Joseon in 1592, under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Joseon was initially unprepared: Busan and Dongnae fell, the Japanese advance defeated the defenders at Chungju, and Hanseong was captured. King Seonjo fled to Uiju and sought Ming assistance.
• Joseon’s resistance included:
  • Yi Sun-sin’s navy, with victories including Okpo, Hansan Island, Myeongnyang, and Noryang. The lecture particularly emphasizes the crane-wing formation at Hansan.
  • Righteous armies led by local commanders, and monk armies led by figures including Seosan Daesa and Samyeong Daesa.
  • Ming military support and victories such as the recovery of Pyongyang, the defense of Haengju, and the victory at Jinju.
• After a period of negotiations, Japan invaded again in 1597. The war ended in 1598, after Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s death and Japan’s withdrawal.
• The war devastated Joseon’s land and finances and caused the loss or destruction of cultural sites and artifacts. Many Koreans, including potters and scholars, were taken to Japan. The conflict also weakened Ming and contributed to the rise of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan. Joseon later resumed relations with Japan and sent diplomatic missions.
• During postwar recovery, Gwanghaegun promoted land and household registration, repaired defenses, adopted the Daedong Law to ease the tax burden, and completed and distributed Heo Jun’s Donguibogam. He also pursued a neutral policy between Ming and Later Jin.
• The Injo Coup deposed Gwanghaegun. The new government adopted a more pro-Ming, anti-Later Jin stance.

Jeongmyo and Byeongja Invasions

• In 1627, Later Jin invaded Joseon in what is called the Jeongmyo War. Joseon made peace on terms framed as a relationship between “brother” states.
• Later Jin subsequently became the Qing and demanded that Joseon accept a subordinate relationship. In Joseon, this produced a dispute between those favoring peace and those insisting on resistance.
• In 1636, Qing invaded again in the Byeongja War. King Injo took refuge at Namhansanseong but eventually surrendered at Samjeondo. Joseon accepted Qing’s superior status, and Crown Prince Sohyeon and Grand Prince Bongrim were taken as hostages.
• Later, Hyojong promoted a northern expedition to retaliate against Qing, but the plan did not proceed after his death. The lecture also notes the later movement to adopt Qing learning and culture.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Teacher Lim (림쌤): The presenter and sole speaking voice identified in the subtitles.
• No other speakers or quoted sources are identified in the subtitles.