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The Court’s Composition and the Evaluation of the Rule of King Kwanghae after King Injo’s Coup of 1623

Hanshin Kim 1

1충북대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

After their successful coup in 1623, King Injo and his court expelled the supporters of the dethroned King Kwanghae for a couple of years. Alongside this measure, Injo’s court discussed and evaluated the events of King Kwanghae’s reign. Injo came to the throne blaming King Kwanghae for issues such as the degrading of the queen mother’s status, the killing of Kwanghae’s younger brother Grand Prince Yeongchang, the damaging of the diplomatic relationship with the Ming (Joseon’s suzerain), and the taking away of people’s power and resources. Immediately after the coup, Injo’s court repeatedly emphasised the political negatives of Kwanghae’s court. Injo’s court named the causes of collapse as the undermining of systematic order in Kwanghae’s court and the bribery and corruption between powerful subjects and the royal concubines of King Kwanghae. Previous studies have mainly focused on identifying the situations that became justifications for the 1623 coup. For example, the degrading of the queen mother’s status was one of the main causes used to justify the later expulsion of those involved and also the coup itself. Some research has noted the significance of the use of armed violence in combination with the causes of the coup. Looking more closely, it is found that Injo’s court had to turn the mistakes of Kwanghae’s court into lessons and avoid repeating them beyond eliminating their political enemies. This means that to make progress, Injo’s court had to analyse the causes in reality rather than through the frame of propaganda. Through examining the issues which Injo’s court saw as justifications for the coup, the political foundation of Joseon during the seventeenth century will be understood clearly.

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