Sejong the Great was the fourth king of Joseon-dynasty Korea. Born with family
name Lee, given name Do, family origin Jeonju, sobriquet Wonjeong. Posthumous
name is Sejong. Posthumous title, abbreviated, is Jang Heon Great King,
and official title is Sejong Jangheon Yeongmun Yemu Inseong Myeonghyo Daewang.
He was the third son of King Taejong and Queen-Consort Min. He was designated as
heir-apparent, Crown Prince, after his older brother Jae was stripped of his
title. He ascended to the throne in 1418. During the first four years of his
reign, Taejong governed as regent, after which his father-in-law, Sim On, and his
close associates were executed. Sejong reinforced Confucian policies and
executed major legal amendments. He also created the Korean alphabet Hangul,
encouraged advancements of scientific technology, and instituted many other
efforts to stabilize and improve prosperity. He dispatched military
campaigns to the north and instituted the Samin Policy to attract new settlers
to the region. To the south, he subjugated Japanese raiders and captured
Tsushima Island. During his reign from 1418 to 1450, he
governed from 1422 to 1442 and governed as regent with his son Crown Prince
MoonJong until his death in either 1442 or 1450.
Although the appellation "the Great" / "大王" was given posthumously to almost
every ruler of Goryeo and Joseon, this title is usually associated to
Gwanggaeto, and Sejong. Early life
Sejong was born on May 15, 1397, the third son of King Taejong. When he was
twelve, he became Grand Prince Choong-Nyung. As a young prince, Sejong
excelled in various studies and was favored by King Taejong over his two
older brothers. As the third son of Taejong, Sejong's
ascension to the throne was unique. Taejong's eldest son, Yangnyeong, was
named heir apparent in 1404. However, Yangnyeong's free spirited nature as
well as his preference for hunting and leisure activities resulted in his
removal from the position of heir apparent in June of 1418. Though it is
said that Yangnyeong abdicated in favor of his younger brother, there are no
definitive records regarding Yangnyeong's removal. Taejong's second
son Grand Prince Hyo-Ryung became a monk upon the elevation of his younger
brother Sejong. Following the removal of Yangnyeong as
heir apparent, Taejong moved quickly to secure his youngest son's position as
heir apparent. The government was purged of officials who disagreed with the
removal of Yangnyeong. In August of 1418, Taejong abdicated in favor of
Sejong. However, even in retirement Taejong continued to influence
government policy. Sejong's surprising political savvy and creativity did not
become apparent until after Taejong's death in 1422.
Achievements = Starting Politics Based on
Confucianism = King Sejong revolutionized government by
appointing people throughout different social classes to civil servants.
Furthermore, he performed official government events according to
Confucianism, and he encouraged people to behave according to Confucianism. As
a result, Confucianism became social norm. He also published some books about
Confucianism. At first, he suppressed Buddhism by
banning all Buddhist monks from Seoul, drastically reducing the power and
wealth of the Buddhist hierarchy, but later he alleviated his action by
building temples and accepting Buddhism by making a test to become a monk
= Foreign Policy = In relationship with the Chinese Ming,
he made some successful agreements that benefitted Chosun. In relationship with
Jurchen people, he installed 10 military posts - 4 goon(郡) and 6 jin(鎭) - in the
northern part of the Korean Peninsula. He maintained good relations with Japan
by opening three ports and allowing trade with them. But he also invaded
Tsushima island with military forces in order to stop pirating in the South Sea
since Tsushima island was a base for pirates.
= Strengthening of the Korean Military = King Sejong was an effective military
planner. He created various military regulations to strengthen the safety of
his kingdom, supported the advancement of Korean military technology, including
cannon development. Different kinds of mortars and fire arrows were tested as
well as the use of gunpowder. In May 1419, King Sejong, under the
advice and guidance of his father Taejong, embarked upon the Gihae Eastern
Expedition, the ultimate goal of this military expedition to remove the
nuisance of Japanese pirates who had been operating out of Tsushima Island.
During the expedition, 245 Japanese were killed, and another 110 were captured in
combat, while 180 Korean soldiers were killed. 146 Chinese and 8 Korean
kidnapped were liberated by this expedition. In September 1419 a truce
was made and the Korean army returned to Korea, but the Treaty of Gyehae was
signed in 1443, in which the Daimyo of Tsushima promised to pay tribute to the
King of Joseon; in return, the Joseon court rewarded the Sō clan with
preferential rights regarding trade between Japan and Korea.
In 1433, Sejong sent Kim Jongseo, a prominent general, north to destroy the
Jurchens. Kim's military campaign captured several castles, pushed north,
and expanded Korean territory, to the Songhua River. Four forts and six posts
were established to safeguard the people from the Jurchen.
= Science and Technology = Sejong is credited with technological
advances during his reign. He wanted to help farmers so he decided to create a
farmer's handbook. The book—the Nongsa jikseol—contained information about the
different farming techniques that he told scientists to gather in different
regions of Korea. These techniques were needed in order to maintain the newly
adopted methods of intensive, continuous cultivation in Korean agriculture.
During his rule, Jang Yeong-sil became known as a prominent inventor. Jang was
naturally a creative and smart thinker as a young person. However, Jang was at
the bottom of the social class. Taejong, the father of Sejong, noticed Jang's
skill and immediately called him to his court in Seoul. Upon giving Jang a
government position and funding for his inventions, officials protested,
believing a person from the lower classes should not rise to power among
nobles. Sejong instead believed Jang merited support because of his ability.
Jang created new significant designs for water clocks, armillary spheres, and
sundials. However, his most impressive invention came in 1442, the world's
first rain gauge, named Cheugugi; this model has not survived, since the oldest
existing East Asian rain gauge is one made in 1770, during the reign period of
King Yeongjo. According to the Daily Records of the Royal Secretariat King
Yeongjo wanted to revive the glorious times of King Sejong the Great, and so
read chronicles of Sejong's era. When he came across mention of a rain gauge,
King Yeongjo ordered a reproduction. Since there is a mark of the Qing
Dynasty ruler Qianlong of China, dated 1770, this Korean-designed rain gauge is
sometimes misunderstood as having been imported from China.
Sejong also wanted to reform the Korean calendar system, which was at the time
based upon the longitude of the Chinese capital. Sejong, for the first time in
Korean history, had his astronomers create a calendar with the Korean
capital of Seoul as the primary meridian. This new system allowed Korean
astronomers to accurately predict the timing of solar and lunar eclipses.
In the realm of traditional Korean medicine, two important treatises were
written during the reign of Sejong. These were the Hyangyak jipseongbang and
the Euibang yuchwi, which historian Kim Yongsik says represents 'Koreans'
efforts to develop their own system of medical knowledge, distinct from that of
China.' Literature
Sejong supported literature, verbally right sounds meant to teach the people.'
Sejong depended on the agricultural produce of Joseon's farmers, so he
allowed them to pay more or less tax according to fluctuations of economic
prosperity or hard times. Because of this, farmers could worry less about tax
quotas and work instead at surviving and selling their crops. Once the palace had
a significant surplus of food, King Sejong then distributed food to poor
peasants or farmers who needed it. In 1429 Nongsa-jikseol was compiled under
the supervision of King Sejong. It was the first book about Korean farming,
dealing with agricultural subjects such as planting, harvesting, and soil
treatment. Although most government officials and
aristocrats opposed usage of hangul, lower classes embraced it, became
literate, and were able to communicate with one another in writing.
Sejong's personal writings are also highly regarded. He composed the famous
Yongbi Eocheon Ga, Seokbo Sangjeol, Worin Cheon-gang Jigok, and the
reference Dongguk Jeong-un. In 1420 Sejong established the Hall of
Worthies at the Gyeongbokgung Palace. It consisted of scholars selected by the
king. The Hall participated in various scholarly endeavors, of which the best
known may be the compilation of the Hunmin Jeongeum.
Hangul King Sejong the Great profoundly
affected Korean history with his introduction of hangul, the native
phonetic alphabet system for the Korean language.
Before the creation of Hangul, only members of the highest class were
literate One would have to learn the quite complex hanja characters in order
to read and write Korean. Further, despite modifications to the Chinese
characters, hanja could prove cumbersome when transcribing the Korean language,
due to considerable differences in grammar and sentence structures. While
creating the alphabet, King Sejong encountered opposition of courtiers.
King Sejong presided over the introduction of the 28-letter Korean
alphabet, with the explicit goal being that Koreans from all classes would read
and write. Each hangul letter is based on a simplified diagram of the patterns
made by the human speech organs when producing the sound related to the
character. Morphemes are built by writing the characters in syllabic
blocks. His intention was to establish a cultural identity for Korea through its
unique script. The blocks of letters are then strung together linearly.
The Hangul alphabet was completed in 1443 and published in 1446 along with a
33-page manual titled Hunmin Jeong-um, explaining what the letters are as well
as the philosophical theories and motives behind them. The Hunmin Jeong-um
purported that anyone could learn Hangul in a matter of days. Persons previously
unfamiliar with Hangul can typically pronounce Korean script accurately after
only a few hours of study. Death and Legacy
Sejong was blinded years later by diabetes complications that eventually
took his life in 1450. He was buried at the Yeong Mausoleum. His successor was
his first son, Munjong. Sejong judged that his sickly son, Munjong, was
unlikely to live long and on his deathbed asked the Hall of Worthies
scholars to look after his young grandson, Danjong. As predicted, Munjong
died two years after his accession, and political stability enjoyed under Sejong
disintegrated when Danjong became the sixth king of Joseon at the age of
twelve. Eventually, Sejong's second son, Sejo, usurped the throne from Danjong in
1455. When six martyred ministers were implicated in a plot to restore Danjong
to throne, Sejo abolished the Hall of Worthies, and executed Danjong and
several ministers who served during Sejong's reign.
The street Sejongno and the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, both
located in central Seoul, are named after King Sejong.
In early 2007, the Republic of Korea government decided to create a special
administrative district from part of the present Chungcheongnam-do Province, near
what is presently Daejeon. The district will be named Sejong Special Autonomous
City. The life of Sejong was depicted in the
KBS Korean historical drama King Sejong the Great in 2008. Sejong is also
depicted in the 2011 SBS drama Deep Rooted Tree.
Family Father: King Taejong
Mother: Queen Wongyeong of the Yeoheung Min clan
Consorts and their Respective Issue: Queen Soheon of the Cheongsong Sim
clanYi Hyang, Munjong of Joseon, 1st son Yi Yu, Sejo of Joseon, 2nd son
Yi Yong, Grand Prince Anpyeong, 3rd son Yi Gu, Grand Prince Imyeong, 4th son
Yi Yeo, Grand Prince Gwangpyeong, 5th son
Yi Yu, Grand Prince Geumseong, 6th son Yi Im, Grand Prince Pyeong-won, 7th son
Yi Yeom, Grand Prince Yeong-eung, 8th son
Princess Jeongso, 1st daughter Princess Jeong-ui, 2nd daughter
Royal Noble Consort Hye of the Cheongju Yang clanYi Eo, Prince Hannam, 1st son
Yi Hyeon, Prince Suchun, 2nd son Yi Jeon, Prince Yeongpung, 3rd son
Royal Noble Consort Yeong of the Jinju Gang clanYi Yeong, Prince Hwa-ui, Only
son Royal Noble Consort Sin of the Cheongju
Kim clanYi Jeung, Prince Gyeyang, 1st son
Yi Gong, Prince Uichang, 2nd son Yi Chim, Prince Milseong, 3rd son
Yi Yeon, Prince Ikhyeon, 4th son Yi Dang, Prince Yeonghae, 5th son
Yi Geo, Prince Damyang, 6th son 2 Unnamed daughters who died at
childbirth Bak Gwi-in
No issue. Choe Gwi-in
No issue Jo Suk-ui
No issue Hong So-yong
No issue Yi Suk-won
Princess Jeong-an, Only daughter Song Sang-chim
Princess Jeonghyeon, Only daughter Cha Sa-gi
An unnamed daughter Official Posthumous Titles
Hanja: 世宗莊憲英文睿武仁聖明孝大王 Hangul: 세종장헌영문예무인성명효대왕
English: King Sejong Jangheon Yeongmun Yemu Inseong Myeonghyo the Great
Depiction in Arts and Media King Sejong the Great
The Divine Weapon Deep Rooted Tree
Depiction in Video Games Leader of Korean Civilzation in Sid
Meier's Civilization V King Sejong Station LE, a major
tournament map in the game StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm [1]
Portrait in Korean Currency Notes Sejong the Great is one of the six
linguistic scholars, with Samuel Johnson, Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm,
Elias Lönnrot, and Vuk Stefanović Karadžić depicted as a portrait in a
national currency. Statue and Museum Exhibit
A 9.5 meter high bronze statue of King Sejong was placed in 2009 on a concrete
pedestal on the boulevard of Gwanghwamun Square and directly in front of the
Sejong Centre for the Performing Arts in Seoul. The sculptor was Kim Young-won.
The pedestal contains one of several entrances to the 3,200 square meter,
underground museum exhibit entitled "The Story of King Sejong".
See also List of Korea-related topics
History of Korea Rulers of Korea
Sejongno Sejong the Great class destroyer
Sejong Center King Sejong Station
UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize Notes
References Kim, Yung Sik.. "Problems and
Possibilities in the Study of the History of Korean Science," Osiris:
48–79. Further reading
King Sejong the Great: the Light of Fifteenth Century Korea, Young-Key
Kim-Renaud, International Circle of Korean Linguistics, 1992, softcover, 119
pages, ISBN 1-882177-00-2 Kim-Renaud, Young-Key. 2000. Sejong's
theory of literacy and writing. Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 30.1:13–46.
Gale, James Scarth. History of the Korean People Annotated and introduction
by Richard Rutt. Seoul: Royal Asiatic Society, 1972..
External links King Sejong's Confucian Humanism in the
Early Choson Period Location of the four forts and the six
posts King Sejong featured on the 10000 Korean
Won banknote. King Sejong the Great: The Everlasting
Light of Korea.