How King Hyojong Revived the Joseon Dynasty (Korean History)

Hyojong, born Lee Ho, was the 17th king of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was born in 1619 and was the second son of King Injo. His older brother was crowned prince Sohyeon, born Lee Wang, who died suddenly in 1645. His father, Injo, was crowned when Gwanghaegun was removed from the throne by a coup from the Westerners' faction. Gwanghaegun is one of two kings, the other being Yeonsangun, that weren't given a temple name after their deaths. I have made videos on both Gwanghaegun and Yeonsangun that you can watch on my channel. King Hyojong is remembered for laying down the foundations for the revival of the Joseon dynasty and planning an invasion of Qing with the help of Ming loyalists. King Injo's fierce loyalty to the Ming dynasty brought Joseon in a war with the Jurchens, later known as Manchus, who would eventually take over China and start the Qing dynasty. Joseon lost the war and Injo had to pledge his loyalty to the new Qing emperor, Hong Taiji, and had to send his sons, Lee Wang and Lee Ho, to Shen Yun as hostages. Shen Yun was the Qing capital until 1644. The Qing capital moved to Beijing afterwards. I have made a video on the Manchu invasions which you can find on my channel. In China, Prince Sohyun helped Qing conquer the remnants of the Ming forces while making sure that Qing did not attack his homeland. He was inexperienced on the battlefield so his younger brother, Lee Ho, joined him. Prince Sohyun and Lee Ho met some Jesuit missionaries while in Qing China and were introduced to western culture and Christianity. One of the missionaries they met there was Johann Adam Schall von Bell, a German Jesuit astronomer. The brothers became very interested in western science and the Catholic faith. Prince Sohyun came back to Korea in 1645. His father was displeased with his son's pro-Qing attitude and his attempt to bring western ideas to Joseon. Prince Sohyun died the same year. It is rumored that Injo killed his son with an ink slab. His burial was done quickly and Injo never visited his son's tomb. Not only that, but he sent Prince Sohyun's sons in exile to Jeju Island and executed the prince's wife, crowned princess Minhui, for treason. Hyojong gradually developed a grudge against Qing because of the hostage situation he went through and the invasion of Joseon by the Jurchens. When his older brother died, he was chosen by his father to become crown prince Bonglim. King Injo died in 1649 and Lee Ho became the 17th monarch of Joseon, now remembered as King Hyojong. As soon as he became king, Hyojong reformed and expanded the military. His primary motive was to avenge the humiliating defeat of Joseon at the hands of the Jurchens. He invited the supporters of a war against the Qing to prepare for a future attack against the Jurchens in the north. This might have been feasible in the early year of Qing when there were still Ming forces fighting the Manchus and Qing didn't completely conquer the whole of China. But as soon as the idea of a Ming restoration vanished, the Bukbolon, northern expedition political discourse in Joseon, lost a lot of ground. Hyojong ordered the construction of several fortresses along the Yalu River, a natural border between China and Korea. He removed Kim Ja-jeom from office, whom it is said held almost as much power as King Injo at the time. Kim Ja-jeom was instrumental in removing Gwanghaegun from power and installing Injo on the throne. Kim Ja-jeom was forced to go into exile and was later executed for treason. Hyojong was married to Queen In-sun. She was also a hostage who had to live in Qing China with her husband. They had three daughters and two sons while in Shen Yun. She is remembered as being wise and treated her subordinates with kindness. This said that she had an adorable body form and chubby cheeks. Hyojong had a handsome face, was strong and had large shoulders. When Hyojong became crown prince, he stopped consuming alcohol and criticized Joseon's drinking culture. Things aren't any different nowadays. Kim Yuk was state councilor from 1651 to 1654 and again from 1655 to 1658. He advocated for the Daedong Law, which would allow farmers to pay their taxes with rice instead of regional commodities and ease the tax burden of the common people. Before that, some people bought regional commodities to then sell them on the market. A problem arose when sellers bribed the magistrates to only accept their product, thus making those same products much more costly to acquire for the common people. The change to rice-based taxes made it much easier for the common people to pay their taxes because most people were rice farmers. Hyojong approved the Daedong Law. He instituted it at first in the Chungcheong province and later in the Jeolla province. The Yangban class, Joseon's aristocrats, were against this law and it became a constant issue throughout the long history of the Joseon dynasty. Kim Yuk is remembered as the best reformist in the history of Joseon. He was working all the time for the common people because he knew that if they were discontent, it would spell trouble for the kingdom. It was during Hyojong's reign that Dutch sailors were shipwrecked on Jeju Island. One of those sailors was Hendrik Hamel. He spent 13 years in Joseon, being refused permission to leave, which was Joseon's policy at the time. He wrote an account of his time in Korea. It was published in the Netherlands in 1668 and it's one of the first accounts of Korea from a westerner. He and his crew met Hyojong in the capital Hanyang, modern-day Seoul. There they were asked to entertain the king with songs, dances, and stories of their homeland. They lived two years in Hanyang and were part of the king's guard. They were also ordered to help in producing muskets for the Joseon army, but it seems like nothing much came out of that. At least one of the Dutchmen founded the Pyongyang Nam clan. Hamel and some of his mates escaped to Nagasaki, Japan in 1667. In 1654, Russians attacked the Manchus on the border between Joseon and Qing in the First Battle of Hutong. It resulted in the retreat of Russian forces. Russian forces were comprised of Cossacks. In 1658, Joseon and Qing jointly attacked Russian forces on the Songhua river bank. The Russians were defeated and the area became Qing territory. In both battles, Arnufri Stepanov oversaw the Russian armies and died in the 1658 battle. Joseon was a tributary state of Qing and had to participate in these wars unless they wanted another costly war with Qing. This was the first clash between Joseon and a western power. The contingent of Joseon soldiers sent to aid Qing wasn't big, but still showed that Hyojong's efforts in rebuilding the army was successful. Shin Ryu was a general in charge of the Joseon soldiers in the 1658 battle. During Hyojong's reign, many books on agriculture were published. Agriculture was heavily promoted in the aftermath of the Imjin war with Japan, when many fields were destroyed. Hendrik Hamel, the Dutchman stranded in Joseon, wrote about how fertile Joseon was. So Hyojong's policies were successful. Interestingly, after Hyojong's untimely death in 1659, Hamel wrote that there was a huge famine from 1661 to 1663. Hyojong had to reconstruct the country following the Japanese and Manchu invasions. Hyojong wanted to mint more coins to help the country, but the metals needed for that were better used in making ammunitions. The king allowed the private production of cash coins. Later, in 1678, during King Sukjong's reign, the newly minted Sangpyeong Tongbo began to circulate. It was made with various copper alloys. It was used as legal tender until the end of the Joseon dynasty. Before Sukjong's time, coins weren't widely used. Bartering was much more popular. On top of that, his father Injo didn't lead the country in the right direction, reconstruction was too slow, and the economy didn't pick up because of corruption and incompetence. Hyojong passed away in 1659 at the age of 39. Apparently, he died due to a medical incident while being treated for a boil on his face. Hyojong is remembered as one of the few Joseon rulers who dedicated his life to serving his nation. As mentioned earlier, he also listened closely to Kim Yuk, who worked for the welfare of the nation, including the common people. Hendrik Hamel wrote in his journal that Hyojong was very kind to him and his mates and gave them a monthly allowance of rice and made sure that they had a place to call home. Hyojong's dream of punishing the Manchus for their attack on Joseon also died with him. Hyojong was buried in Yeongneung in Yeoju. It's also where King Sejong was buried. His son, Hyeonjong, succeeded him. Hyojong wrote poems while being held captive in Shen Yun. Many of those expressed a longing in his heart for his homeland. Thank you for watching. If you enjoyed this video, please leave a like, comment, and subscribe to my channel. You can also join my channel, which would be greatly appreciated. Stay tuned for more videos on the rich history of Korea.