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Joseon Literati Purges (1560s)

Type Event Region Korea Time 1561–1570

In the 1560s, factional strife between literati and merit factions intensified, culminating in the 1568 Myojin Literati Purge that split the literati…

Timeline

  1. 1561–1566Hanseong · JoseonDuring Myeongjong's reign, literati scholars and the merit faction's royal in-laws led by Yun Won-hyeong clashed over appointments, royal lectures, and policy. Literati advocated Neo-Confucian regulation of court politics, while the merit faction relied on royal kinship and military merit to hold key posts; their memorials attacking each other laid the groundwork for later purges.
  2. 1567Gyeongbokgung, Hanseong · JoseonMyeongjong died in 1567, and his cousin Haseong Daegun Yi Jun ascended the throne as Seonjo. The new king was young, and court politics became a contest among the queen dowager and merit and literati factions; the power vacuum drove each faction to purge rivals through impeachment and fabricated charges.
  3. 1568–1569Hanseong · JoseonFactional struggles centered on figures like Sim Ui and Kim Hyo-won intensified, and many literati officials were dismissed, exiled, or executed on charges of forming factions and slandering the royal house. This Myojin purge marked the split of the literati into Eastern and Western factions, institutionalizing factional strife with far-reaching effects on Seonjo's reign.

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