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Goryeo Imperial Examination

Type Object Region Asia Time 958–1392

The Goryeo imperial examination (kosi, civil examination) inherited Tang and Song official-selection systems, selecting civil officials through jinsh…

Timeline

  1. 958–1100Kaesong · GoryeoIn 958, King Gwangjong modeled the civil and military examinations on Tang and Song systems, selecting candidates by classical exegesis and poetry, breaking aristocratic monopoly and opening a path to office for sons of lesser landowners and scholar clans.
  2. c. 1141–1150Gukhak of Kaesong · GoryeoIn the 1140s, under Kings Injong and Uijong, Goryeo maintained regular examinations; jinshi graduates served as central and local civil officials, and the examination became an important selection route alongside hereditary privilege and special examinations.
  3. c. 1145–1150Western Capital Pyongyang and Kaesong · GoryeoIn the 1140s, Goryeo examinations tested the Confucian classics such as the Classic of Filial Piety and the Analects along with poetry and policy essays, promoting the spread of Confucianism on the Korean Peninsula; successful candidates formed a new bureaucratic elite.

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