Hyeonjong of Joseon
| Yi Yeon | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King of Joseon | |||||||||
| Reign | 1659-1674 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Hyojong of Joseon | ||||||||
| Successor | Sukjong of Joseon | ||||||||
| Born | 14 March 1641 Hanseong, Kingdom of Joseon |
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| Died |
17 September 1674 (aged 33) Hanseong, Kingdom of Joseon |
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| Consort | Queen Myeongseong | ||||||||
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| House | Jeonju Yi | ||||||||
| Father | Hyojong of Joseon | ||||||||
| Mother | Queen Inseon | ||||||||
| Posthumous name | |
|---|---|
| King Hyeonjong Sohyu Yeongyung Dondeok Suseong Sunmun Sukmu Gyungin Changhyo the Great of Korea 현종소휴연경돈덕수성순문숙무경인창효대왕 顯宗昭休衍慶敦德綏成純文肅武敬仁彰孝大王 |
|
| Temple name | |
| Hyeonjong |
| Hyeonjong of Joseon | |
| Hangul | 현종 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 顯宗 |
| Revised Romanization | Hyeonjong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hyŏnjong |
| Birth name | |
| Hangul | 이연 |
| Hanja | 李棩 |
| Revised Romanization | I Yeon |
| McCune–Reischauer | I Yŏn |
| Courtesy name | |
| Hangul | 경직 |
| Hanja | 景直 |
| Revised Romanization | Gyeongjik |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kyŏngjik |
Hyeonjong of Joseon (14 March 1641 – 17 September 1674) was the 18th monarch of the Korean Joseon Dynasty, reigning from 1659 to 1675. His reign was mostly marked by heavy conflict among nation's political factions on various issues, especially on funeral issues.
Hyeonjong was born in 1641 as the first son of King Hyojong as Yi Yeon, while his father was still in China as captive of Manchu Qing Dynasty; thus he was born at Shenyang, the Manchu capital before Qing Dynasty officially move its capital to Beijing after defeating Ming Dynasty in 1644. He returned to Korea in 1645 along with his father and became Crown Prince in 1651.
When King Hyojong died in 1659, Hyeonjong succeeded his father as the ruler of Joseon. The first issue during his reign was about his predecessor's funeral; The conservative Westerners faction and the liberal Southerners faction squared off about how long Queen Jangryeol, King Injo's second wife, should have to wear funeral garment according to the Confucian form of funeral. The Westerners, headed by Song Si-yeol, contended that she needed to wear the funeral garment for only a year, while the Southerners and their leader Heo Jeok wanted a 3-year period. This conflict arose because there was no previous record about Confucian funeral requirements when somebody's second stepson who actually succeeded the family line dies. The Westerners wanted to follow the custom for a second stepson, while the Southerners thought Hyojong deserved a 3-year funeral since he actually succeeded King Injo in the royal line.
The final decision was up to young King Hyeonjong; He chose to enforce a 1-year period, which would keep the Westerners as the major faction. However, at the same time, Hyeonjong did not remove Heo Jeok from office of Prime Minister, in order to prevent the Westerners from threatening royal authority. The feud between the Southerners and the Westerners was highly intensified by the funeral issue; Earlier, after the fall of the Greater Northerners in 1623, the Westerners and the Southerners formed political alliance under the leadership of King Hyojong, but on the funeral issue, both sides were intractable, leading to a greater probability of confrontations.
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