Posthumous name
King Checheon Heungun Jundeok Honggong Sinseong Yeongsuk Heummun Inmu Seoryun Ipgi Myungseong Gwangryeol Yungbong Hyeonbo mujeong Jungheui Yecheol Jangeui Jangheon Sunjeong Geoneui Sujeong Changdo Sungeop the Great of Korea 체천흥운준덕홍공신성영숙흠문인무서륜입기명성광렬융봉현보무정중희예철장의장헌순정건의수정창도숭업대왕 體天興運俊德弘功神聖英肅欽文仁武敍倫立紀明誠光烈隆奉顯保懋定重熙睿哲壯毅章憲順靖建義守正彰道崇業大王

House

Jeonju Yi

Father

Seonjo of Joseon

Mother

Royal Noble Consort Gong

Religion

Confucianism

Posthumous name
King Checheon Heungun Jundeok Honggong Sinseong Yeongsuk Heummun Inmu Seoryun Ipgi Myungseong Gwangryeol Yungbong Hyeonbo mujeong Jungheui Yecheol Jangeui Jangheon Sunjeong Geoneui Sujeong Changdo Sungeop the Great of Korea 체천흥운준덕홍공신성영숙흠문인무서륜입기명성광렬융봉현보무정중희예철장의장헌순정건의수정창도숭업대왕 體天興運俊德弘功神聖英肅欽文仁武敍倫立紀明誠光烈隆奉顯保懋定重熙睿哲壯毅章憲順靖建義守正彰道崇業大王

Birth name
Gwanghaegun
Hangul	광해
Hanja	光海君
Revised Romanization	Gwanghae
McCune–Reischauer	Kwanghae
Hangul	이혼
Hanja	李琿
Revised Romanization	I Hon
McCune–Reischauer	I Hon

Gwanghaegun or Prince Gwanghae (3 June 1575 – 7 August 1641; reigned 1608–1623) was the fifteenth king of the Joseon dynasty. His personal name was Yi Hon. As he was deposed in a coup d'état, later official historians did not give him a temple name like Taejo or Sejong.

Gwanghaegun was the second son of King Seonjo, born to Lady Kim (Gongbin), a concubine. When Japan invaded Korea to attack the Ming Empire, he was installed as Crown Prince. When the king fled north to the border of Ming, he set up a branch court and fought defensive battles. During and after the Seven Year War (1592–1598), he acted as the de facto ruler of the Joseon Dynasty, commanding battles and taking care of the reconstruction of the nation after the devastating wars, in the place of old and weak King Seonjo.

Although it brought prestige to him, his position was still unstable. He had an elder but incompetent brother Prince Imhae ( Imhaegun, 임해군, 臨海君) and a younger but legitimate brother Grand Prince Yeong-chang (Yeong-chang Daegun, 영창대군, 永昌大君), who was supported by the Lesser Northerners faction. Fortunately for Gwang-hae, King Seonjo's abrupt death made it impossible for his most favorite son Yeong-chang Daegun to succeed to the throne.

Before King Seonjo died, he named Prince Gwang-hae as his official successor to the throne, and ordered his advisers to make a royal document. However, Lyu Young-gyong of Lesser Northerners faction hid the document and plotted to install Prince Yeong-chang as king, only to be found out by the head of the Great Northerners faction (대북; 大北), Chung In-hong. Lyu was executed immediately and Prince Yeong-chang was arrested and died the next year.

After the incident, Gwang-hae tried to bring officials from various political and regional background to his court, but his plan was interrupted by Greater Northerners including Lee Icheom and Chung In-hong. Then Greater Northerners began to take members of other political factions out of the government, especially Lesser Northerners. At last in 1613 Greater Northerners put their hand on Prince Yeong-chang; his grandfather Kim Jenam was found guilty of treason and executed, while Yeong-chang was sent into exile, where he was executed. At the same time Greater Northerners suppressed the Lesser Northerners; In 1618, Yeong-chang's mother, Queen In-mok, was stripped of her title and imprisoned. However, Gwang-hae had no power to stop this even though he was the official head of the government.

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Wikipedia