Yeonsangun of Joseon
| Yi Yung | |
|---|---|
| King of Joseon | |
| Reign | 20 January 1494 – 2 September 1506 |
| Predecessor | Seongjong of Joseon |
| Successor | Jungjong of Joseon |
| Born | 23 November 1476 |
| Died | 20 November 1506 (aged 29) |
| Consort | Deposed Queen Shin |
| House | Jeonju Yi |
| Father | Seongjong of Joseon |
| Mother | Queen Jeheon |
| Yeonsangun of Joseon | |
| Hangul | |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Yeonsan-gun |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yŏnsan'gun |
| Birth name | |
| Hangul | |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | I Yung |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yi Yung |
Yeonsan-gun (23 November 1476 – 20 November 1506, r. 1494–1506), born Yi Yung, was the 10th king of Korea's Joseon Dynasty. He was the eldest son of Seongjong by his second wife, Lady Yoon. He is often considered the worst tyrant of the Joseon Dynasty, notorious for launching two bloody purges of the seonbi elite. He also seized a thousand women from the provinces to serve as palace entertainers, and appropriated the Seonggyungwan study hall as a personal pleasure ground. Overthrown, Yeonsan-gun did not receive a temple name.
Queen Yun, later known as the Deposed Queen Lady Yun, served Prince Yeonsan's father, Seongjong, as a concubine until the death of Queen Gonghye, Seongjong's first wife. With no royal heir, the King was urged by counselors to take a second wife to secure the royal succession. Lady Yun was chosen for her beauty, and was formally married in 1476. Several months later, she gave birth to her first son, Yi Yung, later to become Prince Yeonsan. The new Queen proved to be temperamental and highly jealous of Seongjong's concubines living inside the palace, even poisoning one in 1477. In 1479, she physically struck the King one night, leaving scratch marks. Despite efforts to conceal the injury, Seongjong's mother, Grand Queen Insu, discovered the truth and ordered Lady Yoon into exile. After several popular attempts to restore the deposed Queen Yun to her position at court, government officials petitioned that she be poisoned, and she was.
The Crown Prince grew up and succeeded Seongjong in 1494. During his early reign, he was a wise and able administrator who strengthened the national defense and aided the poor. However, he also showed signs of a violent side when he killed Jo Sa-seo, one of his tutors, soon after becoming the king. He eventually learned of what had happened to his biological mother and attempted to posthumously restore her titles and position. When government officials belonging to the Sarim political faction opposed his efforts on account of serving Seongjong's will, he was displeased and looked for ways to eliminate them. In 1498 Kim Il Son, a disciple of Kim Jong-jik, included a paragraph in the royal record that was critical of King Sejo's usurpation of throne in 1455. Kim Il Son and other followers of Kim Jong-jik were accused of treason by a rival faction, giving Yeonsangun cause enough to order the execution of many Sarim officials and the mutilation of Kim Jong-jik's remains. This came to be known as the First Literati Purge (무오사화 戊午士禍).
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