Yeongjo

Yeongjo (31 October 1694 – 22 April 1776, r. 16 October 1724 – 22 April 1776) was the twenty-first king of the Korean Joseon Dynasty. He was the second son of Sukjong by Royal Noble Consort Suk of the Haeju Choi clan, succeeded his older brother Gyeongjong.

Reign

King Yeongjo was a deeply Confucian monarch, and is said to have had a greater knowledge of the classics than his officials. During the reign of Yeongjo and his grandson Jeongjo, Confucianization was at its height, as was economic recovery from the wars of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.


The king is also famous for having treasured Park Mun-su, who was appointed as Amhaeng-eosa (암행어사) or a secret governmental inspector. Park, who had earned great merit in putting down Yi In-ja's rebellion, went around the nation arresting corrupt local officers in the name of the king.

The only significantly dismal incident during Yeongjo's reign was the death of his son, Crown Prince Sado. Sado most likely suffered from mental illness. He was accused of randomly killing people in the palace and being a sexual deviant. Yeongjo could not by court rules kill his son by his own hand and on a hot August day in 1762, Sado was ordered to climb into a large wooden rice chest. After eight days, Sado died of suffocation.

Fourteen years later Yeongjo died, and Sado's son, Jeongjo, became king. The early part of his years were marked by political intrigues and fear of court officials that were afraid of Jeongjo taking revenge on them for petitioning the punishment that caused the death of his father, Crown Prince Sado. Yeongjo was buried in the dynastic tombs at Donggureung.

Yeongjo was the first to take action against Roman Catholic activities in the country. By the 18th century, Catholicism was beginning to acquire a following especially in the Gangwon and Hwanghae provinces. In 1758, Yeongjo officially outlawed Catholicism as an evil practice.
He is buried with his second wife at the royal tomb of Wonneung (원릉, 元陵) in the city of Guri.