The intention of this post is to discuss the implications of Sejong's government to Korea in order to comprehend the extent of what is regarded to have been an illustrous reign. We bear in mind the differences in culture, political and religious aspects that differ from Western Europe in what studious today nominate as being a medieval period. We thus ask ourselves who was King Sejong as a monarch and an individual? Did he leave a legacy to the point where he's earned the nickname 'the Great'? Motivated by his relationship as the head of a society that to us is unknown in majority, whether in cultural differences that in our days is quite in evidence, whether in differences that too reflect in the past, we bring this character to the common public eye.
Sejong was born on 7 May 1397, under the name of Yi Do. His parents were King Taejong and Queen Wongyeong. His grandfather had been the first of a new dynasty, but he'd abdicated on behalf of his oldest son in an attempt to prevent his other male children claimed his throne. The dispute, however, would only end with Sejong's uncle being exiled and killed. Eventually, his father became king, but he too would abdicate in favour of his third son after removing his eldest, Prince Yangnyeong, from succession, apparently from spending too much time in leisure and hunting activities than performing duties expected to the crown prince. Taejong's second son became monk, thus the path to the throne was clear for Sejong, who was, apparently, his father's favourite due to his excellence in his studies. But it's very likely that, due to the dispute between brothers that resulted in Taejong's ascension as king of Korea, Serjon's brothers were more than willing in not repeating the history.
Upon Serjon's ascension, we are told that:
"In August 1418, Taejong abdicated in favour of Sejong. However, even in retirement Taejong continued to influence government policy. Sejong's surprising political savvy and creativity did not become apparent until after Taejong's death in 1422."Also,
"Sejong was a quick study, and also loved science and technology, so he introduced a number of organizational and technological improvements to his kingdom's military forces. Although gunpowder had been used for centuries in Korea, its employment in advanced weaponry expanded markedly under Sejong. He supported the development of new types of cannons and mortars, as well as rocket-like 'fire arrows' [...]."Within the military field, Sejong was responsible for what is known the Gihae Eastern Expedition to the Korean seas of the east cost. Its purpose consisted in defeating japanese pirates (also named wako) who "operated out of Tsushima Island, harrying shipping, stealing trade goods, and kidnapping Korean and Chinese subjects." These pirates were defeated, and it's said that Sejong's troops killed circa 150 of them, rescuing Chinese and Koreans victims. As a result,
"This expedition would bear important fruit later in Sejong's reign, as well. In 1443, the daimyo of Tsushima pledged obedience to the King of Joseon Korea in the Treaty of Gyehae, in exchange for which he received preferential trading rights with the Korean mainland."Where domestic affairs are concern, we know that Sejong had one queen, named Soheon who came from a clan entitled as Shim. They would have ten children, eight of whom were of the male sex and two of the female sex.
"He also had three Royal Noble Consorts, Consort Hye, Consort Yeong, and Consort Shin, who bore him three sons, one son and six sons, respectively. In addition, Sejong ad seven lesser consorts who had the misfortune of never producing sons.
Nevertheless, the presence of eighteen princes representing different clans on their mother's sides ensured that in the future, the succession would be contentious. As a Confucian scholar, though, King Sejong followed protocol and named his sickly eldest son Munjong as Crown Prince."Our interest is, however, in the field of knowledge and social care where we can find the doings of our king. It has been said that Sejong had an interest in science, technology and culture. How interesting it is to observe that:
"[...] he encouraged the improvement of a moveable metal type for printing first-used in Korea by 1234, at least 215 years before Gutenberg, as well as the development of the sturdier mulberry-fibert paper. These measures made better-quality books much more widely available among educated Koreans. Among the books Sejong sponsored were a history of the Goryeo Kingdom, a compilation of filial deeds (model actions for followers of Confucius to emulate), and farming guides meant to help farmers improve production."He was also responsible for bringing:
"[...] a group of scholar-officials to study and do research in the Hall of Worthies. They published works in history, language, law, music, astronomy, and medicine. Because Sejong also encouraged the development of typecasting and printing from copper plates, Korean presses could publish the scholars' work. The king sometimes rewarded craftsmen working on new technology by sending them gifts of extra wine and food."Sejon was reportedly said that "the people are the root of the state, and food is an indispensable necessity of the people". His concern to his subjects are seen in many areas, as we began to point out in paragraphs above, but curiously on the next one we see it in agriculture.
"Throughout his reign, he took a hand in improving agriculture through science and technology. In 1429, he issued a practical farm manual called 'Straight Talk on Farming', which gave advice about planting and plowing techniques. He personally carred out experiments with growing better grain harvests. To help farmers avoid droughts, Sejong had his scholars devise a rain gauge to measure rainfall accurately; it was so advanced that modern rain gauges are much like it."Other interests financed by him included 'unusually accurate water clocks, and maps of the stars and celestial globes'. He was also patron of music, encouraging musicians to "improve the designs of various musical instruments". However, amongst all of those cultural achievements, no other held a major importance than inventing Korean alphabet. After all, in those days, Koreans spoke their language, but upon writing, they wrote Chinese instead. He is reportedly having said that:
"The sounds of our language differ from those of Chinese and are not easily communicated by using Chinese graphs. Many among the ignorant, therefore, though they wish to express their sentiments in writing, have been unable to communicate. I wish only that the people will learn them easily and use them conveniently in their daily life."His main concern with the illiterate mass found opposition from nobility, as his court was not willing to break influences from the empire of China. But let's recollect how Sejong did so by supporting scholars from the beginning. He stablished the Hall of Worthies, where a select group of intellectuals studied not only "ancient laws and rites of China and previous Korean dynasties", but "compiled historical texts, and lectured the king and crown prince on Confucian classics."
Such scholars were also sent by Sejong:
"to a mountain temple where they were allowed to read books on a vast array of subjects including astronomy, medicine, geography, history, the art of war, and religion. Many of the Worthies objected to this expansive menu of options, believing that a study of Confuncian thought was sufficient, but Sejong preferred to have a scholar class with a wide range of knowledge."Upon selecting about eight advisers,
"Sejon [...] developed an alphabetic system to represent Korean language sounds and sentence structure accurately. They came up with a simple system of 14 consonants and 10 vowels, which can be arranged in clusters to create all of the sounds in spoken Korean."As a result, despite the already mentioned opposition he faced, "hangul quickly spread among segments of the population who previously had not had access to enough education to learn the complicated Chinese writing system." Education was, thus, held with a very important regard by Sejong, who valued knolwedge in all its forms, whether being in astronomy, music, poetry, agronomy, astrology or even in scholars. There is a reputedly saying which states "that a wise man can master hangul by lunchtime, and a less wise man can master it in ten days."
We can thus say that:
"His motivation to grant his people the power to express themselves and communicate, reflects his heart of a king to his people, which at times reflected that of a father more than a governor. In many ways, King Sejong reflects the extended family culture embedded in the Korean heritage."And:
"He implemented major legal reforms, including a new tax system that was implemented based on a public opinion poll. He supported scientific and cultural advancement, expanding access to education and developing techniques to improve the productivity of farmers. He also stabilized his nation and region."If it was possible to characterize him as an "enlighted" monarch, we would, but such concept --western in essence--only came within a particular context in 18th century. Even so, if we compare him to other monarchs of his days, would we find similar aspects? Nonetheless, we must not forget that wars were not excluded from his politics as we have seen in the beginning. It is a shame that, however, he's only remembered by inventing Korean alphabet --a great accomplishment, nevertheless, but one that does not limit all that knowledge that Sejong spread to other segments of the society he was part of.
It appears that the king, towards the end of his life, suffered from diabetes, amongst other health issues. He was blinded at the age of 50 and died three years later, on 18 May 1450, 53 years of age. His sickly son inherited the crown, but did not survive too long. However, Munjong left a son, who became king Danjong. But Danjong was, in turn, a minor with two scholar-officials left to act as his regents. To short the story, Danjong was eventually usurped by his uncle, King Sejong's second son, Sejo, and was eventually killed by him. And so another violent circle thus began...
Bibliography:
-https://www.thoughtco.com/king-sejong-the-great-of-korea-195723
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sejong_the_Great
-https://www.bxscience.edu/ourpages/auto/2010/3/7/50951204/Ch%2013-3%20King%20Sejong%20and%20Korea.pdf
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