The Joseon dynasty (also transcribed as ChosÅ n or Chosun, Korean:
ëŒ€ì¡°ì„ êµ; å¤§æœ é®®åœ‹, lit. 'Great Chosun Country') was a Korean
dynastic kingdom that lasted for approximately five centuries. Joseon
was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and was replaced by the
Korean Empire in October 1897. It was founded following the aftermath
of the overthrow of Goryeo in what is today the city of Kaesong. Early
on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day
Seoul. The kingdom's northernmost borders were expanded to the natural
boundaries at the rivers of Amnok and Tuman through the subjugation of
the Jurchens. Joseon was the last dynasty of Korea and its
longest-ruling Confucian dynasty.During its reign, Joseon encouraged
the entrenchment of Chinese Confucian ideals and doctrines in Korean
society. Neo-Confucianism was installed as the new dynasty's state
ideology. Buddhism was accordingly discouraged and occasionally faced
persecutions by the dynasty. Joseon consolidated its effective rule
over the territory of current Korea and saw the height of classical
Korean culture, trade, literature, and science and technology. The
dynasty was severely weakened when the Japanese invasions of Korea in
the 1590s and the first and second Manchu invasions in 1627 and
1636â€"1637 nearly overran the Korean Peninsula, leading to an
increasingly harsh isolationist policy, for which the country became
known as the "hermit kingdom" in Western literature. After the end of
invasions from Manchuria, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period
of peace, prosperity, cultural, and technological development.
Whatever power that the kingdom recovered during its isolation further
waned as the 18th century came to a close, and faced with internal
strife, power struggles, international pressure and rebellions at
home, the Joseon dynasty declined rapidly in the late 19th century.The
Joseon period has left a substantial legacy to modern Korea; much of
modern Korean culture, etiquette, norms, and societal attitudes
towards current issues, and the modern Korean language and its
dialects, derive from the culture and traditions of Joseon.By the late
14th century, the nearly 500-year-old Goryeo established in 918 was
tottering, its foundations collapsing from years of war and de facto
occupation from the disintegrating Mongol Empire. Following the
emergence of the Ming dynasty, the royal court in Goryeo split into
two conflicting factions: the group led by General Yi (supporting the
Ming) and the camp led by General Choe (standing by the Yuan).
ëŒ€ì¡°ì„ êµ; å¤§æœ é®®åœ‹, lit. 'Great Chosun Country') was a Korean
dynastic kingdom that lasted for approximately five centuries. Joseon
was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and was replaced by the
Korean Empire in October 1897. It was founded following the aftermath
of the overthrow of Goryeo in what is today the city of Kaesong. Early
on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day
Seoul. The kingdom's northernmost borders were expanded to the natural
boundaries at the rivers of Amnok and Tuman through the subjugation of
the Jurchens. Joseon was the last dynasty of Korea and its
longest-ruling Confucian dynasty.During its reign, Joseon encouraged
the entrenchment of Chinese Confucian ideals and doctrines in Korean
society. Neo-Confucianism was installed as the new dynasty's state
ideology. Buddhism was accordingly discouraged and occasionally faced
persecutions by the dynasty. Joseon consolidated its effective rule
over the territory of current Korea and saw the height of classical
Korean culture, trade, literature, and science and technology. The
dynasty was severely weakened when the Japanese invasions of Korea in
the 1590s and the first and second Manchu invasions in 1627 and
1636â€"1637 nearly overran the Korean Peninsula, leading to an
increasingly harsh isolationist policy, for which the country became
known as the "hermit kingdom" in Western literature. After the end of
invasions from Manchuria, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period
of peace, prosperity, cultural, and technological development.
Whatever power that the kingdom recovered during its isolation further
waned as the 18th century came to a close, and faced with internal
strife, power struggles, international pressure and rebellions at
home, the Joseon dynasty declined rapidly in the late 19th century.The
Joseon period has left a substantial legacy to modern Korea; much of
modern Korean culture, etiquette, norms, and societal attitudes
towards current issues, and the modern Korean language and its
dialects, derive from the culture and traditions of Joseon.By the late
14th century, the nearly 500-year-old Goryeo established in 918 was
tottering, its foundations collapsing from years of war and de facto
occupation from the disintegrating Mongol Empire. Following the
emergence of the Ming dynasty, the royal court in Goryeo split into
two conflicting factions: the group led by General Yi (supporting the
Ming) and the camp led by General Choe (standing by the Yuan).
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