Prince Yeonsan (Yeonsangun) the Worst Ruler in Korean History [History of Korea]

#korea #kdrama #koreanhistory #koreanculture #joseon #history #historyofkorea (episode 25)

Yeonsangun 연산군, Prince Yeonsan (1476-1506, r.1494-1506, born Yi Yung 이융), was the 10th King of Joseon and is remembered as the worst ruler of the Joseon Dynasty; a tyrant. He is the only ruler to never receive a temple name, a posthumous title accorded to monarchs for the purpose of ancestral worship.

I will discuss the era in which Yeonsangun lived from the death of King Sejong the Great. I will briefly talk about the reigns of King Munjong 조선 문종, King Danjong 조선 단종 and his execution by King Sejo 조선 세조, the second son of King Sejong. Sejo’s reign was a prelude to what Yeonsangun’s reign would be. He famously executed six ministers: sayukshin 사육신. His son King Yejong 조선 예종 succeeded him. He was followed by King Seongjong 조선 성종, King Sejo’s grandson.

Yeonsangun succeeded his father King Seongjong. His mother was Lady Yun (Queen Jeheon) 제헌왕후 who was executed by poison for striking her husband, King Seongjong and enraging the Queen mother, Grand Queen Insu 소혜왕후. He didn’t know about her until later in his life. This is possibly what started Prince Yeonsan’s descent into madness as soon as he learned about what happened to his real mother. Yeonsangun famously executed his opposition, transformed a university and a temple into his personal brothel gathering young women from all over the kingdom there. He also destroyed a big part of the capital to turn it into hunting grounds. The populace criticized him with posters written in Hangul making the King furious. He banned the use of Hangul. His purging of officials became known as the first and second literati purges (무오사화, 갑자사화). Yeonsangun also executed an eunuch Kim Cheo-seon 김처선 who asked him to repent his ways. He famously used him as target practice and cut his limbs as well as executed his family and extended family. Prince Yeonsan also famously asked his ministers to wear a sign saying: "A mouth is a door that brings in disaster; a tongue is a sword that cuts off a head. A body will be in peace as long as its mouth is closed and its tongue is deep within.”

Yeonsangun may have been the worst tyrant in Korean history but his behaviour is just the amplification of what his ancestors were accustomed to, except King Sejong.

*Other figures and topics explored in this video: Hwangbo In 황보인, Queen Jeonghui 정희왕후, Nam I 남이 장군, Princess Yi Gu-ji 이구지, Sarimpa 사림파, Hungupa 훈구파, Kim Il-son 김일손, Sunggyungwan 성균관, Wongaksa Temple 원각사, Office of Censors 사간원, Hongmoongwan 홍문관, Jang Nok-su 장녹수

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🎬 Recommended viewings:

King and the Clown (2005) 왕의 남자 Starring: Kam Woo-sung, Lee Joon-gi, Jung Jin-young. It’s the story of street clowns whom Yeonsangun invites to his court as royal jesters.

The Treacherous (2015) 간신 Starring: Ju Ji-hoon, Kim Kang-woo, Lim Ji-yeon.

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[mero]

I can tell he was very angry at his mother's death and really wanted revenge. But the scholars and grandma were dumb to think he wouldn't retaliate aftering find out who his real mother was and how she died.

[ki]

I did a whole lot of research on Yeonsangun for my Masters. He is infamous as being a tyrant but his story is actually quite sad if you read deep enough (and the right stuff). I like this presentation, its nice to see a little actual research, 🙂👏 I will say for anyone who doesnt know much about this man, please PLEASE dont rely on dramas and films for information. While they depict him and his rule, they are fiction and use quite a bit of artistic license 😅

[mojoeherb]

I watch the treacherous and was blown away on how despicable man can be. This video explains a lot more than I thought. Why are people so wicked? Don't they believe that karma will definitely judge them?

[lancasterbristow]

The mad king of Korea is infamous for his era of blood and madness. To a layman foreigner like me, who don't normally study the Korean dynasty, yet this mad king comes to mind whenever I think about the Royal Family of the peninsula nation and if I was asked by someone to say something about my knowledge on the history of Korean royal family, I would find myself talking about this mad king instead of the other good kings of Korea. Weird but that's the truth about majority of the foreigners.
The Mad King is the famous King of Korea to an outsider.

[ZSYStriker]

He is NOT the only one not to receive a temple name (-jo, -jong). Gwanghae also did not receive one because he was deposed.

[nhicole]

So that's why Yeonsangun is familiar, the Kdrama that I've watched "Dae Jang Geum" set their timeline in this era where her father, an officer, is there beside the deposed queen which he himself witnessed how she drank the poison. Later on, her father became wanted because Yeonsangun wanted to kill all the people involved in his mother's death, even if Jang Geum's father was just there to be present since he is an officer.

[cherissetillman]

Sad. Seems that he went after every single person that had a hand in his mother's death. Although she "had a temperament" she was also sabotage because of jealousy. She gave birth to a son, an heir. And his other concubines were jealous and did everything they could to sabotage her and in the end she was killed for it. And to make matters worse passed her son off as someone else's and covered the incident up. But while getting his revenge it seems he went nuts. I get the going after the people that had a hand in his mother death...but the

[brianthesage]

Yeongsangun is indeed the Korean Hamlet with the debauchery of Caligula. I'm looking foward to the next episodes about Yi Sun Shin and the Imjin War.

[MooseDuckVlogs]

Well Done...Great have heard tales and read them of how Yeonsan was tyrant but hearing about how Joseon Dynasty hit rock bottom from 5th King to 10th is pretty much revealing.

[bkjeong]

The thing is Yeonsangun was actually a decent, if harsh, ruler for the first decade or so of his reign (even during the first literary purge, which had more justification than often granted) It’s just that he SPECTACULARLY went off the rails once he finally out his revenge plot into motion to the point he ended up being the worst head of state in Korean history in his final two years.

Also; Sejong the Great was rolling in his grave when his descendant made his greatest achievement illegal….

[monotoneroses]

The king's motivations were represented pretty well in my favourite historic drama Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People. They also gave Jang Nok Soo a really interesting story.

[narenikka]

You saved me from watching very long historical korean dramas. Thanks.

[aaronlopez]

I really enjoyed the way you laid out the actions of prince yeonsaj
You were succinct and kept the story moving at good pace. Continue the good work.

[feji]

The King and The Clown is a great masterpiece of a movie .... its up there with even the greatest oscar winning korean movies like Parastite ...

You get a strong sense of korean culture from its wonderful depictions of ancient poetry, jokes, costumes, stage plays, etc. Great cinematography, acting and music too ...

[ibelieveinyourgalaxy]

All he did was prove every bias and hate anyone would have had against his mother, as she’s the one who messed up first and brought upon her fate to herself. He had the chance to be great but chose to be a terror instead, him and his mother just end up being a black stain on the legacy of Kim Sejong’s family.

[aceonicing]

I’ve watched the treacherous but didn’t knew it was based on true events, so now I’m gonna watch other movies too that you suggested. Btw, this was a really great video 🤩🙌

[rika]

Great content and well presented. i liked that you referenced some movies/drama on the subject. I don't see that much often in this type of content. Excellent job!!!

[poulomi__hari]

The King and The Clown was a very accurate portrayal of this crazy man.

[juanjosemedinazarate]

Excellent video friend 😎👍, Greetings from Paraguay 🇵🇾

[sofiatricerobles]

This is the first video that I'm watching from your channel. Will binge-watch it later after work. I teach Koreans. This is very helpful :D
Thank you for your hard work!