Myeongjong of Joseon

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King Myeongjong (1534–1567, r. 1545ndsash;1567) was the 13th king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He was the second son of Jungjong, and his mother was Queen Munjeong, who was Jungjong's third queen. He became king in 1545 at the age of 12 following the death of his half-brother, Injong. Since he was too young to rule the kingdom, Queen Munjeong governed the nation in his name.

There were two political factions at the time Myeongjong came to power; Greater Yun, headed by Yun Im, uncle of King Injong; and Smaller Yun, with Yun Won-Hyung, Myeongjong's uncle, as its leader. Greater Yun took power in 1544, when Injong succeeded Jungjong; but they failed to wipe out their opposition, since Queen Munjeong protected the Smaller Yun faction and other opposition officials. However, after the death of Injong in 1545, Smaller Yun replaced Greater Yun as the majority in the royal court and brutally ousted their adversaries, the Greater Yun faction (Fourth Literati Purge). Yun Im was executed, as were many of his followers.

The Smaller Yun faction continued to attack their opposition. In 1546, Yun Won-Hyung impeached his older brother, Yun Won-Ro; he was executed a few days later, along with his followers. Facing no opposition from the government, Yun Won-Hyung became Minister of the Interior in 1548, Vice Premier in 1551 and ultimately Prime Minister in 1563. Despite Yun Won-Hyung's violent rule, Queen Munjeong was a good administrator, giving out the land to common people that had been formerly owned by the nobility. However, she held on to rule even after the king reached his majority at the age of 20.

After the death of Queen Munjeong in 1565, the king decided to rule the kingdom by himself and had his uncle Yun Won-Hyung put to death. Yun Won-Hyung allowed corruption to flourish in the government; while the kingdom was unstable, Jurchens, Japanese, and rebellious troops rampaged at will and threatened the government itself. Rebel leader Lim K'eok Jeong was arrested and executed in 1552, but outside invasion continued; the Joseon Dynasty had to re-mobilize its army and navy along to protect its borders. Myeong tried to reform the government after taking power into his own hands, but died only two years later without any male issue. King Seonjo, his nephew, succeeded to the throne in 1567.