Danjong of Joseon

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Danjong of Joseon
Hangul:	단종
Hanja:	端宗
Revised Romanization:	Danjong
McCune-Reischauer:	Tanchong
Birth name
Hangul:	이홍위
Hanja:	李弘暐
Revised Romanization:	I Hong-wi
McCune-Reischauer:	I Hongwi

Danjong of Joseon (1441–1457, reigned 1452–1455) was the sixth king of the Joseon Dynasty.

Danjong succeeded his father, Munjong of Joseon, at the age of 12. Since he was too young to rule, the government of the kingdom fell to the premier, Hwangbo In, and his vice-premier, General Kim Jongseo.

In 1455, this government was overthrown in a coup led by the king's uncle, Sejo of Joseon, who persuaded a number of scholars and officials who had served in the court of Sejong the Great to support his claim to the throne. Hwangbo In and Kim Jongseo were seized and murdered in front of the gate of Gyeongbokgung; Danjong was forced to abdicate and exiled.

The following year, six officials of the court attempted to restore him to power, but their plot was discovered and they were immediately executed. Perceiving that he would present a continuing threat to his rule, Sejo then accepted the advice of the court and ordered that Danjong be disposed of. He was murdered at his house in the place to which he was exiled. The men sent by Sejo locked Danjong's bedroom door and overheated the room, thus burning the boy to death. This happened in 1457.

Danjong had been stripped of his title at the time he was exiled, and he was not referred to as King Danjong again until 1698, when scholars in the court of King Sukjong proposed that his title be restored.