Sejong (Civ6)/Civilopedia

The Joseon Dynasty of Korea was one of Korea’s greatest and longest-lasting dynasties. Sejong is similarly one of – if not the – most productive and famous of this empire’s rulers, noted for building Joseon’s infrastructure, science, and artistic life.
The Joseon Dynasty of Korea (1392–1897) arose along with Ming. In the chaos of the Ming wars of succession against the Mongol-dominated Yuan dynasty, there were similar wars in Korea, as the rising Ming called upon Korean allies to overthrow Yuan-occupied regions of the peninsula. Sensing the weakness of both Chinese positions at this time, the general tasked with this revolted and seized power for himself, choosing Joseon as the name of the kingdom and receiving the posthumous name of Taejo. As would be expected, this thrust the region into further unrest. Unrest that would only end with the succession of Taejong’s son, Sejong (1418-1450).
Sejong’s rule was deeply informed by Confucianism – something unsurprising given Confucius’s emphasis on a stable, wise rule. To this end, Sejong implemented scholarships for Confucian students and, most significantly, sponsored state scholars to create a new alphabet - hangul. Chinese characters had been previously used to write Korean words, but this script did not match with the Korean language (as Korean, like Japanese, was influenced by Chinese writing but has phonemes and conjugations that cannot be easily captured by the character-centered Chinese writing system). This was controversial, as more conservative scholars thought that the adoption of such a script would lead to a decline in education and understanding, but the script caught on and is still used today.
On a less sanguine note, Sejong’s reign saw the suppression of Islam and Buddhism in Korea – the former was present in small numbers since Abbasid contact in the 9th century, and the latter had always been important but clashed with Confucian ideas – Buddhism stresses non-attachment and individual enlightenment, whereas Confucianism stresses familial responsibility and service to the state.
As a part of his emphasis on education, Sejong also commissioned scientific studies – notably, for the strategically-minded, the development of gunpowder weapons, and texts on farming. He offered leniency towards farmers’ taxes, and even implemented maternity leave for Korean nobi – those who had sold themselves as into slavery to escape debt. Other significant achievements included a standardized currency and the Hall of Worthies – a collection of the reign’s scientific and cultural achievements. In addition to the hangul script, these included a printing press, rain gauge, and other practical but innovative measures.
In foreign affairs, Joseon was a tributary state of Ming – surprising given its rebellious origins, but early Ming was in no condition to hold grudges. A tributary in the Ming system was a state that paid the throne in Beijing in order to receive protection from outside threats. This had the ancillary effect of promoting peace amongst tributaries – Joseon Korea and Ashikaga Japan enjoyed warm relations, recognizing their mutual status, although this was to collapse in two centuries, as Japan split from Ming and descended into the domestic disputes of the Sengoku era.
For those not in the tributary system, Sejong was aggressive. Joseon faced Manchu states to its north (the same states that would later form the center of the Qing Dynasty of China) and Japanese pirates operating out of Tsushima, an island off of Japan’s western coast that had been a target of the failed Mongol-led invasion in a previous generation and which remained in that time a lawless frontier. Sejong’s influence there, and canny trade agreements with the local So clan, ensured that the raids stopped.
Sejong died of natural causes in 1450, and although royal succession remained contentious, the infrastructure that he built formed the bones of a stable, prosperous Korean society and ensured its persistence.