A Study on the Selection of Cheongnan Gongsin(淸難功臣) After the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592

Abstract

The Japanese Invasion of Korea destroyed the social foundation of the Joseon Dynasty. The lives of the people in the throes of a long war were completely destroyed. Killed by Japanese enemies or collapsed from hunger and disease. To make matters worse, the people suffered from harsh exploitation and exploitation by corrupt officials to procure the supplies needed to carry out the war. In this situation, there was no solution other than the popular revolt to find a way out. Lee Mong-hak's rebellion, which occurred in Naepo, was an incident of popular rebellion that occurred with this situation of the times and terrible public sentiment. Lee Mong-hak's rebellion was large and successful in the uprising, and five villages in Naepo were occupied, threatening the existence of the Joseon Dynasty. Therefore, at the end of the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, the Joseon Dynasty's Ministry of Government Control gave meritorious service to the veterans who contributed to overcoming the Imran, and the figures who were honored in the suppression of Lee Mong-hak's rebellion were also subject to meritorious service. This is the Cheongnan Gongsin. However, like Hoseong and Seonmu, the Cheongnan Gongsin's chaekbong did not end easily due to many controversies. As the political position of looking at the Gongsin Chaekbong differed, the Gongsin Chaekbong was forced to have difficulties due to the sharp confrontation created between the king's ancestors and the Daegan. The reason for this is that the position of Seonjo to reward as widely as possible, including the person mentioned in Jeonghun, was sharply opposed with the grandfather who wanted to reduce the number of meritorious officials as much as possible. Seonjo's intention to use the Gongsin Chaekbong to recover the public sentiment that fell after the war and expand support for the royal authority clashed with his subjects. Overcoming this controversy, it was not until four years after King Seonjo ordered Chaekbong to be completed.