State Council of Joseon
Highest organ of the Joseon government
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The State Council of Joseon or Ŭijŏngbu was the highest organ of government under the Joseon Dynasty of Korea.[1][2] It was led by three officials known as the High State Councillors. The Councilors were entrusted to deliberate over key problems of state, advising the king, and conveying royal decisions to the Six Ministries.[3][2]
The council was formed under the reign of Jeongjong, just before Taejong seized power in 1400.[4] It replaced an earlier institution called the "Privy Council," which had been dominated by Chŏng Tojŏn and other key figures behind the dynasty's founding. The State Council gradually declined in importance over the 500 years of Joseon's rule. Finally, the council was replaced by the cabinet in 1907, forced by Japanese intervention[5]
The modern-day city of Uijeongbu, in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, was named after this Joseon dynasty organ.
Structure
The State Council comprised:[6]
| Rank | Post | Quota | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior 1st | Chief State Councilor | 1 | Korean: 영의정; Hanja: 領議政 |
| Left State Councilor | Korean: 좌의정; Hanja: 左議政 | ||
| Right State Councilors | Korean: 우의정; Hanja: 右議政 | ||
| Junior 1st | Left Associate State Councilor | Korean: 좌찬성; Hanja: 左贊成 | |
| Right Associate State Councilor | Korean: 우찬성; Hanja: 右贊成 | ||
| Senior 2nd | Left Assistant State Councilor | Korean: 좌참찬; Hanja: 左參贊 | |
| Right Assistant State Councilor | Korean: 우참찬; Hanja: 右參贊 | ||
| Senior 4th | First Secretary | 2 | Korean: 사인; Hanja: 舍人 |
| Senior 5th | Regulation Transcriber | 1 | Korean: 검상; Hanja: 檢詳 |
| Senior 8th | Official Recorder | 2 | Korean: 사록; Hanja: 司錄 |
Sources
- Lee, Ki-Baik (1984). A New History of Korea. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-61575-1.
- Han, Jongwoo (2013). Power, Place, and State-Society Relations in Korea: Neo-Confucian and Geomantic Reconstruction of Developmental State and Democratization. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0739175552.
- Hwang, Kyung Moon (2015). Rationalizing Korea: The Rise of the Modern State, 1894–1945. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0520963276.
- Chan, Robert (2017). Korea-China Relations in History and Contemporary Implications. Springer. ISBN 978-3319622651.
- EncyKor (2020a). "의금부" [Uijeongbu]. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture.