On The Policies Of Internal And External Affairs In Joseon During Gwanghaegun’s Reign

Internal and external situation of Joseon was extremely unfavorable to the reign of Gwanghaegun. About internal situation, the political and economic conditions of Joseon made an unstable situation to the late years of Joseon Dynasty. As to the external situation, with the constantly conflict between Ming Dynasty and Jurchens on contending for Liaodong also made Joseonn external surroundings unstable. In this condition, Gwanghaegun must adopt many measures to overcome the difficulties to maintain the security of his kingdom as well as his throne. Some of his measures, however, were devalued, which made him a controversial king in the history of Joseon.My article includes three parts as follows:In the first portion, the internal state of Joseon before Prince Gwanghaegun’s throne is researched; the measures which Gwanghaegun adopted to enforce the throne during his reign and the influence to his reign affected by his measures. The second portion is to discuss the changes of external states of Joseon before and after the Battle of Saerhu. The measures Gwanghaegun adopted to manage the internal and external affairs and then the impact of the measures. In the last portion, my purpose focuses on the study of the impact battle of Liao&Shen on Joseon, and the influence of internal situation due to the changes of external state as well as the measures Gwanghaegun had taken to maintain his throne and the security of Joseon.Because during the reign of Gwanghaegun, that upheaval is the synonyms of that time, so the prince must adopt some extraordinary policies to cope with the internal and external problems in Joseon. Although some of his policies were radical, but they have a positive role in preserving security and stability of Joseon, as well as the throne of Gwanghaegun. In a word, Gwanghaegun not only could deal with the foreign affairs tactically, but also had the talent for ruling his ministers. Furthermore, his determinations may well satisfy the internal and external circumstances of Joseon. Therefore, we can’t simply regard final result as the standard of which we evaluate his reign.