State Council of Joseon

The State Council of Joseon or Uijeongbu 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]

State Council of Joseon
Hangul	의정부
Hanja	議政府
Revised Romanization	Uijeongbu
McCune–Reischauer	Ŭijŏngbu

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 Jeong Dojeon and other key figures behind the dynasty's founding. The State Council gradually declined in importance over the 500 years of Joseon's rule and replaced by the cabinet in 1907, forced by Japanese intervention.[5]

The Chief State Councilor Yeonguijeong 영의정 was followed by the Left State Councilor Jwauijeong 좌의정 and the Right State Councilor Uuijeong 우의정.[1][3]

Today, there's a city which was named after this organ (Uijeongbu) in Gyeonggi-do.

Notes

1. Chan 2017, p. 32.
2. Lee (1984), p. 175.
3. Han 2013, p. 168.
4. Lee (1984), p. 172.
5. Hwang 2015, p. 275.

References

• Chan, Robert (2017). Korea-China Relations in History and Contemporary Implications. Springer. ISBN 978-3319622651.
• 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.

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• Joseon Dynasty politics
• History of Korea