# Yeonsangun becomes king (1494)

URL: https://allhistories.com/south-korea/timeline/1494-yeonsangun-becomes-king
Location: Hanyang, Joseon
Themes: Politics

In early 1495 by the Western calendar (the twelfth lunar month of 1494), King Seongjong died and his eldest son became king. He is known to history as Yeonsangun, a prince's title, because he was later deposed and never given a royal temple name. Yeonsangun's mother, Queen Yun, had been demoted in 1479 and ordered to take poison in 1482 for jealousy and for scratching Seongjong's face, according to court accounts. The young king was raised without knowing the details of her fate. At first his reign was uneventful, but Yeonsangun grew hostile to the remonstrance of officials and the censors who criticized his conduct. He increasingly neglected state affairs for feasting and hunting, spending lavishly and seizing land for royal pleasure grounds. Yeonsangun's reign is remembered as the most tyrannical in Joseon history and brought the first two of the great literati purges.

## Why it matters
His reign became the byword for tyranny in Joseon and launched the literati purges.

Ruler at the Time: [Yeonsangun of Joseon](https://allhistories.com/south-korea/rulers/yeonsangun-of-joseon)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Yeonsangun of Joseon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeonsangun_of_Joseon)
- [Wikipedia — Deposed Queen Yun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deposed_Queen_Yun)
- [Wikipedia — Seongjong of Joseon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seongjong_of_Joseon)
- [Wikipedia — Early Joseon (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseon)