​The Political Context of the 1908 Posthumous Imperial Elevation of Jinjong, Heonjong, and Cheoljong

- With a Focus on Its Contrast with Gojong’s “Direct Patrilineal Four” Elevation -

Author: ​Kim, Sun-young

Page: 133-169

​In 1899, Emperor Gojong posthumously elevated Taejo and four kings of his direct patrilineal line-Jangjong, Jeongjo, Sunjo, and Ikjong-to the status of emperor, while deliberately excluding Jinjong, Heonjong, and Cheoljong. Gojong explicitly justified this exclusion: Heonjong and Cheoljong were characterized as collateral (banggye), while Jinjong's case was explained by ritual constraints regarding his already-transferred spirit tablet. This was a conscious act to define the imperial lineage exclusively through his own direct patrilineal line.

​In 1908, the year after Gojong's forced abdication, these three kings were posthumously elevated to emperor. Although official Korean records present this as initiated by Emperor Sunjong, documents from the Residency-General (Tonggambu) show that Vice Resident-General Sone Arasuke had  lready reported the plan to Resident-General Ito Hirobumi in February 1908, three months before Sunjong's formal inquiry. According to Sone's report, Sunjong had expressed such an intention, and Prime Minister Yi Wan-yong and Minister of Justice Jo Jung-eung had brought the matter forward. The document labeled​​ ​Gojong's prior decision an "error" and "defect," and contained a factual error regarding the generational relationship between Gojong and Ikjong. Given these circumstances, it is  nlikely that Sunjong directed the 1908 elevation. The Residency-General's record, predating official Korean sources, shows that the elevation was carried out with the prior approval and involvement of the Residency-General.

​This elevation dismantled Gojong’s exclusive imperial genealogy. Concurrently, the Rectification of State Sacrifices (Hyangsaijeong), which drastically curtailed ritual expenditures, was also promulgated in the form of Sunjong’s edict. The outward form of a traditional patrilineal ritual act was thus maintained, while its purpose was transformed from the construction of dynastic legitimacy into its erosion. ​