Scholars have long held that Korea's Choson dynasty (1392-1910) was established by a new socioeconomic class of scholar-officials of local-landlord origins who overthrew the capital-based aristocracy of the Koryo dynasty (918-1392). The Origins of the Choson Dynasty refutes that view, showing that a key feature of the dynastic transition was continuity in the structure and composition of the central ruling class and arguing that the main force behind the establishment of the Choson was the need to revamp institutions to protect aristocratic interests. The change of dynasties thus...
Scholars have long held that Korea's Choson dynasty (1392-1910) was established by a new socioeconomic class of scholar-officials of local-landlord...