15 Facts About Jeong Do-jeon

Jeong Do-jeon served as the first Chief State Councillor of Joseon, from 1392 until 1398 when he was killed by the Joseon king Yi Bang-won.

Jeong Do-jeon Dojeon was an adviser to the Joseon founder Yi Seong-gye and the principal architect of the Joseon dynasty's policies, laying down the kingdom's ideological, institutional, and legal frameworks which would govern it for five centuries.

Jeong Do-jeon Dojeon was born from a noble family, the Bonghwa Jeong Do-jeon clan, in Yeongju in what is South Korea.

Jeong Do-jeon's family had emerged from commoner status some four generations before, and slowly climbed up the ladder of government service.

Jeong Do-jeon's father was the first in the family to obtain a high post.

Jeong Do-jeon is said to have compared his relationship to Yi Seong-gye, to that between Zhang Liang and Emperor Gaozu of Han.

Jeong Do-jeon even decided the names of each palace, eight provinces, and districts in the capital.

Jeong Do-jeon worked to free many slaves and reformed land policy.

However, Jeong Do-jeon Dojeon persuaded Taejo to appoint his young eighth son Yi Bang-seok as the crown prince.

For much of Joseon history, Jeong Do-jeon Dojeon was vilified or ignored despite his contribution to its founding.

Jeong Do-jeon was finally rehabilitated in 1865 in recognition of his role in designing Gyeongbokgung.

Jeong Do-jeon Dojeon was a major opponent of Buddhism at the end of the Goryeo period.

Jeong Do-jeon was a founding member of the Sungkyunkwan, the royal Confucian academy, and one of its early faculty members.

Jeong Do-jeon Dojeon argued that the government, including the king himself, exists for the sake of the people.

Jeong Do-jeon Dojeon divided society into three classes: a large lower class of agricultural laborers and craftsmen, a middle class of literati, and a small upper class of bureaucrats.