# Deposition of Yeonsan-gun
The deposition of Yeonsan-gun (연산군 폭정과 폐위), carried out by the military coup known as the Jungjong Banjeong (중종반정), removed the king from the throne and replaced him with his half-brother, who reigned as Jungjong.[1](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0053933) • [2](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0036803) The coup was led by the officials Seong Hui-an, Park Won-jong, and [Yu Sun](https://www.edgepedia.org/yu-sun)-jeong; Yeonsan-gun was exiled to Gyodong on Ganghwa Island and died there about two months later.[3](https://dobong.grandculture.net/dobong/toc/GC04900003) • [4](https://contents.history.go.kr/mobile/kc/view.do?levelId=kc_n307100)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Event | Jungjong Banjeong, the coup deposing King Yeonsan-gun[1](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0053933) |
| Date | 2nd day of the 9th month of 1506 (Yeonsan 12); the coup succeeded in one night[2](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0036803) |
| Place | Changdeokgung and Gyeongbokgung, the capital; exile at Gyodong, Ganghwa Island[1](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0053933) |
| Outcome | Yeonsan-gun deposed and exiled; Jinseong Daegun enthroned as Jungjong[3](https://dobong.grandculture.net/dobong/toc/GC04900003) |
| Deaths | The deposed crown prince Yi Hwang and three other sons were put to death on 9/24[2](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0036803) • [3](https://dobong.grandculture.net/dobong/toc/GC04900003) |
## Background and causes
The purges dismantled the institutions that checked the king. A network analysis of his court finds that the Muo purge weakened the Three Offices (samsa) and the Gapja purge destroyed the existing governance order entirely; for the last two and a half years of his reign, rule rested on the king alone, supported by royal secretaries and inner officials.[5](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/landing/article.kci?arti_id=ART002296707) The same study concludes that this structural change led directly to his deposition.[5](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/landing/article.kci?arti_id=ART002296707)
His personal conduct supplied the coup's pretext. He sent commissioners across the country to select women called "unpyeong," keeping 300 gisaeng called "heungcheong" in the palace;[1](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0053933) figures of 300 heungcheong and 1,000 unpyeong selected for banquets and revelry are also given.[2](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0036803) He demolished houses within 30 li outside the capital for hunting grounds and, after Hangul petitions criticized his tyranny, banned Hangul use and burned the Eonmun Gugyeol.[1](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0053933)
## Course of events
The coup was more improvised than carefully prepared: the three core instigators at first lacked co-conspirators, but once the action began the response was explosive.[4](https://contents.history.go.kr/mobile/kc/view.do?levelId=kc_n307100)
Accounts differ on the enthronement moment: one places it on the following day, the 2nd of the 9th month, at Geunjeongjeon in [Gyeongbokgung](https://www.edgepedia.org/gyeongbokgung),[1](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0053933) while another states that Jinseong Daegun ascended the throne that same afternoon of the 1st.[4](https://contents.history.go.kr/mobile/kc/view.do?levelId=kc_n307100)
## Outcome and losses
Yeonsan-gun was immediately deposed and confined at Gyodong on Ganghwa Island.[2](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0036803) On the 24th of the 9th month the deposed crown prince [Yi Hwang](https://www.edgepedia.org/yi-hwang) and three other sons were forced to die; the former queen Sin was moved to a renovated house of her family, and Changnyeong Daegun Yi Seong was also put to death.[2](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0036803) • [3](https://dobong.grandculture.net/dobong/toc/GC04900003) Yeonsan-gun died of illness about two months after the exile.[4](https://contents.history.go.kr/mobile/kc/view.do?levelId=kc_n307100)
## Consequences and political influence
The coup ended Yeonsan-gun's tyranny but returned the political initiative to the hunggu (dominant old aristocratic faction in Joseon politics) faction, so the conflict between the hunggu and sarim (reform-minded Confucian scholar faction opposing hunggu) lines was reproduced afterwards.[1](https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0053933) The deposition also changed the character of court remonstrance: after the coup, the Three Offices' censorate upheld the principles and legitimacy of Confucian governance more strictly, and the status and scope of "public discourse" based on Confucian principle rose.[6](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART001981110) Yeonsan-gun was the first king in Joseon history deposed by a coup.[5](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/landing/article.kci?arti_id=ART002296707)
## Historians' assessment
The record itself is contested. Modern historians speculate that the violence attributed to Yeonsangun was exaggerated by historiographers unfavorable to the king.[7](https://www.accesson.kr/rks/assets/pdf/7827/journal-20-1-173.pdf) Some historians view the purges as his use of existing political rivalries to strengthen royal power, and argue that his reign was portrayed excessively negatively afterwards to justify the coup.[3](https://dobong.grandculture.net/dobong/toc/GC04900003) According to a 2017 study[10](https://doi.org/10.15856/jakpah.2017..41.125), the only decisions he took without consultation concerned funds for personal needs, while decisions on state regulation, social affairs, agriculture, and punishments were usually taken jointly with officials; the study concludes his rule is better described as "authoritarian" than as autocracy.[8](https://doi.org/10.48647/icca.2025.86.99.003) One historian's assessment in the press is that he misjudged petty men as loyal subjects and was ousted overnight by a coup without justification by the very ministers he trusted.[9](https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2003/10/07/2003100770397.html)
## References
1. 중종반정 - 한국민족문화대백과사전, https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0053933
2. 연산군 - 한국민족문화대백과사전, https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0036803
3. 정치보다 풍류를 사랑했던 연산군 - 디지털도봉문화대전, https://dobong.grandculture.net/dobong/toc/GC04900003
4. 우리역사넷, https://contents.history.go.kr/mobile/kc/view.do?levelId=kc_n307100
5. 연산군 통치기간의 국정 지배구조변화에 관한 연결망분석, https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/landing/article.kci?arti_id=ART002296707
6. 戊午士禍를 둘러싼 정치론의 갈등과 그 성격, https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART001981110
7. An Annotated Translation of Daily Records of King Yeonsangun, Chapter One, https://www.accesson.kr/rks/assets/pdf/7827/journal-20-1-173.pdf
8. Фракционное соперничество периода правления Ёнсан-гуна, https://doi.org/10.48647/icca.2025.86.99.003
9. "연산군은 낭만적 왕권주의자였다", https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2003/10/07/2003100770397.html
10. 21kssh81m3h (exa.ai). https://exa.ai/library/publication/21kssh81m3h
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Asian history › Korea › Early Joseon (1392 to 1592) › Kings and royal family*
*Initially written Sep 24, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
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