Korea's Joseon dynasty, founded in 1392, replaced the Buddhist-favoring Goryeo kingdom with Neo-Confucianism as state ideology and, over successive reigns, systematically dismantled Buddhist institutional power. King Taejong (r. 1400 to 1418) closed monasteries, redistributed their land and seized their treasures for the state, leaving 242 temples nationwide by his reign's end; his successors continued consolidating the tradition's once-numerous schools, Goryeo's five doctrinal and two meditational orders, first to two, Seon and Gyo, and eventually to the single school of Seon. By later points in the dynasty the number of Buddhist monasteries nationwide had fallen from several hundred to a documented low of just 36, monks and nuns were legally barred from entering city walls, Buddhist funerals and begging were outlawed, and the clergy was pushed into the lowest formal social class. Partial relief came under the Buddhist regent Queen Munjeong (1545 to 1567), who repealed many of the anti-Buddhist measures, and fuller social standing followed the Buddhist monk-soldiers' prominent role repelling Japan's invasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598.
Facts
The Event
When It HappenedSourced to the subject's own account1392 dynasty founding; Taejong's temple closures 1400 to 1418; sect consolidation and the fall to 36 monasteries at later, undated points across the dynasty; partial relief under Queen Munjeong 1545 to 1567. 1 PeriodSourced to the subject's own account PeriodSourced to the subject's own accountSet to 1592, the start of the Japanese invasions whose monk-soldiers began the tradition's social recovery, as the close of the suppression's acute phase; sporadic anti-Buddhist measures continued at points later in the dynasty, which ran to 1910, so this bound marks the campaign's documented low point rather than its formal end. Victim GroupSourced to the subject's own accountKorea's Buddhist monasteries, monks and nuns: temples reduced from several hundred to 242 under Taejong alone and to a documented dynasty-wide low of 36, monks and nuns barred from entering cities, Buddhist funerals and begging outlawed, and the clergy legally degraded to the lowest social class. 1 Perpetrator RegimeSourced to the subject's own accountThe Joseon royal state across successive reigns, chiefly King Taejong (1400 to 1418), enacting Neo-Confucianism as official political ideology rather than Confucianism acting as a rival religious tradition in its own right; a bureaucratic-decree persecution, so no perpetrator-tradition edge is written. 2 Consequences
What It SettledSourced to the subject's own accountBuddhism survived as a marginalized, legally degraded tradition practiced chiefly in remote mountain temples rather than being extinguished outright. Partial institutional relief came under the Buddhist regent Queen Munjeong (1545 to 1567), and the tradition regained a measure of social standing after Buddhist monk-soldiers, most famously under the monks Hyujeong and Yujeong, played a prominent role repelling Japan's Imjin War invasions of 1592 to 1598. Confucian social restrictions on the clergy nonetheless persisted in substantial part until the dynasty's end in 1910. 1 Status
Official RecognitionSourced to the subject's own accountNot formally recognized by any body 1 Recognition BasisSourced to the subject's own accountNo international body has made a genocide or crimes-against-humanity determination; the suppression predates the modern vocabulary for one by centuries and unfolded as sustained state policy across five centuries rather than a single documented atrocity. Its recognition is historiographical, treated in Korean religious history as the defining reversal of Buddhism's earlier Goryeo-era status as state religion. 1 Learn More
The Joseon Suppression of Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism Becomes State Policy
This article records tradition as it has been passed down and reported. Its sources are not yet part of the atlas's verified catalogue.
Korea's Joseon dynasty, founded in 1392, replaced the Buddhist-favoring Goryeo kingdom with Neo-Confucianism as state ideology and, over successive reigns, systematically dismantled Buddhist institutional power. King Taejong, who reigned from 1400 to 1418, closed monasteries, redistributed their land and seized their treasures for the state, leaving 242 temples nationwide by his reign's end; his successors continued consolidating the tradition's once-numerous schools, Goryeo's five doctrinal and two meditational orders, first to two, Seon and Gyo, and eventually to the single school of Seon.
By later points in the dynasty the number of Buddhist monasteries nationwide had fallen from several hundred to a documented low of just 36, monks and nuns were legally barred from entering city walls, Buddhist funerals and begging were outlawed, and the clergy was pushed into the lowest formal social class. This was the Joseon royal state acting through its own Neo-Confucian ideology rather than a rival religious tradition acting in its own right, a bureaucratic-decree persecution for which no perpetrator-tradition edge is written.
Monk Soldiers and a Partial Recovery From the Joseon Suppression
This article records tradition as it has been passed down and reported. Its sources are not yet part of the atlas's verified catalogue.
Buddhism survived as a marginalized, legally degraded tradition practiced chiefly in remote mountain temples rather than being extinguished outright. Partial institutional relief came under the Buddhist regent Queen Munjeong, who governed from 1545 to 1567 and repealed many of the anti-Buddhist measures her predecessors had imposed, and fuller social standing followed the Buddhist monk-soldiers' prominent role repelling Japan's Imjin War invasions of 1592 to 1598, most famously under the monks Hyujeong and Yujeong.
No international body has made a genocide or crimes-against-humanity determination on the suppression; it unfolded as sustained state policy across five centuries rather than a single documented atrocity, and its recognition is historiographical, treated in Korean religious history as the defining reversal of Buddhism's earlier Goryeo-era status as state religion. Confucian social restrictions on the clergy nonetheless persisted in substantial part until the dynasty's end in 1910, so the monk-soldiers' wartime service earned standing rather than a formal reversal of the legal order that had degraded them.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Buddhism, Religions The targeted tradition. Associated With edge to the tradition persecuted, not a perpetrator-tradition edge.
South Korea, Countries No unified historical Korea entity exists; South Korea is the modern state whose capital, Seoul, was the Joseon dynasty's own capital throughout.
Sources
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