Faction or King-Centered Politics? The Debate between King Chongjo and Scholar-Officials

Abstract

This article examines the political and philosophical debates between King Chongjo and the scholar-officials regarding the legitimacy of faction-centered versus king-centered governance in late Choson Korea. While previous scholarship has focused on King Chongjo's perspective, which sought to diminish the factions by implementing king-centered politics, this study provided a balanced analysis of both arguments. It demonstrates how both sides drew upon the concept of "imperial pivot" from the Shujing (sic) to support their conflicting positions, particularly through the writings of Chong Chon'gyom (sic)(1722-1794) who defended faction-centered politics and supported scholar-officials as a check against royal authority and Chong Yagyong (sic) (1762-1836) who criticized faction-centered politics and supported the strengthened royal power while criticizing factional excesses.