Daewon-gun

Daewon-gun (born 1821—died 1898) was the father of the Korean king Gojong.

As regent from 1864 to 1873, Daewon-gun inaugurated a far-ranging reform program to strengthen the central administration; he modernized and increased its armies and rationalized the administration. Opposed to any concessions to Japan or the West, Daewon-gun, though out of power, helped organize the anti-Japanese outbreak in 1882. Considered a troublemaker, he was then kidnapped and taken to China for three years. By the time he returned, his power and many of his reforms had been eliminated.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Ethan Teekah.