Kim Chongsŏ

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Kim Jong-seo (Korean: 김종서; Hanja: 金宗瑞; 1383 – 10 November 1453) was a prominent military official and politician of the early Joseon dynasty. His ancestral home was Suncheon. He was also known under the names Gukgyeong (國卿) and Jeoljae (節齋), and his posthumous name is Chungik (忠翼). In 1405, he passed the state examination and became a rank 13 official. He served King Sejong the Great as a general during the campaign against the Jurchens. In 1453, he was assassinated on the order of Prince Suyang along with his two sons. His tomb is located near Sejong City.

Kim Jong-seo was born in 1383 in Gongju, Yanggwang Province as the second son of Kim Su of the Suncheon Kim clan, and Lady Bae of the Seongju Bae clan. He was the third child; having two sisters and two brothers. Kim and his brothers achieved successful political careers: his older brother, Kim Jong-han was a high-ranking official, and his younger brother, Kim Jong-heung was the magistrate of Yangju.

He passed the state examination in 1405 and in 1411 he was posted as a royal inspector to Gangwon Province. In 1433, he was sent by King Sejong the Great to conquer the Manchu. Kim's military campaign captured several castles, pushed north, and restored Korean territory roughly to the present-day border between North Korea and China.^[1]

The tribe of Wild Jurchens often crossed the Tumen and Yalu rivers and made marauding incursions through the Joseon border. Since the times of the Goryeo period, there were conciliatory efforts through trade as well as attempted suppression of the raiders by force, but the border conflicts did not cease. Early in the Joseon dynasty, the northern part of Yeongbyeon county was lost to the Jurchen invaders.

To solve the issue once for all, in 1433, King Sejong sent General Choi Yun-deok to suppress the Wild Jurchens in the Yalu River Basin. In October of the same year, Kim Jong-seo led another expedition to the northern part of Hamgyeong province, where he defeated the Jurchens and strengthened the borders against future attacks.

Following King Sejong's death, Grand Prince Suyang's ill brother, Munjong took the throne but soon died. The crown passed to his 12-year-old son, Danjong. The new king was too young to rule the nation and all political processes were controlled by then-Chief State Councilor Hwangbo In and General Kim Jongseo. As Kim Jongseo and his faction, which included Danjong's guardian Princess Gyeonghye,^[2] used the chance to extend the power of court officials against many royal family members, the tension between Kim and Suyang greatly increased; not only Suyang himself, but his younger brother, Grand Prince Anpyeong, also sought an opportunity to take control of the kingdom.

Suyang surrounded himself with trusted allies, including his famous adviser, Han Myeong-hoe, who was the father of two queens: Queen Jangsun, the daughter-in-law of Queen Jeonghui and King Sejo, and Queen Gonghye, the daughter-in-law of Queen Insu and King Deokjong. Han was also an 8th cousin of Queen Insu. Han advised Suyang to take over the government in a coup, and in October 1453, he killed Kim Jongseo and his faction, thereby taking the reins of power into his own hands. After the coup he arrested his own brother, Anpyong, first sending him into exile, then putting him to death.

After death, he received posthumous name of Chungik in 1746 during Yeongjo's reign.^[3]

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• Father
  • Kim Su (김수; 金陲) or Kim Chu (김추; 金錘; 1355–?)
• Mother
  • Lady Bae of Seongju Bae clan (성주 배씨; 星州裵氏; 1356 – 12 October 1435)
• Siblings
  • Older sister - Lady Kim of the Suncheon Kim clan (순천 김씨; 1376–?)
  • Older brother - Kim Jong-han (김종한; 金宗漢; 1380–?)
  • Younger brother - Kim Jong-heung (김종흥; 金宗興; 1387–?)
  • Younger sister - Lady Kim of the Suncheon Kim clan (순천 김씨; 1390–?)
• Wives and their children
  • Unnamed wife (1385–?); married in 1403
    • Son - Kim Mok-dae (김목대; 金目臺; 1410–1453)
    • Son - Kim Seok-dae (김석대; 金石臺; 1414–1453)
  • Lady Yun of Papyeong Yun clan (정경부인 파평 윤씨; 貞敬夫人 坡平 尹氏; 1390–?), married in 1407; daughter of Yun Won-bu (윤원부; 尹元富)
    • Son - Kim Seung-gyu (김승규; 金承珪; 1410 – 10 November 1453)
    • Son - Kim Seung-byeok (김승벽; 金承璧; 1415 – 10 November 1453)
    • Son - Kim Seung-yu (김승유; 金承琉; 1418–?)
    • Daughter - Lady Kim of the Suncheon Kim clan (순천 김씨; 1420–?)
    • Daughter - Lady Kim of the Suncheon Kim clan (순천 김씨; 1423–?)
    • Daughter - Lady Kim of the Suncheon Kim clan (순천 김씨; 1427–?)
    • Daughter - Lady Kim of the Suncheon Kim clan (순천 김씨; 1446–?)
  • Unnamed concubine from the Jurchen tribe (여진족; 1390–?) — no issue.

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• Portrayed by Choi Il-hwa in the 2011 SBS TV series Deep Rooted Tree.
• Portrayed by Han In-soo in the 2011–2012 JTBC TV series Insu, The Queen Mother.
• Portrayed by Lee Soon-jae in the 2011 KBS2 TV series The Princess' Man.
• Portrayed by Baek Yoon-sik in the 2013 film The Face Reader.

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