The King's Name: Principles of Hwi (諱)

In the Joseon dynasty, a king's name was far more than a simple title — it was a sophisticated symbolic system embodying Confucian political philosophy, royal authority, and posthumous historical judgment. Throughout his life, a king held multiple names: a childhood name, a personal name (hwi), a courtesy name, a title, an honorific, a posthumous name (siho), and a temple name (myoho).

The Piheui System and Single-Character Names

Most Joseon kings used a single-character personal name (hwi) out of practical concern for their subjects. Any character used in the king's name was forbidden from everyday speech, writing, civil service exams, and official documents — so a two-character name would double the burden on the people.

Rare Hanja Characters and the Art of Creating New Ones

Officials chose extremely rare Hanja characters — or even invented entirely new characters — for the king's name to minimize the chance of accidental usage. King Seonjo's name 昖 and King Sunjo's name 玜 are examples of characters literally created for this purpose.

Post-Mortem Assessment: The Politics of Myoho (廟號)

The temple name (myoho), granted when the king's spirit tablet was enshrined in the Royal Ancestral Shrine after the three-year mourning period, served as the final historical verdict on his reign. The names we commonly use today — Sejong, Seongjong — are these temple names.

The Principle of Jogong-Jongdeok (祖功宗德)

The principle was to give 'Jo' (祖) to kings who founded or re-founded the dynasty, and 'Jong' (宗) to kings who ruled by virtue. In later Joseon, however, successor kings frequently elevated their predecessors from 'Jong' to 'Jo' to enhance their own dynastic legitimacy.

Generational Order & Five Elements in Royal Names

Rather than sharing the same character, Joseon royal family members of the same generation shared the same radical (부수/편방) in their names. This allowed single-character names while still indicating generational belonging.

All 27 Joseon Kings

The Korean Empire and Changes in Naming

When King Gojong proclaimed the Korean Empire in 1897, the entire naming system shifted from a tributary state framework to an imperial one. Gojong used the era name Gwangmu (光武) and Sunjong used Yunghui (隆熙), declaring Korea's independence through its own calendar system.