Easterners (Korean political faction)
38°19′N 127°14′E / 38.317°N 127.233°E
Easterners 동인, 東人 | |
|---|---|
| 1570s leader | Kim Hyowŏn |
| 1580s leaders | Yi Pal, Ch'oe Yŏnggyŏng, Yu Sŏngnyong |
| 1590s leaders | Yi Sanhae, Yu Sŏngnyong |
| Founder | Kim Hyowŏn |
| Founded | 1575 |
| Dissolved | 1591 |
| Split from | Sarim |
| Preceded by | Sarim |
| Succeeded by | Northerners, Southerners |
| Ideology | Philosophy of Yi Hwang and Cho Sik |
| Religion | Neo-Confucianism |
The Easterners (Korean: 동인; Hanja: 東人; RR: Dongin; lit. 'East people') were a political faction of the Joseon dynasty. This faction appeared during the reign of Seonjo of Joseon in sixteenth-century Korea, in 1575. Originating from friends of Kim Hyowŏn, they soon encompassed most of the disciples of Cho Sik and Yi Hwang, conflicting with Yi I and his followers, who formed the core of the Westerners. Though emerging as the dominant faction in the 1580s, it nearly collapsed at the suicide of Chŏng Yŏrip and the succeeding bloodshed in 1589. After Westerner Chŏng Ch'ŏl was exiled for attempting to make Prince Gwanghae the Crown Prince, the Easterners divided into Northerners and Southerners.