For the Joseon royal court, Neo-Confucianism was embedded in governance itself. Laws, population registers, and official records enforced ritual participation and ideological conformity.
“The ruler governs the people on behalf of Heaven.” Annals of the Joseon Dynasty
Gyeongguk Daejeon, Joseon’s official law code that structured legal governance and ritual compliance(left) The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty record the 1801 Sinyu Persecution during King Sunjo’s reign, when Catholic believers were targeted by state policy as disrupting Confucian rites and social order(right)
Catholic believers were perceived not merely as religious dissenters, but as subjects who no longer fit within the Confucian administrative order. Because governance relied on ritual obedience to classify and manage the population, refusal to perform ancestral rites signaled withdrawal from state authority, turning belief into a political threat.
Royal court administrative records from the Seungjeongwon Ilgi or Ilseongnok, showing how detailed official governance documentation operated in Joseon.
“Their followers abandon ancestral rites, disrupt moral norms, and refer to one another as brothers.” Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, 1801, Sinyu Persecution, King Sunjo, 1st year, 2nd month
Nobles
Many nobles declared their allegiance to the state through petitions, writing essays, and memorials, identifying Catholicism as a threat to Confucian society both morally and in terms of rituals.
“Ancestral rites are the greatest foundation of human morality.” Yi Ik, Seongho Saseol (Seongho’s Miscellaneous Essays)
Seongho Saseol, written by Confucian scholar Yi Ik, articulates the view that ancestral rites form the core of human morality and social order, a position later used to condemn Catholic rejection of ritual practice.
The Baekseo, a silk letter written by Hwang Sa-yeong in 1801, was interpreted by the Joseon court as evidence that Catholicism threatened both Confucian order and political sovereignty.
“Those who follow this Way are treated as criminals; those who follow their conscience are condemned as traitors.” Hwang Sa-yeong Baekseo (Silk Letter), 1801
Through the denunciation of Catholic teachings in Confucian language, they not only confirmed their loyalty to the orthodox faith but also freed themselves from suspicion. This mode of argument allowed elites to defend the current social order and secure their own positions within it. Therefore, Neo-Confucianism became a common moral language through which issues of survival, conformity, legitimacy, and authority were continually dealt with.
Dongsa Gangmok by An Jeong-bok presents Korean history through Confucian moral categories, arguing that Western Learning threatened the ethical bonds that sustained political and social order in Joseon.(left) Cheoksa Yun’eum formally condemned Catholicism as a heterodox teaching that undermined Confucian morality and social order, providing ideological justification for state-led persecution.(right)
"The harm of Western Learning lies in severing the moral bonds between ruler and subject, father and son."An Jeong-bok, Dongsa Gangmok (Essentials of Eastern History
“Heterodox teachings destroy human relations and bring disorder to the state.” Royal Edict of the Suppression of Heterodoxy (Cheoksa Yun’eum), issued by Jo In-yeong, 1839 (Heonjong reign)
Peasants
The commoners' reactions can be mainly sensed out of administrative records. Peasants were not engaged in debate about the implementation of Neo-Confucianism.
Cheonjugasa (Hymns to the Lord of Heaven), expressing belief in one God and spiritual equality, and reflecting how Catholic teachings were translated into accessible moral language in late Joseon.(left) Jugyo Yoji (Essentials of Catholic Doctrine), presenting a systematic explanation of monotheism and moral universality that challenged Confucian ritual and hierarchical norms.(right)
Instead, it was brought into effect through their household registration, labor obligations, and ritual compliance. Catholics were not only penalized for mainly believing in the faith, but also for being outside the bureaucratic systems that define the legitimate membership of the society.
An image depicting the interrogation of Korean Catholics during the Byeongin Persecution of 1866, when the Joseon government suppressed Catholicism as a threat to Confucian moral values and state authority.(left) Fr. Zhou Wenmo, an underground Catholic priest who ministered to commoners in late Joseon, illustrating how Catholicism spread through local and informal networks beyond Confucian institutions. Painting by Tak Hee-sung, courtesy of the Seosomun Shrine History Museum.(right)
Sihyeon Lee, Gaeun Lee, Sejin Oh 事人如天— "Serve People as Heaven": The Silent Revolution of Joseon Senior Division Group Website Student composed words: 1200 Media length: 2min 28sec Process paper length: 500
