Yeongjo of Joseon

Yi Geum was the second son of King Sukjong, born to a mother whose low status made him a target for resentment long before he took the throne in 1724. He inherited a kingdom split by factional warfare and answered it with Tangpyeong, a policy that forced strict numerical parity between rival camps in every key office — harmony by headcount. He overhauled the tax system and ruled for nearly 52 years, the longest span of any Joseon monarch. In 1762 he ordered Crown Prince Sado, his only surviving son, sealed inside a rice chest, where the prince died after eight days. The act remains one of the…