Six Ministries of Joseon

The Six Ministries of Joseon (Korean: 육조; Hanja: 六曹) were the major executive bodies of the Korean Joseon Dynasty. They included ministries of Personnel (Ijo), Taxation (Hojo), Rites (Yejo), Military Affairs (Byeongjo), Punishments (Hyeongjo), and Public works (Gongjo).^[1]

Six Ministries of Joseon
Hangul	육조
Hanja	六曹
Revised Romanization	Yukjo
McCune–Reischauer	Yukcho

History

It was established in 1298. The ministries system of Joseon was similar in outline to that of the preceding Goryeo dynasty, but in practice, it had a big difference. While Goryeo had a ministrative policy where the king had the central power, in Joseon, the scholars and bureaucrats had greater control. The ministries were much more powerful under Joseon, and their importance grew as the dynasty wore on.^[1]

In December 1895, after the First Sino-Japanese War and as a part of the Gabo Reform, a cabinet of seven ministries was modeled after the Japanese one, which had been established only ten years earlier.^{[citation needed]}

Composition

Title	Hangul	Hanja	Description
Ijo	이조	吏曹	Personnel
Hojo	호조	戶曹	Taxation
Yejo	예조	禮曹	Rites
Byeongjo	병조	兵曹	Military affairs
Hyeongjo	형조	刑曹	Law Enforcement
Gongjo	공조	工曹	Public works

See also

• Joseon Dynasty politics
• History of Korea
• Six Ministries of the Nguyễn dynasty
• Three Departments and Six Ministries - the original Chinese model; only the six ministries was retained in a similar format
• Cabinet of North Korea
• State Council of South Korea