The Reconfiguration of Confucian Ritual in Joseon dynasty after the Imjin War : Destruction and Reconstruction of Ritual Spaces and Institutional Order

Abstract

The Joseon dynasty, which lasted from the late fourteenth to the early twentieth century, is commonly divided into early and late periods, with the Imjin War (1592–1598) marking a major turning point. The war not only devastated the physical landscape of the kingdom but also profoundly disrupted its social and ritual order. Previous scholarship has focused primarily on the military, political, and diplomatic consequences of the conflict. However, its impact on Confucian ritual—the core of Joseon’s governing ideology—has received comparatively limited attention. Warfare destroyed key ritual spaces, institutions, and material foundations, yet the process of postwar recovery also generated transformation and reconstruction. This paper examines how, in the aftermath of war, the royal court and elite literati families reorganized Confucian ritual practices within both state and lineage contexts. Through this process, spatial hierarchies and social boundaries were redefined and reestablished. Framed within the theme of ‘Space and Distance (Crossing, Closing, Creating)’, the study reinterprets postwar ritual reconstruction as a dynamic mechanism that transformed rupture and disorder into renewed normative order. It argues that in late Joseon society, spatial and social hierarchies were not merely restored but actively reconstituted through ritual practice. Keywords: Korea, Joseon dynasty, Imjin War, Confucian ritual, royal court, elite literati families