Yangjae Station Graffiti Incident

Yangjae Station Graffiti Incident
Hangul	양재역벽서사건
Hanja	良才驛壁書事件
Revised Romanization	Yangjaeyeog byeogseo sageon
McCune–Reischauer	Yangjaeyŏng pyŏksŏ sagŏn

The Yangjae Station Graffiti Incident (Korean: 양재역 벽서 사건; Hanja: 良才驛壁書事件) was one of the many political purges that occurred in Korea during the Joseon period. It is also known as the Jeongmi Sahwa, where Jeongmi refers to name of the year 1547 (the second year of King Myeongjong's reign).

The initial event was a graffiti posted on a wall at the Yangjae stage Station (now Yangjae-dong, Seocho District, Seoul). This was a false notice, posted on the order of Yun Won-hyeong, to defame himself and his relatives.

"A female leader at the top, treacherous ministers Li Ji and others at bottom. The country is about to perish, but we just wait and see. Isn't that scary? 女主執政于上, 奸臣李芑等弄權於下, 國之將亡, 可立而待。 豈不寒心哉?"

This slander was used by the SoYun faction as a pretext to remove its political opponents, starting from Prince Bong-seong (봉성군; 鳳城君李岏, 1528–1547). This purge was enlarged to all the survivors of the DaeYun faction.

Sources

• Sillok (1571). "明宗大王實錄, Myeongjong sillok".
• NIKH "양재역벽서사건[良才驛壁書事件]" [Yangjae Station Graffiti Incident]. 국사편찬위원휘 National Institute of Korean History.
• Pratt, Keith L.; Rutt, Richard; Hoare, James E. (1999). Korea, A Historical and Cultural Dictionary. Durham East Asia Series. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7007-0463-7., 568 pages