Monarch

Monarch​​​[2] ,Sovereign[3] ) is the person in the highest position who monopolizes sovereignty and governs the country . The pure Korean spelling is king .

It is generally called ' king ', but this is only because the kingdom is universal, and the title 'king' does not properly encompass the concept of a monarch who is not a member of various cultures around the world, such as the emperor of an empire , the grand duke of a principality , or the sultan or amir of an Islamic world .

The common image of a monarch is one of universal wealth and power . It has been the ultimate goal of many powerful people and ambitious people since ancient times, and it is a position with a truly magical charm that gives you infinite euphoria and joy just by the thought of being in this position. It is mainly symbolized by a crown , throne , and seal .

The position of monarch itself is a job that requires ruling and protecting the people who are members of a group called a nation, so it is the No. 1 of the nation and a symbol of the nation's wealth and power. Therefore, the monarch lives in a palace , which is the most extravagant building in the country, and has accessories decorated with various jewels, clothes, income, etc. that are not the most extravagant and the best in the country he rules.[4] When the monarch's power was strong, everything in the country, including the people, was considered the monarch's personal property.

There is a strong image of a monarch as 'a being who wielded omnipotent power with absolute authority', but it was rare to establish a strong royal power. Because there is only one monarch, but there are many subjects. If the bureaucrats and nobles who occupy the majority at the head of the state work together to keep the monarch in check, the royal authority becomes surprisingly powerless. In order to prevent this even a little, they train their own forces and strengthen the system by borrowing the power of religion and academics, but in the end, there is no answer in the face of numbers. If he is slightly out of line, his authority will be weakened due to the checks of his subjects, and in severe cases, he may be reduced to a scarecrow or even be dethroned.

Still, since it is a position at the center of power , it has a great influence on national policy. No matter how weakened the royal authority is, a great authority appears and has power that cannot be compared to that of each of his subjects, unless he becomes a complete bastard. Since there is only one monarch, unlike when the power of the subjects is strong, he is less caught up in the circumstances of various interest groups and has the power to pursue what he wants, so more things can be promoted than when the subject's power is centered. And even if it is weakened, there are cases where symbolic power is still strong. Even in the Joseon Dynasty alone, during the reign of King Cheoljong, which was at the end of the power politics , when the monarchy exploded, the head of the Andong Kim clan had to fall. Even the Emperor of Japan, who had been a symbolic figure without real power for hundreds of years, made some political remarks that he had not made before during the end of the shogunate, and the country was turned upside down.

The way to overcome this is through the support of the people. In pre-modern society, nobles generally have a hierarchical relationship in which they struggle for power with the monarch above them, but rather than a direct exploitative relationship, the monarch and the people have a relationship of mutual interest. Anyway, when one side becomes stronger, the other side becomes weaker, so they have to keep each other in check until they die, but with the support of the people, it becomes much easier to keep the power of these vassals in check. Therefore, a monarch who has the ability to break through the veil of bureaucrats and improve the lives of the people can gain an advantage in the power game with his subjects. And since the power of a subject is divided among several subjects, when the subjects are properly divided, there are many cases where they compete for loyalty to the monarch. In a situation where each party is a political enemy and has interests that are difficult to share, it is difficult to see the structure in which the subjects all unite to oppose the monarch unless the monarch is quite a villain. This was exactly the case with the ancestors of Joseon . However, if the subjects take the approach of reducing the royal authority first, there will be no answer.

In European history, after the Roman Empire lost its western territories, the western territories were in chaos. Around the 9th century , the Frankish Kingdom conquered and integrated most of Western Europe, which stabilized most of Western Europe, but soon the Frankish Kingdom was divided. As the royal authority weakened and foreigners invaded, local officials and landowners strengthened their power and took the lead, opposing the king and growing by keeping each other in check. Based on this, the 16th to 18th centuries were sometimes called the era of the financial-military state . The monarchs of this period succeeded in strengthening royal power using mercantilism , standing armies , and the theory of divine right to the king , and succeeded in laying the foundation for a modern state.

In Korean history , there is a perception that a lot of national development occurred during periods when the royal authority was strong, and that there were times when the royal authority weakened due to the strife between interest groups. Without giving many examples, there is a large and excellent example of the power politics of Goguryeo or Joseon in the mid-600s, when Yeon Gaesomun held sway over the nation . It teaches the history and what happened to Goguryeo and Joseon when they were trapped in a civil war between great nobles such as the Chugun and the three princes or when real power was taken away by a powerful family. In general, one large group is more powerful than several small groups, has greater room for development, and has a better ability to respond in times of crisis (the same is true in world history). When the monarch becomes weak, the central power weakens, and it becomes difficult to stop various groups from prioritizing only their own interests. And in that case, the immediately available budget/manpower/etc. will be less than if there were one large group, so it may not be possible right away, but in the long run, what you can put out will decline. The activities of several small groups are often worse than those of one large group, and even if they prosper, they have limitations such as specialization in specific fields. Joining hands and collaborating is not easy, as past examples show. Excluding the United States, Russia, and recently China, modern weapons development has reached its limits in terms of manpower/funds/technology and economies of scale, so efforts are being made to collaborate, but due to mutual interests, there are many cases where a breakdown occurs or the ship goes uphill.

In early modern Europe, each of the prosperous countries had developed capitalism and central administrative power, and these sophisticated systems led to the development of Europe, while countries that did not do so split up and disappeared, like Poland.[5] In modern times, the status of most monarchs has fallen to the level of a madman. The ultimate king in this field is the Emperor of Japan, who has no right to even own private property . However, that refers to Europe or East Asia , and even today, in the Arab world , there is a despotic monarchy where a monarch wields power .


Since he is the final decision-maker in state affairs, the workload, which includes all kinds of education, approvals, interviews, tours, etc., is no joke, and of course the number of monarchs who have died from overwork is also immeasurable. Moreover, there are many monarchs who become mentally exhausted and die of fire due to experiencing all kinds of difficult situations at the top. Well, in a country that enjoys absolute royal authority, it is theoretically possible to play and eat, but in reality, it is not easy to do so because you are the head of a country and the fate of the country is determined by the choices you make. In other words, as it is the highest position, the responsibility that comes with it is also very great and heavy. No matter how sweet power and money are, the ruling class is ultimately a member of society, and if the foundation of society is shaken, they will commit corruption and lose what they have before they can commit corruption. Therefore, if the king goes astray, there is no choice but to say that he should be better at politics.

Situations like the Prince's Rebellion, in which relatives were blinded by power and fought each other to secure the position of monarch, were not uncommon, and it is safe to say that there were almost no monarchs who did not experience such situations. Because he was the person leading the country, the responsibility imposed on him was quite heavy, and as he was the backbone of power, he rarely lived freely. As it was a position that required responsibility, handling national affairs was basic, and grooming yourself neatly was also essential as even a small action could harm your reputation. Therefore, it was never just a dream job for a monarch to live freely while enjoying omnipotent power. In reality, it could be seen as closer to living a life where one takes on all kinds of responsibilities and is therefore required to be more responsible than free.

Although it varies depending on the culture, the monarch is in a position to perform the duties of a civil servant and a military officer at the same time, so in some cases, he or she must lead the war. In Korean history, there were many cases of monarchs during the Three Kingdoms period , when wars were frequent , and in world history, Napoleon Bonaparte was a representative figure who traveled the battlefield as a monarch. Therefore, monarchs have many different types of clothing. There is also casual clothing, party clothing for participating in proms, and even armor because, as mentioned above, in some cases it is necessary to go to the battlefield . Therefore, a monarch is required to have both civil and military skills. However, there are cases where the monarch does not rule personally, such as during the Joseon Dynasty .

Since the fate of countless people changes depending on one's choice, a sense of responsibility, duty, and high morality are essential virtues for a monarch. Of course, one cannot lead state affairs well simply by possessing normative virtues such as responsibility, duty, and morality, so skills such as charisma, financial power, and social skills are also virtues required as a monarch.

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The monarch is a position where the authority of the state is concentrated, and therefore responsibility is also concentrated. In particular, in the old days when national administration, human capacity, solidarity, and other factors were not supported, it was difficult for the monarch to integrate and maintain the country, and if there were any gaps, it became very difficult to maintain the country or dynasty. Especially in ancient times, they had no relationship to get close to each other and had to take on the role of uniting the forces that were living in divisions without any relationship with each other, making them loyal and at least obedient to themselves and their group, and uniting them with their group to make them one. Naturally, it is easy for groups that are not the main power to develop a desire to overthrow, because the monarch and main power above them have no connection with them. Even within the main power, there were those who wanted to bring down the king and become king themselves, so the monarch had to manage the country while being wary of both inside and outside.

Of course, Mencius , as shown in the example of the theory of revolution, was different from the major ideas of the time, so this was not common. At that time, it was taken for granted that the powerful person created, pioneered, developed, and took over, and Mencius was a thinker whose thoughts were very different from those around him even by the standards of the time.

In the case of Korean history, the story of the founding of Silla in <Samgukyusa> fragmentarily shows how the king was interpreted at the time when the six villages originally in Gyeongju were about to be integrated into one.

This anecdote from the Samguk Yusa explains that, at least on an external level, the monarch was not simply a high-ranking figure but had a special responsibility to benefit the people.

In the Book of Samuel in the Bible , there is also an account of the birth of a king, and the conversation between Samuel and the elders takes place against the backdrop of the time when Israel introduced monarchy.

Here, we see the conflict between the secular force represented by the 'King' and the religious force represented by Yahweh (typically, they have rejected me and will no longer make me their king, but warn them sternly and let them know what the authority of the king to rule over them is). If the religious force does this, you will escape from the embrace of God. (Only then will you cry out for the king you chose , but then the Lord will not respond), etc. Although he hated the growth of worldly power while speaking, it shows that in the end, a king was born due to the demands of reality. Religious forces give in to secular forces.

Of course, taking it for granted was not the end, so the monarch always had to live while fighting against the possibility of civil war and civil war in the country. For example, when there is a bad harvest, word spreads, "It was because the king was immoral," and the king attacks when the king sees an opportunity, such as in the case of Joseon, where it is said that such things happen because he is dishonest, or in the case of the king of Buyeo , who is expelled or killed. did

This was the same with Europe, and after the Roman Empire, the powerful people did to the place and settled down and put the Lee Hap -san under the powerful person, and Europe had all kinds of court conspiracy and rebellion, controlling them, taking various measures, and dragging religion . He tried to rule over the new question . The new kingship was even taken for granted in the civil war in England , but even these sources of kingship were also the basis for the minority sects of each region to attack the royal family during the Reformation . Because the Kingship theory is an idea that advocates the 'who has been sovereignty by the Lord' as a king, because if the premise of "the authority of the Lord" is broken, he cannot be regarded as king. For example , for the English Catholics after the French Wiggnos and Elizabeth I, their monarchs were not considered to be a king who was governed by the Lord. In this sense, it can be said that there is some aspect of the mencius 'revolutionary theory, and the Mencius' revolutionary theory can be used to expel the power of defending the king who was granted by the thousand people , but not to receive a thousand people. That's why.

For reference, there is a saying that ' the 20th century was the grave of monarchs.' This is because , through the turbulent times of the 20th century, the dynasties of most countries, including the Korean Empire , the German Empire , the Austro-Hungarian Empire , the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire , the Qing Dynasty , and the Kingdom of Egypt, literally disappeared. In the 1910s[6] Before World War I, the Korean Empire collapsed due to the Gyeongsul National Rule , the Qing Dynasty collapsed due to the Xinhai Revolution, and at the end of World War I, the emperors of the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russian Empire, and Ottoman Empire were all expelled.[7] After World War II, the Kingdom of Italy , Bulgaria , Romania , and Yugoslavia[9] Eastern European kings were kicked out en masse. As the 1950s and 1960s passed , Middle Eastern kings, including the Kingdom of Egypt , the Kingdom of Iraq , and the Kingdom of Libya, were ousted through coups one after another, and the monarchies of the Kingdom of Afghanistan in 1973, the Empire of Ethiopia in 1974 , the Kingdom of Laos in 1975 , and the Empire of Iran in 1979 collapsed one after another, causing monarchies around the world to fall like dominoes . In this way, many dynasties in Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Americas disappeared.

Write only the last time the monarchy was abolished.

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If the reigning monarch does not set the successor, the Bowie may be temporarily vacant, which is called the public age . Of course, if you are lucky, the public age will end temporarily, but if the royal offspring will be cut off or the problem of the throne is not solved, and the throne inheritance between the royal family and the political forces may last for decades for decades for decades. A typical example is the Great Premiers of the Holy Roman Empire . In fact, in the case of modern times, the monarchy will be abolished and the republic will be converted to the Republic, but in the ancient and the Middle Ages, the Republican system was not common, and because the monarchy was just the basis, the royal family was cut off or the throne was vacant , or the throne was vacant . It often occurred.

In unusual cases, the nationality is a monarchy, but there are occasional things that regents ruling the state without a monarch . In this case, in this case, it is impossible for the power to be directly on the throne because it does not have the conditions to succeed the throne, such as the lineage, but the authority of the old royal family is used when you want to use it. The representative one is the Hungarian kingdom that appeared after the collapse of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire , and Admiral Horti Microcy has committed the regent of the Hungarian kingdom, but the Austrian-Hungarian emperor, who claims the throne of the Hungarian throne, is trying to expel the Carl I. Admiral was a strange appearance in which the Admiral ruled the kingdom without a king .

Another example is Francisco Franco who won the Spanish Civil War The Spanish under the governor's rule , Franco , was the regent of the Spanish kingdom, but did not establish the king in his life. It was the result of the overlapping Barcelona County, who was the first inheritance to the throne, and the guitar, and the guitar. After he died, Juan Carlos I was established, and Spain faced a true monarchy .

Greece under General Georges Papadopoulos was also a kingdom without a king . When General Papadopoulos staged a coup in 1967, Constantine II, the king of Greece at the time , planned a counter coup to oust Papadopoulos, but failed and went into exile. Afterwards, Papadopoulos claimed to be the regent of the Kingdom of Greece and played the role of regent of a kingdom without a king for a while, but in 1973, he abolished the monarchy and converted to a republic. However, he soon resigned due to student protests, and his successor, General Pezikis, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Turkey in the Cyprus War, putting an end to the Greek military regime . In 1974, a referendum was held to ask whether to restore the monarchy , but the response was so indifferent that the restoration was canceled. This was largely due to the fact that Constantine II once supported a military regime and lost public support.

In the creative work, it goes one step further than this real-life example, and the Kingdom of Gondor in The Lord of the Rings has no descendants to inherit the throne and has no close relatives, so the royal line is cut off, and when the last king, Earnur , goes missing, Hurin is left without a king. It has a strange national system in which families rule by proxy as regents, and the Hurin family rules Gondor by passing down the position of regent for generations , making them virtually kings, but they cannot call themselves kings. You cannot sit on a throne or use a crown or scepter .[45] Instead, a white baton is used to represent the power of the regent.

After the death of King Rama IX in October 2016, Thailand postponed the crown prince 's ascension to the throne on the grounds that he needed time to mourn the late king , and the throne remained vacant for two months until the crown prince was officially enthroned in December 2016, and the Privy Council met. There was an ironic situation where there was a crown prince but no king, as Zhang took over the role of king as regent. King Bhumibol was a highly respected figure in Thailand , and Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn had a worse image than his predecessor due to issues with his personal life, so it was considered rude for his son, Crown Prince, to immediately ascend to the throne without a funeral as soon as his father died. What happened.

In the British Commonwealth, to which Canada and Australia belong, Queen Elizabeth II of England reigned as a monarch. Although Elizabeth II regularly visits countries belonging to the Commonwealth, such as Canada and Australia, she usually resides in the United Kingdom . Although countries are monarchies, they do not have a resident monarch, and instead, the role of the monarch is represented by a governor sent by the British monarch. In fact, it is a formality that the British King sends the Governor-General, and in practice, the British King nominally appoints a person recommended by the Prime Minister from among the locals as Governor-General.

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These people are usually people who call themselves the nominal monarchs of a country in republican countries where the monarchy has been abolished and demand restoration of the monarchy or succession to the throne. In the case of France, not only the Bourbon dynasty of Louis In England , there are claimants to the throne of the Kingdom of Hanover who claim to be the royal family of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which was dissolved by the independence of Ireland , as well as the Jacobites who support the Stuart dynasty , and there are all kinds of other claimants to the throne. Religious leaders Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism and Islam There is also a view that the Ahmadiyya sect's Khalifa is seen as the successor to this monarchy in a broad sense.