Yun Hoe

(1380 - 1436)

Yun Hoe was deputy director of the Hall of Worthies, a scholarly institution founded by Joseon monarch Sejong in 1420. One of its tasks was inventing the Korean alphabet. Buddhism had been a state religion since the sixth century, but by the time of Sejong, neo-Confucianism had taken over as the animating religion for politics. Yun Hoe was among those who believed Buddhism to be the “law of barbarians” and, hoping to lessen its influence on government, urged the destruction of pagodas and the burning of sutras.