King Heonjong

Heonjong was the 24th king of Joseon, ascending the throne in 1834 at just eight years old, which makes him one of the youngest monarchs in the dynasty's history. Because of his youth, the early years of his reign were governed under a regency by the queen dowager, and his time on the throne was marked by the in-law politics in which powerful royal relatives held sway. In 1839 the Gihae Persecution, a suppression of Catholicism, took place, and he died young without leaving a clear heir. He was later posthumously honored as an emperor when the Korean Empire was founded.