Hyojong (Korean: 효종; Hanja: 孝宗; 3 July 1619 – 23 June 1659), personal name Yi Ho (이호; 李淏), was the 17th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea.
In 1623, when the Westerners faction (西人) launched a coup that removed then-ruling Gwanghaegun and crowned Injo, Hyojong was called to the palace along with his father and given the title Grand Prince Bongrim in 1626.
Along with his brother, he made contact with Europeans while he was in China; and also he learned that Joseon needed to develop new technology and a stronger political and military system in order to protect itself from foreign powers.
After rising to the throne, he began to reform and expand the military of Korea; first he removed Kim Ja-jeom, who had corrupted politics and had greater power than the king himself.
Then, he called Song Si-yeol (송시열; 宋時烈) and Kim Sang-heon to his court, who supported war against the Qing Dynasty.
150 Joseon musketeers, along with 3,000 Manchus, met the Russian army at the Battle of Hutong (호통; 好通), present-day Yilan, which was won by the Qing–Joseon allied forces.
He had too much stress dealing with numerous problems inside and outside of the country, and suddenly died at the early age of 39 in 1659 from a small boil on his face.
[3] Although his plan for northern conquest was never put in action, many people regard him as a brilliant and brave ruler who dedicated his life to serving his nation.