Yi Seonggye orders burning of Goryeo royal records

1392

The founder of Joseon had the archives of the deposed Goryeo dynasty purged of compromising documents linking him to earlier service under the old regime. Court historians rewrote the narrative to present Yi as a reluctant savior thrust forward by heavenly mandate. The historiographical cleanup reflected an early Joseon commitment to moral self-presentation as Confucian restorers of proper governance.