Late Joseon Chief State Councillor at the center of Pungyang Jo in-law power, also an epigrapher; art name Unseok; posthumous title Munchung
| Life | 1782 ~ 1850 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 풍양 조씨 |
Jo In-yeong (1782-1850), courtesy name Huigyeong, art name Unseok, posthumous title Munchung, belonged to the Pungyang Jo clan. His father was Minister of Personnel Jo Jin-gwan, his grandfather Jo Eom, and his elder brother Jo Man-yeong (1776-1846) was the maternal grandfather of King Heonjong. He placed first in the regular civil examination in 1819 (Sunjo 19) and became Senior Fourth Counselor; after reporting as secret royal inspector of Hamgyeong in 1822 he was specially promoted to Inspector General, and went on to posts such as governor of Gyeongsang, Vice Minister of Personnel, Principal of Seonggyungwan and Vice Minister of Rites.
When Heonjong took the throne in 1834 he became Minister of Personnel, and after serving as Grand Academician and Minister of Revenue and of Punishments he became Right State Councillor in 1839 and Chief State Councillor in 1841. Around then Heonjong began to rule in person and the Pungyang Jo are described as overpowering the Andong Kim; after his brother's death in 1846 he lost influence and withdrew. When Cheoljong took the throne in 1849 he was again named Chief State Councillor but soon died of illness.
His leading role in the 1839 Gihae persecution of Catholics, including drafting the royal edict Cheoksa Yunum, is today viewed negatively. On the other hand, in more than a decade as a minister he often proposed measures for state finances and livelihood; learned in epigraphy, he worked with Kim Jeong-hui to authenticate the Jinheung monument at Bibong on Bukhansan, and in 1847 as chief compiler led the Gukjo Bogam. His collected works Unseok Yugo (20 volumes) were published in 1868, and he was skilled in writing, calligraphy and painting.
After Heonjong's accession he became Minister of Personnel, and as Chief State Councillor in 1841 he is described as consolidating Pungyang Jo power. He lost influence after his brother's death, was again named Chief State Councillor soon after Cheoljong's accession and died in 1850.
He is recorded as a leader of the 1839 Gihae persecution. The suppression of Catholics caused many deaths and is remembered as emblematic of the court's anti-heterodoxy policy.
In 1816 he is said to have met Qing epigraphers in Beijing and given them rubbings of Korean inscriptions; after returning he and Kim Jeong-hui identified the monument at Bibong, which contributed to the compilation of Haedong Geumseogwon. In 1847 he headed the compilation of the Gukjo Bogam covering the reigns of Jeongjo and Sunjo and the regency of Munjo (Ikjong).
Because Queen Sinjeong was the daughter of his elder brother Jo Man-yeong, he was her uncle and Heonjong's maternal great-uncle. Jo Yeong-ha was adopted into his line as a grandson.