The Sarim (sometimes Saarim), or "forest of scholars", was a powerful faction of literati who emerged in the Early Joseon period under Gil Jae, and would later come to dominate Middle and Late Joseon politics in Korea. After outliving the Hungu faction, the Sarim faction experienced several breakups during and after the reign of King Seonjo (1567–1608) into the Western and Eastern factions; these factions would also experience their very own splits in the coming years. By the 19th century, Joseon court politics would see a shift in control from scholarly factions towards the 'in-law families'; for most of the 19th century, the Jangdong branch of the Andong Kim clan was in control of the government.
History
Early beginnings
The philosophical lineage of the Sarim scholars originated from the neo-Confucian school of Gil Jae (1353–1419), a Goryeo scholar who studied under Yi Saek and Jeong Mong-ju. After the fall of the Goryeo dynasty, he retreated to his home village refusing to serve the new Joseon dynasty despite King Taejong's request. Gil Jae concentrated on cultivating a new generation of neo-Confucian scholars including Kim Suk-ja and his son Kim Jong-jik.
When King Seongjong (1469–1495) became the ninth king of Joseon, he invited Kim Jong-jik and his disciples, who came to be called Sarim scholars, to his court and supported their political growth. They primarily served in so-called Three Offices, from which challenged the entrenched "Hungu" officials, who accumulated great power and wealth by supporting King Sejo when he usurped the throne from his nephew.
Struggle with Hungu faction
In their conflict with the established Hungu faction, the Sarim faction suffered a series of bloody purges during the reigns of Yeonsangun, Jungjong, and Myeongjong. They enjoyed a brief period of power during Jungjong's reign through Kim Gueng-pil's disciple Jo Gwang-jo, who pursued radical reforms to transform Joseon into an idealistic neo-Confucian society.
However, the Sarim faction, whose origin stems from denial of the legitimacy of Joseon dynasty, was vulnerable to Hungu's attacks because it questioned the legitimacy of King Sejo's usurpation and primarily engaged in the censorate role against the king and ministers. After four major purges that saw Jo Gwang-jo and many others executed, the Sarim scholars again retreated to rural villages where they continued to spread their philosophy through local schools called seowon and maintained their power base through the system of Hyang'yak.
While the Hungu faction declined over the years without any ideological successor to replace it, the Sarim faction maintained its identity through the "martydom" of the earlier generation and came to dominate court politics during the reign of King Seonjo in the latter half of the 16th century. By then, Sarim philosophy coalesced around the teachings of the philosophers Yi Hwang and Yi I. From that time, the Sarim faction maintained political power for much of the Joseon dynasty.
Factional struggle
After the Sarim faction replaced the Hungu faction as the predominant political force in the late 16th century, a nationwide split occurred between the Eastern faction (Dong-in) and Western faction (Seo-in). Political divisions intensified even further as the Eastern faction in turn split between the hard-line Northern faction (Buk-in) and the moderate Southern faction (Nam-in) and the Western factions split between the Old Doctrine (Noron) and the Young Doctrine (Soron).
These factional splits grew out of allegiance to different philosophical schools and regional differences. For instance, the Eastern faction was largely Yeongnam-based, and its subfaction Southerners were mainly followers of Yi Hwang while Northerners coalesced around the school of Jo Shik. Gyeonggi and the Chungcheong-based Western faction were largely followers of Yi I, of which the followers of Seong Hon then split to form the Soron faction, while Song Siyeol's followers became the Noron faction. These divisions were often further driven by questions concerning royal succession or appropriate royal conduct. The factions were often named after the location of their leader's house.