朝鮮王朝自世宗朝以降，開創了不同於明代中國君權高漲，仍相對尊重士大夫之權的政治文化，使道學儒者在朝鮮半島仍有得君行道的夢想空間。趙光祖（字孝直，號靜菴，1482-1519）等「己卯」諸儒一度致力於「回向三代」的改革大業；然而朝鮮王朝開國之初的特殊形勢，所造成其政治上特有的「勳舊」政治勢力一直存在，一再與朝鮮的道學士大夫發生權力矛盾與嚴重衝突，因而使朝鮮道學儒者面對著「士禍」危機的歷史脈絡，身處士禍的陰影。李滉（字景浩，號退溪，1501-1570）對道學儒者趙光祖執政失敗之歷史教訓的反省，使朝鮮儒者不同於明代中國儒者以反朱求改革，反而選擇在朱子學思想中更加向內深入，也使得朱子學在朝鮮進入發展、詮釋與深化時期。

From the time of Sejong the Great 世宗大王(r. 1418-1450), the Korean royal court established a political culture that continued to respect the authority of scholar-officials, in contrast to the Ming dynasty, which was the highpoint of imperial authority in China. This meant that Neo-Confucians on the Korean peninsula could still dream of winning the ruler’s trust to implement the Way. Jo Gwang-jo (조광조, 趙光祖) and other Neo-Confucians who fell victim to the Third Literati Purge of 1519, were once dedicated to the “return to the Three Dynasties”reformist cause. However, circumstances at the foundation of the Kingdom of Joseon had allowed the so-called Hungu faction to maintain its political strength. Time and again, the Hungu faction came into serious conflict with the Neo-Confucians, who, as a result, were faced with a series of purges and thrown into crisis. In the wake of these literati purges, Neo- Confucians in Joseon led by Yi Hwang (이황, 李滉) reflected on the historical lessons of Jo Gwang-jo’s failure in office. Unlike Ming Neo-Confucians, who turned their backs on Zhu Xi’s ideas and sought reform, Joseon Neo- Confucians chose to turn inward and explore his theories more deeply. This resulted in a period of development, re-interpretation, and deepening of the Cheng-Zhu school in Joseon.