Im Kkeok Jeong

One of Korea's most legendary real-life "outlaw heroes" was the Joseon-era outlaw Im Kkeok-jeong (Kr. name 임꺽정; 林巪正. Born ?-1562). While very little is known of him in the English language, his story was made into the 1996-97 TV drama from South Korean broadcaster SBS that shares his name. In 16th century Joseon dynasty-era Korea, the yangban aristrocracy who governed the countryside were imposing a multitude of taxes on the ordinary peasants. They were having to pay land taxes, military taxes, corvee taxes, and tribute taxes, which were the hardest-hitting. In addition, the land allotments of the yangban were growing ever-larger and the peasants were losing land. They were growing more and more desperate by the hour.