Week 10. My Recent Wikipedia Edits - Jeong seolah (정설아)

I made several edits to the Wikipedia page for 'Joseon'. 

Joseon was a Korean dynasty that ruled the Korean Peninsula for over five centuries, from 1392 to 1897. It was established by Taejo of Joseon after the fall of the Goryeo Dynasty, initially with the capital in Kaesong, and later moved to Seoul, which remains Korea’s capital today. Officially known as Great Joseon, the kingdom expanded its territory northward by pushing back the Jurchens, eventually reaching the Amnok (Yalu) and Tuman (Tumen) Rivers, forming its natural northern borders.

Below is a summary of the changes I contributed

1. toward the Western civilizations and China → toward Western civilizations and China

Removed the article "the" because it's unnecessary before plural, non-specific nouns

2. support of the many Silhak scholars → support of many Silhak scholars

Omitted "the" to sound more natural and less formal in this context

3. political faction → political factions

Corrected singular to plural to match the context where multiple factions are implied

4. which were established → which was established

Fixed subject-verb agreement. "System" is singular, so the verb should be "was"

5. declared Seven Grievances → declared the Seven Grievances

Added "the" because the Seven Grievances is a specific, named historical document.

6. fire arrows in form of singijeon → fire arrows in the form of singijeon

Added "the" to complete the correct English expression "in the form of".

7. The only purpose for the Joseon → The only purpose of the Joseon

Changed preposition from "for" to "of" for more accurate expression of possession.

8. piracy on sea → piracy on the sea

Added "the" to refer to "the sea" as a known general concept.

9. accused Queen Yun to death → accused Queen Yun of death

Corrected the verb-preposition pairing. "Accuse of" is the correct idiom.

10. higher echelon → higher echelons

Changed to plural because more than one echelon (level) is likely meant

11. were done for his own power → were made for his own power

Replaced "done" with "made" for more natural phrasing in formal writing.

12. in a written form → in written form

Removed "a" for a more idiomatic expression.

13. with the general Kim Chongsŏ → with general Kim Chongsŏ

Removed "the" to follow standard usage when referring to military titles

14. In the beginning of Taejong's reign → At the beginning of Taejong's reign

"At the beginning" is the correct collocation in time expressions.

15. prohibiting political involvement of princes → prohibiting the political involvement of princes

Added "the" to specify and improve flow.

16. In the beginning of his reign → At the beginning of his reign

Same as #14, for grammatical accuracy.

17. loyal to Goryeo dynasty → loyal to the Goryeo dynasty

Added "the" for proper noun usage.

18. one favouring neutrality → one favoring neutrality

Changed British English spelling "favouring" to American English "favoring".

19. legacy to modern Korea → legacy in modern Korea

Corrected preposition to better express influence within a place.

20. faced persecutions → faced persecution

Changed to uncountable noun for natural usage.

Here is the link. 

Joseon - Wikipedia

2) Any new, interesting, or unusual items learned

First, I was surprised to find out that Taejong executed not only his political rivals but also his wife’s four brothers and even his son’s father-in-law, Shim On, in order to eliminate potential threats and solidify royal authority. This showed the extreme measures he was willing to take to centralize power.

Second, despite his harsh actions, he also established the Sinmun Office, which allowed common people to directly appeal against injustices committed by aristocrats or officials. I found it fascinating that such a system existed in the early Joseon period, indicating a certain level of responsiveness to the concerns of ordinary citizens.

Third, Taejong reformed the taxation system and uncovered previously hidden land, which doubled the national income. I found this to be a very impressive example of effective administrative reform in the early Joseon dynasty.

Lastly, he changed the decision-making process of the royal court by requiring all decisions made by the State Council to be approved by the king. This effectively ended ministerial autonomy and brought absolute power to the monarch, which was quite striking compared to modern constitutional systems.

Overall, I found his reign both ruthless and visionary, and these facts helped me better understand how strong leadership shaped early Joseon governance.

3) Identify at least one question, concern, or discussion angle

While editing the “Joseon” article, I noticed many sentences that lacked articles (like "the" or "a") or contained awkward phrasing. This made me wonder how much Wikipedia’s readability and reliability are affected by small grammatical issues—especially in articles about non-Western topics that may have been written by non-native English speakers.

So my question is to what extent do minor grammar errors or missing articles affect a reader’s trust in the content of a Wikipedia article, even if the information is factually accurate?