failure of his reforms. Yi Hwang and Yi I, often considered Joseon's two greatest Confucian philosophers, lamented that he entered politics too early before his scholarship was completed and pursued his reforms too rapidly. Nevertheless, Yi Hwang praised him as one of "Four Wise of the East" along with Kim Gwoeng-pil, Jeong Yeo-chang, and Yi Eonjeok and said that Jo showed the direction for all seonbis to aim and follow and unveiled the foundation of governing a country. Jo Gwangjo's emphasis on neo-Confucian ethics as practical philosophy has been very influential as the previous focus has been on more literary aspects of Confucianism. It was also during his time that Confucianism finally took roots deeply among the common populace. Even though Confucianism was the official state religion since the founding of Joseon Dynasty, Confucian practices were largely limited to aristocratic class. His dream of making neo-Confucianism the predominant philosophy of Joseon was soon accomplished by the reign of Seonjo, fifty years after his death. He was canonized and enshrined in the Seonggyungwan in 1610, one of only eighteen Korean Confucian scholars so honored by the Joseon Dynasty. However, Sarim faction that venerated Jo Gwangjo's name did not attempt to carry out his reforms when they seized political power during Seonjo's reign and all the while they maintained power until the end of Joseon dynasty. Some people blame Jo Gwangjo for dogmatism of Korean Neo-Confucianism, which became very conservative and caused Korea to resist changes and new learnings from abroad. Today his name remains a byword for reform in Korea, and his example is often raised when there is a controversy about a reform. Modern portrayal Jo Gwangjo was the protagonist of 1996 KBS TV series Jo Gwangjo and was a prominent character in 2001 SBS TV series Ladies of the Palace. In MBC TV series Dae Jang Geum (2003-4), he does not appear as a character, but his name is mentioned frequently (often as Jo Jung-ahm) as the political foe of fictitious villain Right Minister Oh. Main protagonist Jang-geum and Lady Han are falsely accused of being in conspiracy with Jo Gwangjo while male protagonist Min Jung-ho is portrayed as his supporter (Min Jung-ho found a doctor for him and is shown recruiting his followers to return to politics). In the musical version of Dae Jang Geum, Jo Gwangjo is a prominent character as a friend of Min Jung-ho. In