in the hierarchy of the king's harem, after the Queen. An example is Royal Noble Consort Hui of the Indong Jang clan, personal name Jang Ok-jeong, was a consort of King Sukjong of Joseon and mother of Gyeongjong. She was the Queen of Joseon from 1689 until her deposition, in 1694. However, to become a jungin, passing the chapkwa examination, which tested their practical knowledge of certain skills, was usually required. The jungin besides being known as a section of the middle-class, they were the smallest social class in dynastic Korea. The Korean jungin, as a social class, were roughly analogous to the middle-class in Europe. Local functionaries in the rural areas were basically equal to petty bureaucrats. Famous jungin Jungin were prominent especially in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when they tended to welcome Western institutions and ideas for modernizing Korea. Yu Dae-chi (a.k.a. Yu Hong-gi) Oh Gyeong-sok and his son, Oh Se-chang Byeon Su Kim Kyu-sik Choe Nam-seon See also Baekjeong Cheonmin Daeryeong Suksu Sangmin Yangban References External links infoKorea Korean caste system Social classes Society of the Joseon dynasty