Heungseon Daewongun played dumb for YEARS to protect his son. Then went full dictator.

Before his son became King Gojong, the Daewongun deliberately acted like an incompetent nobody — drinking, gambling, hanging out with commoners — so the Andong Kim clan wouldn't see him as a threat. The moment his son took the throne in 1863? Mask off. He rebuilt Gyeongbokgung Palace, purged the power clans, closed most seowon academies, and basically told Western powers to get lost. The man went from "lol he's harmless" to "I AM the government" in about five minutes. Historical method acting at its finest.