Jeon Woo-chi (, 14?? ~ 15??) was a

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

scholar during the

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

dynasty of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. He is known by many as the most prominent "sorcerer" in Korean history, and a representative

trickster In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...

from old Korean literature. His

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ''ho'' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by East Asian artists, poets and writers. The ...

was Woosa (), which means "featherman". Though he was a Taoist heretic, he studied

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

under

Seo Gyeong-deok Seo Gyeongdeok (1489–1546) was a Korean Neo-Confucianist philosopher during the Joseon Dynasty. His philosophy studied materialism and phenomenology based on ancient taoist philosophy theories absorbed by neoconfucianism, like Yin and Yang ...

Stories about his life

According to the '' Complete Works from Azure Residence'' by Yi Deok-moo, when Jeon was very young, he went to a mountain temple to study in solitude. One day, the rice wine which was brewed at the temple vanished. The monks scolded Jeon, accusing him of drinking it. Jeon was aggrieved and upset, so he decided to hunt down the true culprit. He waited beside the wine jugs until twilight. At dusk, a

nine-tailed fox The nine-tailed fox () is a mythical fox entity originating from Chinese mythology that is a common motif in East Asian mythology and the most famous fox spirit in Chinese culture. In Chinese and East Asian folklore, foxes are depicted as spiri ...

came out from the forest and drank the wine until she was drunk. Jeon jumped out and tied her up with some rope. The fox offered him her

grimoire A grimoire ( ) (also known as a "book of spells" or a "spellbook") is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and ...

if he would release her. Jeon accepted that and became a sorcerer through studying the fox's grimoire. In another version of the story from one the Ilsamungo-version of the '' Tale of Jeon Woo-chi'', young Jeon and a fox (who was shaped like a woman) loved each other. One day while they kissed each other, the fox's magical marble went into Jeon's mouth, and he swallowed it. Then she, abashed, ran away and he absorbed the marble's power, becoming a sorcerer. According to the '' Unofficial History of the East Land'', one day between 1522 and 1566, Yi Gil's farm (which is in today's

Bupyeong District Bupyeong District (Bupyeong-gu) is one of the 10 administrative divisions (eight municipal districts and two counties) that comprise Incheon, South Korea. Bupyeong-gu comprises an area of 12.35 square miles (31.98 square km), and has a population ...

) was suffering from an epidemic, and Yi's serfs and neighbors were ill in bed. Then Jeon visited Yi and expelled a disease.《 대동야승》중 �
송와잡설
〉

Death

As he was Taoist heretic, if not anarchistic, there are some legends that Jeon opposed the Joseon dynastic government and the king. By one account, he ended up with being arrested and put to death by execution. Some time later, Cha Sick, who was Jeon's alumnus under Seo Gyeong-deok, was visited by Jeon. Jeon borrowed Cha ''Anthology of

Du Fu Du Fu (; 712–770) was a Tang dynasty poet and politician. Along with his elder contemporary and friend Li Bai (Li Po), he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets.Ebrey, 103. His greatest ambition was to serve his country as ...

'' and went away. Cha had known nothing about Jeon's death, so he talked about this to other alumni. Surprised, they dig up Jeon's tomb and opened the coffin to find there was no body.

Popular culture

* Portrayed by

Kang Dong-won Gang Dong-won (born January 18, 1981) is a South Korean actor. Early life Gang Dong-won was born January 18, 1981, in Busan, and grew up in Changwon of Gyeongsangnam-do. His father, Gang Cheol-woo, was an engineer and later vice president of ...

in the 2009 film '' Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard''. * Portrayed by

Cha Tae-hyun Cha Tae-hyun (; born March 25, 1976) is a South Korean actor, singer, television personality, radio DJ and director. He is best known for his lead roles in the box-office hit comedies ''My Sassy Girl'' (2001), ''Scandal Makers'' (2008), ''Hello ...

in the 2012-2013

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

TV series ''

Jeon Woo-chi Jeon Woo-chi (, 14?? ~ 15??) was a Taoist scholar during the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He is known by many as the most prominent "sorcerer" in Korean history, and a representative trickster from old Korean literature. His art name was Woosa (), w ...

''. * Portrayed by Lee Se-chang in the 2016 MBC TV series ''

The Flower in Prison ''Flowers of the Prison'' () is a 2016 South Korean drama television series starring Jin Se-yeon, Go Soo, Kim Mi-sook, Jung Joon-ho, Park Joo-mi, Yoon Joo-hee, , Jun Kwang-ryul and Choi Tae-joon. It is MBC's special project drama to commemorat ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeon, Woo-chi 15th-century Korean people 16th-century Korean people 15th-century births 16th-century deaths Korean Taoists Tricksters 16th-century Taoists