Pak P'aengnyŏn (; 1417 – 7 June 1456) was a scholar-official of the early

Joseon Dynasty Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

, and is known as one of the

six martyred ministers The six martyred ministers or Sayuksin () were six ministers of the Joseon Dynasty who were executed by King Sejo in 1456 for plotting to assassinate him and restore the former king Danjong to the throne. The Six were Sŏng Sammun, Pak Pae ...

. He was born to a

yangban The ''yangban'' () were part of the traditional ruling class or gentry of dynastic Korea during the Joseon period. The ''yangban'' were mainly composed of highly educated civil officials and military officers—landed or unlanded aristocrats wh ...

family of the Suncheon Pak clan, and was the son of high minister

Pak Chungnim Pak or PAK may refer to: Places * Pakistan (country code PAK) * Pak, Afghanistan * Pakpak Bharat, a regency in North Sumatra, Indonesia * Pak Island, in the Admiralty Islands group of Papua New Guinea * Pak Tea House, a café in Lahore, Punj ...

. He passed the lower national service examination at a royal visitation in 1434, and was later appointed to the

Hall of Worthies The Hall of Worthies, or Jiphyeonjeon (; ), was a Korean royal research institute during the Joseon period. It was founded by King Sejong the Great in the 3rd month of 1420, and dissolved in the 6th month of 1456. The Hall of Worthies is known f ...

Sejong Sejong (; 15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), commonly known as Sejong the Great (), was the fourth monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He is regarded as the greatest ruler in Korean history, and is remembered as the inventor of Hangul, the n ...

. In the 1440s, he participated with other members of the Hall of Worthies in the creation of the ''

Hunminjeongeum () is a 15th-century manuscript that introduced the Korean script Hangul. The name of the manuscript was also the original name of the script. King Sejong the Great commissioned the royal research institute Hall of Worthies to write the '' ...

'' and the creation of the

Hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

alphabet. He passed the higher literary examination in 1447, and rose to vice-minister of justice under Danjong in 1454. He was an 8th cousin of

Pak Wŏnjong Pak Wŏnjong or Bak Wonjong (; 1467 – 3 June 1510) was a Korean politician and soldier during the Joseon period, who served as Chief State Councillor from 1506 to 1510. He was a major leader of the Jungjong coup who had brought King Jungjong ...

, the maternal uncle of

Yun Im Yun Im (; 26 July 1487 – 30 August 1545) was a politician, general, and soldier of the Korean Joseon Dynasty. He was from the aristocratic family of the Papyeong Yun clan (), and related to the Royal Jeonju Yi clan through his mother. He was the ...

and Queen Janggyeong, the second wife of

King Jungjong Jungjong (; 25 April 1488 – 9 December 1544), personal name Yi Yeok (), firstly titled Grand Prince Jinseong (), was the 11th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He succeeded to the throne after the deposition of his elder half-brother, ...

Biography

In 1455, Danjong was overthrown by

Sejo Sejo (; 7 November 1417 – 23 September 1468), personal name Yi Yu (), sometimes known as Grand Prince Suyang (), was the seventh monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was the second son of Sejong the Great and the uncle of King Danj ...

, arising the ire of Pak and many other officials. Pak continued to serve in high office; he was appointed as governor of

Chungcheong Chungcheong Province (; ) was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Chungcheong was located in the southwest of Korea. The provincial capital was located at Gongju, which had been the capital of the kingdom of Baekje ...

in 1455, and again as vice-minister of justice in 1456. He joined in a plot to overthrow Sejo and restore Danjong in 1456, but the plot was uncovered through the betrayal of fellow plotter

Kim Chil Kim Chil (; 1422 – February 24, 1478) was a scholar-official of the early Joseon Dynasty. He is remembered today primarily for his participation in, and betrayal of, the conspiracy led by the six martyred ministers. Kim was born to a family o ...

. Sejo admired Pak's abilities and offered to pardon him if he were to deny his involvement and acknowledge Sejo as his king. When he refused to repent from his deeds, Sejo argued that it was useless to deny his authority now since Pak had already called himself a "royal servant" and received royal grains from him. Pak, however, denied this and it was indeed discovered that Pak purposefully misspelled words "royal servant" in all of his reports (He wrote word meaning "huge"(巨) instead of "royal servant", 臣), and never used royal grains but instead stored them unused in a storage. Pak died in prison from torture. All the males in his family were executed and females were enslaved. A shrine to Pak is located in Sinni-myeon,

Chungju Chungju () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Uamsan is a mountain located within the outskirts of the city. The city is famous for the annual martial arts festival held in October. Al ...

North Chungcheong Province North Chungcheong Province (), also known as Chungbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Chungcheong has a population of 1,578,934 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Hoseo region on the south-centre of the Korean Peninsula. No ...

. It was established in the 18th century, when Pak and his fellows had come to be viewed as model subjects. Another memorial dating to 1688 stands in

Jayang-dong Jayang-dong () is a '' dong'' (neighborhood) of Gwangjin District, Seoul, South Korea. Name origin During the Joseon period, the name of Jangyang-dong was "Jamajang" (雌馬場), which translates to "female horse field." The term "jamajang" refer ...

, Dong-gu,

Daejeon Daejeon (; ) is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of nearly 1.5 million. Located in a central lowland valley between the Sobaek Mountains and the Geum River, the city is known both as a ...

, at the former site of his official residence. A few of Pak's

sijo ''Sijo'' (, ) is a Korean traditional poetic form that emerged during the Goryeo dynasty, flourished during the Joseon dynasty, and is still written today. Bucolic, metaphysical, and cosmological themes are often explored. The three lines ave ...

poems have survived.

Family

* Father ** Pak Chungnim (; 1390–1456) * Mother ** Biological - Lady Kim of the

Andong Kim clan The Andong Kim clan () refers to two bon-gwan, Korean clans of Elder Andong Kim Clan (구 안동 김씨) and the New Andong Kim Clan (신 안동 김씨), respectively. They were prominent yangban, yangban families during Korea's Joseon, Joseon Dy ...

(; 1392–?); married 1415 ** Step - Lady Yi of the Sinpyeong Yi clan (; 1400–?); married 1420 * Sibling(s) ** Younger brother - Pak Innyŏn (; 1419–1456) ** Younger brother - Pak Kinyŏn (; 1421–1456) ** Younger brother - Pak Tae-nyŏn (; 1423–1456) ** Younger brother - Pak Yŏng-nyŏn (; 1425–1456) ** Younger sister - Lady Pak of the Suncheon Pak clan (; 1427–?) ** Younger sister - Lady Pak of the Suncheon Pak clan (; 1430–?) * Wives and their children ** Lady Jeon of the Cheonan Chŏn clan (; 1417–1499); daughter of Jeon Mi (전미, 全彌; 1392–?) *** Daughter - Lady Pak of the Suncheon Pak clan (; 1435–?) *** Daughter - Lady Pak of the Suncheon Pak clan (; 1440–1524) *** Daughter - Princess Consort Pak of the Suncheon Pak clan (; 1440–1500) *** Son - Pak Pun (; 1444–1456) ** Kim Okgŭm (), Lady Kim of the Nakan Kim clan (; 1418–?); daughter of Kim Mi () *** Son - Pak Hŏn (; 1437–1456) *** Son - Pak Sun (; 1442–1456)

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Lee Won-woo in the 1994

KBS2 KBS 2TV is a South Korean free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen ...

TV series ''Han Myeong-hoe'' * Portrayed by Kim Ha-gyun in the 1998–2000

KBS1 KBS 1TV is a South Korean free-to-air television channel that launched on 31 December 1961 and is owned by Korean Broadcasting System. The channel offers more serious programming than its sister channel KBS2, and airs with no commercials. Hi ...

TV series ''

The King and the Queen ''The King and the Queen'' () is a South Korean television series starring Im Dong-jin and Chae Shi-ra, along with Han Hye-sook, Lee Jin-woo and Ahn Jae-mo. It aired on KBS1 from June 6, 1998, to March 26, 2000, on Saturdays and Sundays at 21: ...

'' * Portrayed by

Lee Yong-jin Lee Yong-jin (; born on November 18, 1985) is a South Korean comedian and singer. He is most known for his work on the tvN sketch comedy show '' Comedy Big League''. Lee also owns famous sashimi restaurant '960' in Sokcho, Gangwon-do province. ...

in the 2011 KBS TV series ''

The Princess' Man ''The Princess' Man'' () is a 2011 South Korean television series, starring Park Si-hoo, Moon Chae-won, Kim Yeong-cheol, Song Jong-ho, Hong Soo-hyun and Lee Soon-jae. It's a historical drama depicting the forbidden romance between the daughter ...

'' * Portrayed by Kim Ki-bum in the 2011 SBS TV series ''

Deep Rooted Tree ''Deep Rooted Tree'' () is a 2011 South Korean television series starring Han Suk-kyu, Jang Hyuk and Shin Se-kyung. Based on the novel of the same name by Lee Jung-myung, it aired on SBS from 5 October to 22 December 2011 on Wednesdays and ...

''.

References

External links

Information on the Daejeon monument to Pak
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pak, P'aengnyŏn Joseon scholar-officials 1417 births 1456 deaths Korean torture victims Korean people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Korean detention Linguists from Korea Linguists of Korean

Biography

Family

In popular culture

See also

References

External links