Song Sang-hyeon (; 1551 – 23 May 1592) was a civil minister, writer, and general 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. He was the prefect of
Dongnae
Dongnae District is a '' gu'' in central Busan, South Korea.
Administrative divisions
It has a population of about 300,000, and an area of 16.7 square kilometers. It was once a separate city, the principal port of southeastern Korea. Numerous ...
during the
Siege of Dongnae
The siege of Dongnae was a siege that occurred on April 15, 1592 (Gregorian: May 25, 1592) during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98). It resulted in the capture of Dongnae, a mountain castle on the way to Hanseong (Seoul), by the Japanes ...
, one of the first battles of the
Imjin War
The Imjin River ( in South Korea) or Rimjin River ( in North Korea) is the 7th largest river in Korea. It flows from north to south, crossing the Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River downstream of Seoul, near the Yellow Sea. The river i ...
. He led troops against Japanese general
Konishi Yukinaga
Konishi Yukinaga (小西 行長, baptized under the personal name Agostinho (Portuguese for Augustine); 1558 – November 6, 1600) was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is notable for his role as the vanguard of the Japanes ...
and was defeated. When presented with demands of surrender, Song famously declined and was captured alive and subsequently killed. His pen name was Cheongok, his courtesy name was Deokgu, and his posthumous name was Chungnyeol.
Early life
Song Sang-yeon was born to
Saheonbu
Saheonbu ( ko, 사헌부; Hanja: , ) administered inspections during Goryeo and Joseon dynasty in Korea. The organ inspected Hanyang, the capital, and periphery. It has several nicknames. It was also responsible for licensing officials, impeachmen ...
Song Bok-heung (宋復興) and his wife, a descendant of
Lee Mun-gun (李文健), writer of the
Mukjae Diaries. Known to be a gifted child, Song is said to have mastered the
Confucian classic
Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...
s (經史) during his teens. At fifteen years old, he took
Seungbosi, the preliminary
Sungkyunkwan
Sungkyunkwan was the foremost educational institution in Korea during the late Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties. Today, it sits in its original location, at the south end of the Humanities and Social Sciences Campus of Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul ...
admission exam, and won first place. It was during this time that Song became friends with eminent future Joseon scholar and politician
Gim Jangsaeng
Kim Jang-saeng (김장생, 金長生) (July 8, 1548 - August 3, 1631) was a Neo-Confucian scholar, politician, educator, and writer of Korea's Joseon period.
He was successor to the Neo-Confucian academic tradition of Yulgok Yi I (이이) and S ...
. In 1570, he passed the higher Sungkyunkwan admission exam,
Jinsasi, and became a
Jinsa.
Legacy
After his death, the
Chungnyeolsa Shrine was built in his memory on 1608 by Yun Hwon, the governor of Dongnae.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Sang-hyeon
People of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)
Joseon scholar-officials
Korean generals
1551 births
1592 deaths
Yeosan Song clan