U Tak (, 1262-1342), also known as Woo Tak, was a

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 ...

Neo-Confucian Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) in th ...

scholar and philosopher during Korea’s

Goryeo dynasty Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

. He was also commonly known as ''Yeokdong Seonsaeng'' (). His pen names were Baekun and Danam, his courtesy names were Cheonjang and Takbo, and his posthumous name was Moonhee. U Tak helped spread

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Wa ...

, which had come from the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

, in Korea. He was a disciple of the Neo-Confucian scholar,

An Hyang Ahn Hyang (안향, 安珦; 1243 – 12 September 1306), also known as Ahn Yu (안유, 安裕), was a leading Confucian scholar born in Yeongju in present-day South Korea, and was from the Sunheung Ahn clan. He is considered the founder of Neo-Con ...

. U Tak belonged to the

Danyang Woo clan The Danyang Woo clan (Hangul: 단양 우씨, Hanja: 丹陽禹氏) is a Korean clan. Their Bon-gwan is in Danyang County, North Chungcheong Province. According to the 2015 census, the number of members was 191,287. Their founder is who was a desc ...

. He was the 7th generation descendant of the Danyang Woo clan's founding ancestor, U Hyeon. U had two sons, U Won-gwang () and U Won-myeong (). U Tak is considered as the ancestor of the Moonheegong branch () of the Danyang Woo clan. U Tak was a respected scholar and centuries after his death, a

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 ...

Confucian scholar,

Yi Hwang Yi Hwang (January 3, 1502– January 3, 1571) was the most important Korean philosopher, writer, and Confucian scholar of the Joseon Dynasty. He was a figure of the Neo-Confucian literati, established the Yeongnam School and set up the Dosan Seo ...

, helped to establish the Yeokdong Seowon in honor of U Tak in 1570.

References

1262 births 1342 deaths Korean Confucianists Neo-Confucian scholars Danyang U clan 14th-century Korean philosophers {{Korea-philosopher-stub

See also

References