Chŏng Ch'ŏl (; December 18, 1536 – February 7, 1594) was a

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. He used the pen-names Kyeham () and Songgang (), and studied under Kim Yunjae at Hwanbyeokdang. He was expelled by the

Easterners The Eastern world, also known as the East or historically the Orient, is an umbrella term for various cultures or social structures, nations and philosophical systems, which vary depending on the context. It most often includes Asia, the ...

. He was from the Yeonil Chŏng clan ().

Family

* Father ** Chŏng Yuch'im (; 1493–1570) * Mother ** Lady An of the

Juksan An clan Juksan Ahn clan () is one of the Korean clans. Their Bon-gwan was in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province. According to the research held in 2015, the number of Juksan Ahn clan’s member was 77026. Their founder was who was a I Won ()’s eldest son, and ...

(; 1495–1573) * Siblings ** Older brother - Chŏng Cha (; 1515–1547) ** Older brother - Chŏng So (; 1518–1572) ** Older sister - Royal Consort Gwi-in of the Yeonil Chŏng clan (; August 1520 – March 25, 1566) *** Brother-in-law - King Injong of Joseon (; March 10, 1515 – August 7, 1545) ** Older sister - Lady Chŏng of the Yeonil Chŏng clan (연일 정씨; 1521–1596) ** Older brother - Chŏng Hwang (정황; 鄭滉; 1528–1588) ** Younger sister - Princess Consort Och'ŏn of the Yeonil Chŏng clan (; 1542–?) * Wives and their children ** Lady Ryu of the

Munhwa Yu clan The Munhwa Yoo clan (), also known as the Munhwa Ryu clan (), is a Korean clan. Background In the 2015 South Korean census, 237,314 individuals identified themselves as part of the Munhwa Yoo clan, and 90,313 individuals identified themselve ...

(; 1535–1598) *** Daughter - Lady Chŏng of the Yeonil Chŏng clan (연일 정씨; 1556) *** Son - Chŏng Kimyŏng (; 1558–1589) *** Lady Chŏng of the Yeonil Chŏng clan (연일 정씨; 1559–?) *** Son - Chŏng Chongmyŏng (; 1565–1626) *** Son - Chŏng Chinmyŏng (; 1567–1614) *** Daughter - Lady Chŏng of the Yeonil Chŏng clan (연일 정씨; 1576–?) *** Son - Chŏng Hong-myŏng (; March 7, 1582 – October 2, 1650) ** Concubine - Chinok () ** Concubine - Lady Kang'a()

Literary works

He is prominent in the

gasa GASA Group (''Gartnernes Salgsforeninger''; "co-operative marketing organisations") is a Danish company that imports and exports flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Founded in 1929 as a fruit, flowers and vegetable auction co-operative, the mul ...

and the

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 ...

, which are forms of classical

Korean poetry Korean poetry is poetry performed or written in the Korean language or by Korean people. Traditional Korean poetry is often sung in performance. Until the 20th century, much of Korean poetry was written in Hanja. History The performance of oral ...

. The following two poems are an exchange between Chŏng Ch'ŏl and the

gisaeng ''Kisaeng'' (), also called ''ginyeo'' (), were enslaved women from outcast or enslaved families who were trained to be courtesans, providing artistic entertainment and conversation to men of upper class. First emerging in Goryeo dynasty. were ...

Chinok. Chŏng is playing on Chinok's name, which means Genuine Gem. First he calls her a gem (ok; 玉), then suggests she is an imitation (pŏn-ok; 燔玉) and finally finds her to be genuine (chin-ok; 眞玉). Chinok replies by playing on the name of Chŏng Ch'ŏl (鄭澈), first calling him iron (ch'ŏl; 鐵), then suggesting he might be false iron (sŏp-ch'ŏl; 攝鐵) and finally discovering he is genuine iron (chŏng ch'ŏl; 正鐵). Unquestionably bawdy, this exchange is one of the finest examples of satire in

— a poetic form that placed high value on wit,

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

and

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, ph ...

. Other Works: * ''Gwandong Byeolgok'' (The Song of the Sceneries of the

Gwandong Gwandong (관동; ) is a region coinciding with the former Gangwon (historical province), Gangwon Province in Korea. Today, the term refers to South Korea's Gangwon Province, South Korea, Gangwon Province and North Korea's Kangwon Province (Nort ...

). * ''Samiingok'' (Mindful of My Seemly Lord). * ''Songgang Gasa'' (Songgang's Prose Poetry Book).

Popular culture

* Portrayed by Park-woong in the 1995

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 '' West Palace''. * Portrayed by

Joo Jin-mo Joo Jin-mo may refer to: * Joo Jin-mo (actor, born 1958), South Korean actor * Joo Jin-mo (actor, born 1974) Joo Jin-mo (born Park Jin-tae on 26 September 1974), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the films '' ...

in the 2014

TV series ''

The King's Face ''The King's Face'' (; Hanja: 王의 얼굴) is a 2014 South Korean television series starring Seo In-guk, Jo Yoon-hee, Lee Sung-jae, Kim Gyu-ri and Shin Sung-rok. It aired on KBS2 from November 19, 2014, to February 5, 2015, on Wednesdays and ...

''. * Portrayed by Sun Dong-Hyuk in the 2015

TV series ''The Jingbirok: A Memoir of Imjin War.''

Legacy

* A

crater A crater is a landform consisting of a hole or depression (geology), depression on a planetary surface, usually caused either by an object hitting the surface, or by geological activity on the planet. A crater has classically been described ...

on Mercury was named after him in 1979.

Notes

References