Yi Sanhae (; 20 July 1539 – 1609) was a Korean politician, scholar, writer and poet of the

Joseon 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 ...

period who came from the Hansan Yi clan. He served as the Chief State Councilor of Joseon from 1590 to 1592 and 1600. Yi was a member of the political faction 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 ...

and when this split into the Northerners and Southerners, Yi became leader of the Northerners faction.

Early life

Yi was born in

Hansŏng Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

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 and his 5th great-grandfather was Yi Saek, a scholar and writer that lived during late

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

. He studied under his uncle Yi Ji-ham and was praised for his intelligence. At age 5 he is said to have written poems and by age 15 he had passed the Hyangsi Examination multiple times and was famous for his

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

and painting skills. He also studied under Jo Sik and

Yi Hwang Yi Hwang (; 1501–1570) was a Korean philosopher, writer, and Confucian scholar of the Joseon period. He is considered the most important philosopher of Korea - he is honored by printing his portrait on the 1000 South Korean won banknote, on ...

and would later go on to form the Eastern and Northern factions with his classmates. He passed the Mungwa in 1561 and was initially appointed to the Seungmuwon, the department in charge of Joseon's diplomatic relations.

Career

In 1562, he was recommended to the

Hongmungwan Hongmun'gwan (), or the Office of Special Advisors, was one of the Three Offices of Joseon; it acted as the Joseon dynasty's administrative and research agency. History Hongmun'gwan was one of the Three offices of Joseon, together with the ...

. He would then go on to hold various ranks until becoming Jikjehak in 1567. In 1570, he became one of the six royal secretaries, part of the Sueunjungwon. He resigned from his post in 1574 after his father's death but returned 3 years later and was appointed to Daesagan. In 1578, he was put in charge of a corruption investigation involving Yun Doo Su and Yun Geun Su, leaders of the

Westerners The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also constitute the West. ...

faction. Yi, who was part of the

, viciously attacked the brothers and had them removed from their positions. Later that year when he was appointed Daejehak and Doseungji, the

, holding a grudge for his previous actions, opposed this. However, the king Seonjo trusted in Yi's talents and ignored the complaints. In 1579, he was promoted to Minister of Law. In 1583, he went through the posts of Chief of the Uigeumbu, Minister of Personnel, Rites and Military Affairs in a single year. Attacks against Yi from the

intensified in 1585 and Kim Yu Yung and Yi San Bo reported this to Seonjo. The king assured the two, saying his trust in Yi would not be shaken by false rumours. In 1585, Yi tried to resign from his post after the mass death of the horses meant to be sent as tribute but the King refused to accept his resignation. He attempted to resign again in 1586 after being attacked by the Westerner

Cho Hŏn Cho Hŏn (, 1544 – 1592) was a Joseon dynasty, Joseon official and militia leader in Korea at the time of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98), Imjin war. He believed that Japan under Toyotomi Hideyoshi posed a threat to Korean securit ...

, but Seonjo once again persuaded him to stay. In 1588, Yi was appointed as the Right State Councilor (Uuijeong) despite resistance from the

and he was promoted to the Left State Councilor (Jwauijeong) a year later in 1589. Also in 1589, Jeong Yeo Rip, a former Westerner who had switched factions to the more dominant

, was accused of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

. Seonjo made the Westerner Jeong Chol the Right State Councilor and put him in charge of the investigation. The

took this opportunity to launch a purge and killed many prominent

including, Jeon Yon Sin, Jeong Gae Chung, Yi Bal and more. There were attempts to implicate Yi in the rebellion as well but failed due to Seonjo's deep trust in him. When Jeong Am Su and 50 others requested that Yi San Hae and

Yu Sŏngnyong Yu Sŏngnyong (; 7 November 1542 – May 1607), also known as Ryu Sŏngnyong (), was a scholar-official of the Joseon period of Korea. He held many responsibilities, including the Chief State Councillor position in 1592. He was a member of the ...

be punished for connections to Jeong Yeo Rip, Seonjo became angered and instead ordered for the punishment of those who had made the request. He then personally met Yi and Yu and reassured them. In 1590, he promoted to the Chief State Councilor (Yeonguijeong), the highest position in court. When it became time to appoint an heir to the king, Yi decided to take the opportunity to regain dominance for the

and take revenge for the purge of 1589. The consensus in court was that Prince Gwanghae would be best suited to become the Seja (Crown Prince), but Yi knew that Seonjo preferred Prince Sinseong. In 1591, when Jeong Chol,

, Yi Hae Su, Yi Seong Jung and others came to Yi discuss the matter of succession, he pretended to agree with the others and agreed to recommend Prince Gwanghae be made crown prince to the King. Yi San Hae was very close with the Kim Gong Ryang, brother of Lady In, Prince Sinseongs mother and Concubine of Seonjo and informed him that Jeong Chol and the

were trying harm the Lady and Prince Sinseong. Kim then informed his sister who went to the King weeping with the news. Then Yi led all of the ministers to Seonjo and asked him to name a successor. When the King asked the ministers who should become the Seja, Jeong Cheol and the

recommended Prince Gwanghae while the Easterners Yi San Hae and

remained silent. This greatly angered Seonjo, who immediately dismissed Jeong Chol and the others who had agreed with him from their positions. A fracture emerged within the

faction on how to deal with Jeong Cheol. The Northerners such as Jeon In Hong who were mostly students of Jo Sik who were the more aggressive wing of the

had suffered greatly in Jeong Yeo Rib's Purge pushed for Jeong's execution and stronger persecution against the Westerners. Meanwhile, the more conservative

led by

were mostly students of

and suffered less during the purge so just wanted to settle for exile. Yi San Hae was part of the Northerners and fearing that one day Jeong Chol would seek revenge, argued strongly for his execution. The Northerners won the struggle and became the dominant faction just before the outbreak of the

Imjin War The Imjin War () was a series of two Japanese invasions of Korea: an initial invasion in 1592 also individually called the "Imjin War", a brief truce in 1596, and a second invasion in 1597 called the Chŏngyu War (). The conflict ended in 159 ...

in 1592. After the fall of the

, Yi had them all dismissed from court and replaced them by recalling the

who had been removed during the purge.

Imjin War

Yi San Hae was the Chief State Councilor when the Japanese invaded in 1592, beginning the Imjin War. After the defeats at

Sangju Sangju (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Although Sangju is rather rural, it is very old and was once a key city. Along with Gyeongju, it gives rise to half of the name of the Gye ...

and Tangeumdae, Seonjo expressed his wish to abandon the capital of

. This was opposed by all the government ministers except for Yi, who argued that there was a precedent in history for similar events. Blamed for the initial military setbacks and the loss of the capital, Yi was exiled to Kangwon Province until 1595. He was released in 1595 and returned to court despite opposition from the

. During the war, to oppose

who supported Yi Sun Shin, Yi San Hae was more sympathetic towards

Wŏn Kyun Wŏn Kyun (; 12 February 1540 – 27 August 1597) was a Korean general and admiral during the Joseon period. He is best known for his campaigns against the Japanese during Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea. Wŏn was a member of Wonju Wŏn clan, ...

. After his return he became Daejehak and acted as the leader of the Northerners although by this time they had divided into the greater Northerner and Smaller Northerners. Yi San Hae was part of the Greater Northerners but largely stayed out of inter factional squabbles. In 1596, he was put in charge of investigating a peasant rebellion led by Yi Mong Hak. After the death of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

, the Japanese began withdrawing from Korea in 1598. Yi San Hae's son Yi Gyeong Jeon had also passed the Gwageo examination and had been recommended for the post of Ijo Jeongrang, however the previous Ijo Jeongrang Jung Gyung Sae who was a Southerner opposed the appointment based on Yi's personality. This greatly angered Yi San Hae and his followers and deepened his distrust in the Southerners.

Later life and death

In 1601, he received the noble title of Aseong Buwongun, and served in various roles until 1609. Late into Seonjo's reign, when the Northerners split over the succession, with the Greater Northerners supporting Prince Gwanghae for the throne and the Smaller Northerners supporting Prince Yeongchang, Yi supported Prince Gwanghae although he knew the king preferred Prince Yeongchang as he thought the latter was too young (3 years old). After Seonjo's death in 1608, Yi prevented a plot by the Smaller Northerners and ensured Prince Gwanghae succeeded to the throne. He retired in 1609 and died later that year.

Family

Though Yi's great-great-grandfather, Yi U ()'s cousin,

Yi Kae Yi Kae (; 1417–1456) was a Korean scholar-official of the Joseon period who came from the ''yangban'' Hansan Yi clan and one of the six martyred ministers. He was the great-grandson of Goryeo period philosopher Yi Saek and third cousin of Y ...

() become Yi San-hae's third cousin. *Father ** Yi Ji-beon (이지번, 李之蕃; 1508 – 1 December/21 April 1575) *Mother: **Biological: Lady Nam of the

Uiryeong Nam clan Uiryeong Nam clan () is a Korean clan. Their Bon-gwan is in Uiryeong County, South Gyeongsang Province. According to research from 2015, the number of people in Uiryeong Nam clan was 162729. Their founder was . Before he became naturalized, he w ...

(; 1509 – 24 June 1581) **Stepmother: Lady Ji of the

Chungju Ji clan Chungju Ji clan () is one of the Korean clans Korean clans are groups of Koreans, Korean people that share the same Patrilineality, paternal ancestor. They are indicated by the combination of a ''bongwan'' () and a family name. Korean clans di ...

() * Siblings **Older sister: Lady Yi () ** Older sister: Lady Yi () ** Younger half-brother: Yi San-gwang (; 1550 – 5 January 1624) * Wife and children ** Lady Jo of the Yangju Jo clan (; 24 November 1542 – 19 April 1604); daughter of Jo Eon-su () ***Son: Yi Gyeong-baek (이경백, 李慶伯; 1561–August 1580) ***Daughter: Lady Yi () ***Son: Yi Gyeong-jeon (이경전, 李慶全; 1567–1644) *** Daughter: Lady Yi (증 정경부인 이씨, 贈貞敬夫人李氏; d. 1592) ***Daughter: Lady Yi () ***Daughter: Lady Yi () ***Son: Yi Gyeong-sin () ***Son: Yi Gyeong-yu () died prematurely

Book

* 《Agye jip》() * 《Agye yugo》()

Popular culture

* Portrayed by

Ahn Suk-hwan Ahn Suk-hwan (; born November 1, 1959) is a South Korean actor. Ahn has been active in theater, film and television since 1986. His onscreen roles include both comedic and villainous supporting turns, among them a ruthless but humane prison war ...

in the 2014

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 ''

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

Lee Jae-yong Lee Jae-yong (; born June 23, 1968) is a South Korean business executive who has served as the executive chairman of Samsung Electronics since October 2022. He is the only son of Lee Kun-hee and Hong Ra-hee. As of December 2024, Lee has an e ...

in the 2015

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 Jingbirok: A Memoir of Imjin War''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, Sanhae 1539 births 1609 deaths Korean male poets 16th-century Korean poets Joseon scholar-officials 16th-century Korean painters Korean scholars Korean Confucianists 16th-century Korean philosophers Politicians from Seoul Writers from Seoul