Yun Tusu (; 1533–1601) was a Korean

scholar-official The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...

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. He was a politician, poet, writer, scholar, and part of the

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 ...

school among Westerners faction. He served as Chief State Councillor during the reign of King Seonjo.

Early life

Birth and family

Yun Tusu was born in 1533 at Hansung. His father was Yun Byeon (윤변, 尹忭; 1493–1549), who was government official. There were half brothers Yun Dam-soo and Yun Chun-soo, who are about 20 years older than Yun Tusu, and Yun Kŭnsu, his younger brother, below them. His father was taught by Yu Wun and Jo Gwangjo. When the third literati purge of 1519 took place and Jo Gwangjo was imprisoned. Nevertherless he pleaded that Jo was not guilty with confusian students of Sungkyunkwan, he was regarded as a partisan of Kimyo and disregarded. His younger brother Yun Kŭnsu was also a major politician during reign of King Seonjo and Gwanghaegun. His family origin is from Haepyeong Yun clan and his family progenitor was Yun Gun-jeong () who served as Pan-gongbusa (Chairman of supreme government office) of

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 ...

dynasty during era of

Gojong of Goryeo Gojong (1192–1259), personal name Wang Cheol, was the 23rd king of the Korean Goryeo dynasty, ruling from 1213 to 1259. Gojong's reign was marked by prolonged conflict with the Mongol Empire, which sought to conquer Goryeo, ending only to set ...

and Wonjong (원종, 元宗, 1219–1274).

Education

In 1549, Yun Tusu lost his father at the age of 17. After he had finished mourning of his father for two years, he devoted himself to his studies under Yi Jung-ho. In 1552, he studied under the leadership of Sŏng Such'im. At this time, he met Sŏng Hon, who would become a lifelong friend, and due to this influence, He joined the Westerners when the Bungdang was formed later. After entering the government office, he visited

Andong Andong () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in South Korea, and the capital of North Gyeongsang Province. It is the largest city in the northern part of the province with a population of 167,821 as of October 2010. The Nakdong Ri ...

, and became his pupil.

Career

Myeongjong era (1558–1567)

Yun Tusu was the first-rank passer of the Classics Licentiate Examination () at the age of 23 in 1555. In 1558, he passed the regular triennial civil service examination () as a seventh place and started his governmental career at the Office of Diplomatic Correspondence (). Afterwards, he went through the Editorial Examiners of the Office of Royal Decrees (), the proofreader () and first copyist () of the Office of Special Advisors (), and became Assistant Section Chief of the Ministry of Military Affairs () in 1561, Assistant Section Chief of the

Ministry of Personnel The Ministry of Personnel was one of the Three Departments and Six Ministries, Six Ministries under the Department of State Affairs in history of China, imperial China, Korea, and Vietnam. Functions Under the Ming government, Ming, the Ministry ...

() in 1562. In 1563, when Yun Tusu was Section Chief of the Ministry of Personnel, Yi Yang, one of the figures of authority, recommended his son Yi Chŏngbin and his friend Yu Yŏnggil to the ministries. Yun Tusu opposed this with Pak Sorip and Yi Hubaek. For this, he was impeached by the

Office of the Inspector General In the United States, Office of Inspector General (OIG) is a generic term for the oversight division of a List of federal agencies in the United States, federal or state agency aimed at preventing inefficient or unlawful operations within their p ...

in July and lost his government post. Later, Yi Yang had been dismissed and Yun Tusu was found not guilty by Yun Won-hyung, the intercourse of Chief State Councilor and Sim Tong-won, Right State Councilor. He returned to government with appointment to the position of sixth counselor (). Later, he was promoted to the Section Chief of the Ministry of Personnel (). Yun Tusu was in charge of the editorial clerks () and First Secretary () in State Council (), went back and forth between the

and Sungkyunkwan, and then moved to the Office the Royal Stables (). In 1565, he supervised funeral rites at the mourning of

Queen Munjeong Queen Munjeong (; 12 December 1501 – 15 May 1565), of the Papyeong Yun clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the third wife and queen consort of Jungjong of Joseon, Yi Yeok, King Jungjong. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1517 until he ...

as the directorate of the Royal royal coffin hall () as assistant responding editor of the Office of Special Advisors (). After finished the task, he was raised to the Grand Master of Comprehensive Governance () and also appointed as the head of the Five Guards (). In January 1566, he was appointed as the Sixth Royal Secretary () and was promoted to the Right Assistant Royal Secretary (). In August 1566, he was selected as the Left Assistant Royal Secretary (). In 1567, when King Myeongjong was in critical condition, he was in Royal Secretariat as the Right Royal Secretary () and sent a letter to Prime Minister Yi Jun-kyeong writing a testament citing the past and saying, " Wen Yanbo of

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

came into the palace and slept." Upon receiving this, Yi Jun-kyeong soon slept in a place where he was on duty, and he was able to receive the order left at the time of death of Myeongjong that night. In doing so, Yun Tusu stabilized the situation considered unstable and suspected that the king did not have a crown prince to die after.

Seonjo era (1567–1601)

In the early days of King Seonjo's accession, the political situation was operated around two tasks: establishing a new political order led by Sarim and liquidating politics of kinship, by redressing a grievance and hiring those affected by fourth literati purge of 1545. In accordance with this stance, Yun Tusu was appointed to the third minister of personnel () through a Chief Censor () of the Office of Censors (). Yun Tusu was in charge of the supervision of

gwageo The () or ''kwagŏ'' were the national civil service examinations under the Goryeo (918–1392) and Joseon (1392–1897) periods of Korea. Typically quite demanding, these tests measured candidates' ability of writing composition and knowledge ...

in August 1574, and appointed to the assistant examiners () next month. In 1575, due to the conflict between

Sim Ui-gyeom Shim Ui-gyeom (; 1535–1587) was a Korean philosopher and politician during the Joseon period. A Neo-Confucian scholar, he was the head of the Westerners political faction. Shim was also the younger brother of Queen Insun and a member of the ...

and Gim Hyo-won over the appointment of Section Chief of the Ministry of Personnel, Sarim was divided into the Easterners and the Westerners. At this time, Yun Tusu participated in the Westerners. In July 1576, he was appointed as a Chief Censor, and his nephew Yun Hyun was appointed as Assistant Section Chief of the

. Yun Tusu and Yun Kŭnsu suppressed the Easterners while they were in key positions. Yun Tusu, Yun Kŭnsu, and Yun Hyŏn were called Yun Trio (), and the Easterners had a bad feeling about them. In the midst of this, a bribery case occurred by the magistrate of the Jindo County, and Yun Trio was involved in this case. Eventually, Yun Tusu was dismissed due to the impeachment of the Office of Censors and Office of the Inspector General in March 1579. As Inspector General () Gim Gye-hwi requested, Yun Tusu was appointed again and became Magistrate of Yeonan Strategic Prefecture (). In the famine of 1580 to 1581, the people were helped to live by him, and there were about 1,000 people who came and ate from distant regions, and when a royal secret inspector () reported this, King Seonjo especially gave him silk clothes. Later, he served as second magistrate of Hansung () and Second Minister of Punishment (), and in 1587, when the Japanese invaded

Jeolla Province Jeolla Province (, ) was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as well as J ...

, he was appointed as a governor of Jeolla province to reform the discipline of chiefs and leaders and punish criminals. In 1588, Yun Tusu became second deputy directors of Privy Council () in June and governor of Pyeongan Province () and magistrate of

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

Magistracy () in autumn. When there was news that the leader of the barbarians was coming to the western border, Yun Tusu strategically responded by reducing the number of soldiers belonging to the military and increasing the number of troops from four to six because they ran away increased day by day. The following year, he taught the people around

Yalu River The Yalu River () or Amnok River () is a river on the border between China and North Korea. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between China and North Korea. Its valle ...

how to plant cotton in Pyongyang. In 1590, he was established as Gwanggukgongsin and sealed to Haewongun due to the contribution of correcting the Joseon dynasty's genealogy. In August of that year, he resigned his original position and went up to the Minister of Punishments () and became the Inspector General. A month later, he became a Fourth Superintendent of Privy Council (). He became the Inspector General again in 1591. In March 1591, he became the Minister of Taxation, but in June, He had decided to support Prince Shinseong with Yi San-hae, but he supported Gwanghaegun in the Geonjeo issue, a partisan fight between the Easterners and the Westerners, so King Seonjo was angry and divested Yun Tusu of his office and exiled him with his younger brother Yun Kŭnsu to

Hoeryong Hoeryŏng () is a city in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea. It is located opposite Jilin Province, China, with the Tumen River in between. Sanhe, Longjing, Sanhe (三合鎮), in Longjing, Jilin, Longjing City, is the closest Chinese town across ...

. After that, He was transferred to

Hongwon Hongwŏn County is a county in South Hamgyŏng province, North Korea. It is flanked by the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea) to the south, and by the Hamgyŏng Mountains to the north. Physical features The northwest region is particularly mounta ...

due to the continued impeachment of the Easterners.

Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)

In March 1591, a letter sent by

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: ...

through Joseon Tongsinsa said he would invade

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

, but unlike other subjects who insisted on hiding it from the Ming dynasty, he actively insisted on telling the Ming Dynasty the situation of Japan. In October 1591, when he was exiled to

, diplomatic envoys to Ming () returned from

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. When they reported that the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shenzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Yijun, art name Yuzhai, was the 14th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reig ...

praised the situation of Japan in detail, the royal court tried to let him go of his exile for his contribution, but he was transferred to

Haeju Haeju () is a city located in South Hwanghae Province near Haeju Bay in North Korea. It is the administrative centre of South Hwanghae Province. As of 2008, the population of the city is estimated to be 273,300. At the beginning of the 20th centu ...

due to opposition from the Office of Censors and the Office of the Inspector General. On April 13, 1592, when Japan captured Dongnae following

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

, he was released on 23 April as king's special order. On April 28, it was reported that

Sin Rip Sin Rip (; 16 November 1546 – 7 June 1592), sometimes Shin Rip or Shin Rib, was a Korean general and a member of the Pyeongsan Sin clan. Biography He passed the Korean national military examinations at the age of 22. Sin earned prominence ...

had been defeated in

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 ...

, so King Seonjo proposed royal flight from the palace and it was decided the next day. Yun Tusu joined King Seonjo's departure to the west at the dawn of April 30 as an official holding sinecure post. Arriving in

Kaesong Kaesong (, ; ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region cl ...

on May 1, the procession of the royal carriage took Yun Tusu as the captain of Office of the Directorate General () on May 2 and sacrificed to Right State Councilor the next day. Yun Tusu insisted on sending an address to

Liaodong The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...

to announce the war, punishing those who did not come with king as court officials, and remaining in Kaesong and defending. However, when King Seonjo heard that Kyongsong had fallen, he wanted to leave Kaesong. Yun Tusu requested that the royal carriage leaves early in the morning, but it was not accepted. Accordingly, Yun Tusu sent the governor of Hwanghae to soothe people so that the procession could leave Kaesong safely. The royal carriage left Kaesong on May 3 and arrived in Pyongyang on May 7. On May 9, he became Left State Councilor. On May 19, discussions took place on asking Ming for relief forces. Yun Tusu objected to this for three reasons. First, Joseon's soldiers are guarding

Imjin River The Imjin River (; South Korean spelling) or Rimjin (; North Korean spelling) 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. ...

and have enough troops. Second, it is not clear that the Ming government will send troops. Third, the military in Liaodong and Guangning have a ferocious nature and various villages in

Pyongan Province Pyongan Province (; ) was one of Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon dynasty. Pyongan was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Pyongyang. History Pyongan Province was formed in 1413. Its name derived from the name ...

will be devastated. However, as the situation became increasingly urgent, Yun Tusu also agreed to the request for relief forces. He also insisted on protecting Pyongyang in discussions on whether to protect Pyongyang or move to another place. King Seonjo refused to accept this and asked to discuss the next destination, and Yun Tusu recommended going to

Uiju Ŭiju is a kun, or county, in North Pyongan Province, North Korea. The county has an area of 420 km2, and a population of 110,018 (2008 data). Name Ŭiju appears as Uiju in South Korea's Revised Romanization and as Yizhou in Chinese source ...

rather than

Hamhung Hamhŭng (''Hamhŭng-si''; ) is North Korea's List of cities in North Korea, second-most populous city, the capital of South Hamgyong, South Hamgyŏng Province and the 16th largest city in the Korea, Korean Peninsula. Located in the southern part ...

. The procession left for Uiju, and Yun Tusu remained with Yi Won-ik to protect Pyongyang.

Family

#Parents and Siblings ##Father: Yun Byeon (; 1493 – 8 July 1549) ##Step-mother - Lady Yi of the Jeonju Yi clan () ###Older step-brother - Yun Dam-su () ###Older step-brother - Yun Chun-su (; 1521 – ?) ###Older step-brother - Yun Gi-su () ##Mother: Lady Hyeon of the Palgeo Hyeon clan (; ? – 1544) ###Older step-sister - Lady Yun of the Haepyeong Yun clan () ###Younger brother - Yun Kŭnsu (; 1537 – 17 August 1616) #Wives and their children ##Lady Hwang of the Changwon Hwang clan (; ? – 1591) ###Son - Yun Bang (; 22 June 1563 – August 1640) ###Son - Yun Heun (; 1564 – 17 December 1638) ###Son - Yun Hwi (; 1571–1644) ###Son - Yun Hwon () ##Unnamed concubine ###Son - Yun Gan (; 1573 – 12 February 1665)

Writings

* ''Oheum-yugo'' 《오음유고》 (梧陰遺稿) * ''Gija-ji'' 《기자지》 (箕子誌) * ''Seongin-rok'' 《성인록 成仁錄》 * ''Pyeongyang-ji'' 《평양지 平壤志》 * ''Yeonan-ji'' 《연안지 延安志》

Popular culture

* Portrayed by

Jung Dong-hwan Jung Dong-hwan (; born August 5, 1949) is a South Korean actor. Jung began his career in theater, then was most active in Korean cinema in the 1980s, with leading roles in ''Late Autumn'' (1982), ''Jung-kwang's Nonsense'' (1986), and ''A Top K ...

in the 2004–2005

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 ''

Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin ''Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin'' (; lit. "The Immortal Yi Sun-sin") is a South Korean television series based on the life of Yi Sun-sin, a Korean admiral famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon period ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yun, Tusu 1533 births 1601 deaths 16th-century Korean poets Korean Confucianists 16th-century Korean philosophers Korean politicians Korean scholars Neo-Confucian scholars People from Seoul Haepyeong Yun clan