백인걸 白仁傑
Civil official and scholar of the mid-Joseon period (art name Hyuam); incorruptible official
| Life | 1497 ~ 1579 |
| Era | 조선 |
| Clan | 수원 백씨 |
Life & career
Baek In-geol (白仁傑, 1497-1579), pen name Hyuam (休菴), posthumous title Mungyeong (文敬), was a mid-Joseon civil official and Neo-Confucian scholar. A Sarim disciple of Jo Gwang-jo, Kim An-guk and Kim Sik, he passed the civil examination in 1537. He so revered Jo Gwang-jo that he is said to have settled beside his teacher's house to learn from him.
After the 1519 purge took his teacher he retreated to the Geumgang Mountains; he was dismissed for criticizing Queen Dowager Munjeong's regency and secret-decree rule, and in 1547 was implicated in the Yangjae Station wall-poster affair and exiled to Anbyeon, returning only in 1551. Reinstated late in King Myeongjong's reign, he served as Chief Censor, Inspector-General and Vice Minister of Works, was named Right Consultant in 1578 but declined, and died in 1579 as Chief of the Office of Special Advisors.
Yi I and Seong Hon studied under him, and he was listed among the incorruptible officials. His posthumous name was first set as Chungsuk (忠肅) and later changed to Mungyeong. He had three sons, Baek Yu-gong, Baek Yu-hang and Baek Yu-ham, and his descendants flourished to the point of forming a majority of the Suwon Baek; they are said to include the independence activists Baek Jeong-gi and Baek Gwan-su.
Family and Teachers
His father was Baek Ik-gyeon and his grandfather Baek Sa-su. His elder brother Baek In-yeong rose to Royal Secretary, and with their cousins the family was known for literary skill as the 'four Baek men of letters'. Studying under Jo Gwang-jo set the course for his whole life.
Hardship and Plain Speech
After the 1519 purge he withdrew to the Geumgang Mountains; exiled to Anbyeon in 1547, he was released in 1551. He was also dismissed for criticizing politics under the Queen Dowager's regency. Late in Myeongjong's reign he returned to serve as Chief Censor, Inspector-General and Vice Minister of Works.
Disciples and Remembrance
He was the teacher of Yi I and Seong Hon, and the Hyuam seonsaeng silgi (1981, Hyuam Memorial Society) survives. He is enshrined at Bongsan Seowon in Nampyeong and Pasan Seowon in Paju. His tomb at San 26, Hyochon-ri, Gwangjeok-myeon, Yangju is Gyeonggi Provincial Monument No. 58.
In the same family Baek Yu-yang and his sons were beaten to death in the Gichuk purge, but the descendants of Baek In-geol, who passed through the crisis well, are said to have flourished. The family continues as the Mungyeong-gong branch named for him. Other notable Suwon Baek include Baek Nak-jun and Nam June Paik.
Grave
His tomb is in Hyochon-ri, Gwangjeok-myeon, Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, designated Gyeonggi Provincial Monument No. 58 in 1981.
Descendants
Descendants of his sons Baek Yu-gong, Baek Yu-hang and Baek Yu-ham flourished and are said to make up most of the Suwon Baek; in some villages, such as Maegok-ri in Yangju, he is honored as the settling ancestor.