Son of Gwon Mun-hae and compiler of the biographical anecdote dictionary Haedong japrok; pen name Jukso
| Life | 1589 ~ 1671 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 예천 권씨 |
Gwon Byeol (權鼈, 1589-1671) was a scholar of the Yecheon clan, traditionally the son of Gwon Mun-hae, with pen name Jukso (竹所). Yeongnam Ilbo says Mun-hae had no children with his first wife, Lady Gwak, and had Byeol at age 56 with his second wife of the Hamyang Park clan. A folk tale says Mun-hae freed a softshell turtle bought at the Nakdong port and dreamed that it would be born as his son, hence the name Byeol (鼈, turtle); descendants are said to have avoided eating turtle.
His main work is the Haedong japrok, a 14-volume handwritten set completed around 1670 and designated Gyeongbuk Tangible Cultural Heritage No. 170, kept at the Chogan head house. It arranges figures by dynasty and clan with their deeds and anecdotes, drawing on his father's Daedong unbu gunok but selecting those who held office. The history section lists 1,074 people (62 Silla, 23 Goguryeo, 8 Baekje, 526 Goryeo, 455 Joseon before the Imjin War), and a section on filial sons closes the volume.
Reflecting the view of Yeongnam scholars who lived through the 1623 coup and the 1636 invasion, it praises those who kept their integrity, and its sources include many works now lost. In 1798 his seventh-generation descendant Gwon Jin-rak carved part of it without publishing; part appeared in the Daedong yaseung, and Taehaksa photoreprinted it in three volumes in 1986.
He also kept the Juksobugun ilgi, a two-year diary of 1625-1626 translated alongside his father's Chogan ilgi by the Korea Institute for Confucian Studies. He is said to have rebuilt Chogan Jeongsa in 1626 after a fire. Details of the father-son relationship vary by source; this page follows the widely cited account.
Volumes 1-3 of the history section cover figures by period and the biographical section handles deeds by dynasty and clan, giving weight to those who introduced Neo-Confucianism. The closing section on filial sons shows the stress on morality and ethics. The original measures 24 cm by 28 cm.
His 7th-generation descendant Gwon Jin-rak carved part of the Haedong japrok in 1798, and Gwon Bong-ui rebuilt Chogan Jeongsa (the exact line varies by source).