Late-Goryeo minister of Justice and Grand Academician, one of the Dumundong 72 loyalists; founder of the Chaemiheon-gong branch, pen name Chaemiheon
| Life | 1334 ~ 1425 |
| Era | 고려 말~조선 초 |
| Clan | 정선 전씨 |
Jeon O-ryun (1334-1425) was a late-Goryeo civil official of Jeongseon, courtesy name Jungji, pen name Chaemiheon (採薇軒). He is said to be the son of Grand Academician Jeon Bun and grandson of Jeon U-hwa (some sources name his father as Jeon Bin). He is founder of the Chaemiheon-gong branch of the Jeongseon Jeon.
Passing the civil examination under King Gongmin, he served in provincial posts such as Magistrate of Hapcheon, Governor of Jinju and Circuit Inspector of Gyeongsang, and in 1391 was successively Right Policy Critic, Left Royal Secretary and Minister of Justice. Some accounts say he rose to Grand Academician. He is said to have joined Jeong Mong-ju and Yi Saek in impeaching and memorializing against misrule.
According to Wikipedia he entered the Gukjagam in 1357, held a post by hereditary privilege in 1358, passed the civil examination in 1360 and served as magistrate of Hapcheon and governor of Jinju. In 1369 he was sent as Circuit Inspector of Gyeongsang to deal with famine and Japanese pirates. The year of his examination varies (Namuwiki gives 1373).
When Goryeo fell in 1392 he is said to have entered Dumundong at the foot of Gwangdeoksan near Gaeseong. He refused King Taejo's overtures and was ordered to live in his home district, Jeongseon, and after release withdrew to Seounsan. His pen name Chaemiheon comes from the story of Boyi and Shuqi, who refused the new dynasty and lived on bracken. Tradition says he lived in a hut, went out in a straw hat, and on each new and full moon put on court dress and climbed the mountain to wail toward Songdo.
Geochilhyeon-dong in Nakdong-ri, Nam-myeon, Jeongseon is the valley where seven worthies, including Kim Chung-han, Go Cheon-u, Yi Su-saeng, Sin An, Byeon Gwi-su and Kim Wi besides Jeon O-ryun, are said to have lived in seclusion. The village holds the Chilhyeonsa shrine, a monument to the seven worthies raised by the Jeongseon Joyanghoe in June 1985, and a Goryeo loyalists' monument carved with their poems. The mountain where they gathered bracken is called Baeksan (Baiyi-san).
The clan association credits him with the lyrics beginning "Dark clouds gather over Mansusan." Scholars note that it is oral literature with no record and treat it as a strong local tradition that the grief of the seven worthies fed into the song. Jeongseon Arirang was designated Gangwon Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 1 in 1971.
He died in 1425 (7th year of Sejong) at the house of his son Jeon Maeng-gyeom after some thirty years on Seounsan. Maeng-gyeom's descendants settled at Yeongseung-ri in Geochang and elsewhere, so the Chaemiheon-gong branch became established in both Geochang and Jeongseon.
He was first buried at Wonchon-ri, Bongsan-myeon, Hapcheon, and moved because of the Hapcheon dam; sources date the move to 1986 (Wikipedia) or 1994 (Gangwon Domin Ilbo). He now rests in the clan graveyard on Seounsan in Nakdong-ri, Nam-myeon, Jeongseon. He is said to be enshrined at Seosan Seowon in Anui, South Gyeongsang.
His eldest son Jeon Maeng-gyeom served as magistrate of Hapcheon (Gangyang) and settled at Yeongseung-ri, Mari-myeon, Geochang; most of the branch descends from him. Jeon Suk-gyeom was a second son, and grandson Jeon Hyo-u passed the Joseon civil examination.