Open-port-era official (magistrate of Jinju and Deogwon, governor of Hwanghae) who supported the founding of Wonsan Haksa and wrote the Gyobang Gayo; pen name Bagwon
| Life | 1817 ~ 1899 |
| Era | 조선 말기·개항기 |
| Clan | 초계 정씨 |
Jeong Hyeon-seok (鄭顯奭, 1817-1899), of Chogye, courtesy name Boyeo and pen name Bagwon, was a late-Joseon official, grandson of Jeong Hong-gwan and son of Jeong Gi-hwa. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture lists his dates as unknown, so this entry follows Wikipedia's 1817-1899; as with the date of the Gyobang Gayo (1865 or 1872), details vary by source.
As magistrate of Goweon in Hamgyeong in 1864 he seems to have earned high marks, then served as magistrate of Samga, Jinju and Gimhae. While at Jinju he wrote the Gyobang Gayo, recording the songs and dances of the Jinju official entertainers, and is said to have created the Uiam Byeolje; the book is an important source for reviving Jinju sword dance and the Uiam rite. He urged the court to recruit talent for defense, education, sericulture and mining in the coastal strongholds of Gimhae and Deogwon.
When he arrived in 1883 as magistrate of Deogwon and Wonsan superintendent, residents raised funds and asked for a new school; his support is how Wonsan Haksa, introduced as Korea's first modern school, came about (the Encyclopedia entry does not mention it directly, so accounts of who founded it and when differ). He was named Second Minister of the Royal Kin Office in 1886, and as governor of Hwanghae in 1894 had Jang Won-seok and others, who cut telegraph lines during the Donghak uprising, beheaded at Bongsan; he was reprimanded and dismissed that November, which is read as the pro-Japanese cabinet purging men close to the court.
The Gyobang Gayo records dance and song at Jinju's official entertainers' school and has served as the basis for reviving traditions such as Jinju sword dance and the Uiam Byeolje. The Korean Dance Dictionary dates it 1865 while another listing gives 1872 (Gojong 9), so both are noted. A one-volume copy survives at the National Library of Korea.
His tomb and descendants were not confirmed here. A one-volume copy of the Gyobang Gayo is held by the National Library of Korea.