Joseon military officer named a Jinmu merit subject for suppressing Yi Gwal's rebellion; died in action in the Byeongja war; pen name Pyogok
| Life | 1593 ~ 1637 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 충주 지씨 |
Ji Gye-choe (1593-1637) was a mid-Joseon military officer of the Chungju clan with the courtesy name Eonsuk and pen name Pyogok. A tenth-generation descendant of Ji Yong-gi, he was the son of Ji Se-ryun, a shrine caretaker posthumously made minister of revenue. As a child his name was also written Ji Gye-seol.
Soon after King Injo took the throne in 1623 he raised more than 600 soldiers and joined field marshal Jang Man as a western recruiting officer. The next year when Yi Gwal sent Gang Jeok to persuade him to join his plot, he refused and beheaded the envoy, and when Yi Gwal rose he contributed to the victory at Angyeon. In 1624 he was named a third-class Jinmu merit subject with 25 others including Jang Man, Jeong Chung-sin and Nam I-heung, and was enfeoffed as Lord Chungseong.
In 1631 he again volunteered to raise troops for the western frontier and served as magistrate of Huichon and Seoheung. In the 1636 Byeongja war he is said to have fought at Geomsucham in Seoheung and been killed at Singye in 1637 while falling back toward Namhansanseong, and was posthumously made mayor of Hanseong. His writings are collected in the Pyogok silgi.
In 1623, right after the Restoration, Ji Gye-choe led more than 600 soldiers to join field marshal Jang Man. In 1624, when the rebel Yi Gwal sent Gang Jeok to urge him to join, he refused and beheaded him, and is said to have contributed to the victory at the battle of Angyeon. For this he was counted among the principal merit subjects as a third-class Jinmu subject.
In July 1631, as a recruiting officer, he petitioned to give his life on the western frontier, and the Border Defense Council commended and accepted it. He went out as magistrate of Huichon that year but asked to be allowed to fight in the Anju and Hwangju camps and was relieved of the post. He then became magistrate of Seoheung and is said to have governed well.
When the Byeongja war broke out in 1636 he fought the enemy at Geomsucham in Seoheung, and is said to have died at Singye in 1637 while retreating toward Namhansanseong. He was posthumously made mayor of Hanseong, and in 1803 (King Sunjo 3) the title Jeongheon daebu and Lord Chungseong buwongun was added. A spirit-way stele stands at Chopyeong-ri, Chochon-myeon, Buyeo, and the Buyeo Ji Gye-choe Memorial Gate (jeongnyeo) is listed as a related heritage item.
The Pyogok silgi collects the record of his life and merits and is introduced as material showing the military tradition of the Chungui-gun branch that runs from Ji Yong-gi. In accounts of the lineage of General Ji Cheong-cheon, Ji Gye-choe is also mentioned as an ancestor who suppressed Yi Gwal's rebellion and fell heroically in the Byeongja war.
King Injo is said to have ordered a spirit-way stele set up at Chopyeong-ri, Chochon-myeon, Buyeo, South Chungcheong. The tomb inscription was composed by Nam Gyu-hui and written by Min Byeong-seung, with the front lettering by Yun Yong-gu.
His wives were of the Yeosan Song and Jeonju Yi clans (the latter a daughter of Yi Ho, Lord Gwangwon, a great-great-grandson of King Seongjong); he is said to have had five sons and three daughters with the first and two sons with the second, with sons including Ji Su-ryeon, Ji Su-jeok, Ji Su-ran, Ji Su-gyeong and Ji Su-hyeon.