Neo-Confucian scholar and Left State Councillor who worked to extend the Daedong tax law; art name Pojeo; posthumous title Munhyo
| Life | 1579 ~ 1655 |
| Era | 조선 중기~후기 |
| Clan | 풍양 조씨 |
Jo Ik (1579-1655) was a Neo-Confucian scholar and official of the Pungyang Jo clan, courtesy name Bigyeong, art names Pojeo and Jonjae, posthumous title Munhyo. He studied under Jang Hyeon-gwang and Yun Geun-su, whose daughter was his mother. He passed the special civil examination in 1602, but in 1611 was demoted for urging the enshrinement of Kim Goeng-pil, Jo Gwang-jo and others in the Confucian shrine.
After the 1623 Restoration he returned to office and served as Hanseong deputy governor, governor of Gaeseong, Minister of Rites, Inspector General and Minister of Works. Back at court as Left Consultant in 1648, he held posts as Right and then Left State Councillor. He is recorded as actively helping Yi Won-ik extend and administer the Daedong tax law and later working with Kim Yuk to expand it. In the Manchu invasion of 1636, as Minister of Rites, he tried to move the royal shrine to Ganghwa and accompany King Injo, but missed the chance to follow him to Namhansanseong while searching for his father; he was exiled and released in December.
He was expert in Neo-Confucianism and ritual studies and capable in classics, military arts and divination, writing Gonjirok and commentaries on the Doctrine of the Mean, Great Learning and Book of Documents for King Hyojong, which revised Zhu Xi's sentence divisions substantially. He and Jang Yu, Choe Myeong-gil and Yi Si-baek were lifelong friends known as the "Four Friends". His collected works Pojeojip survive; his son Jo Bok-yang and grandson Jo Ji-gyeom continued the family's standing.
Jo Ik is remembered with Yi Won-ik and Kim Yuk for extending and settling the Daedong law. Right after the 1623 Restoration he is said to have proposed applying it to Gangwon, Chungcheong and Jeolla as well.
His works include Pojeojip (35 volumes in 18 books), Juseo Yoryu (1642) and Seogyeong Cheonseol; Yeoksang Gaeryak survives only as a title. The printing blocks of Pojeo Yuseo and of his son Jo Bok-yang's Songgok Munjip are kept in Yesan, South Chungcheong, and described as a provincial cultural property.
His line runs from Jo Hyeon-beom through Jo An-guk and Jo Gan to his father Jo Yeong-jung. His grandfather's brother Jo Gyeong was a Haengju merit subject. His grandson Jo Ji-gyeom was a Soron-affiliated official.
Buried below Donghwasan in Daeheung, South Chungcheong, according to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. He is enshrined at Myeonggo Seowon, Sungyang Seowon in Gaeseong and Dosan Seowon in Sinchang, among others.
He had sons including Jo Mong-yang, Jo Jin-yang, Jo Bok-yang, Jo Nae-yang and Jo Hyeon-yang; Jo Bok-yang's son Jo Ji-gyeom rose to provincial governor. This line is described as the Pyeongjangsa-gong branch.