Civil official and volunteer leader who fell at Hwangseok Fortress in the Japanese invasions; pen name Daesoheon; posthumous title Chungui
| Life | 1537 ~ 1597 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 함안 조씨 |
Jo Jong-do (趙宗道, 1537-1597) was a mid-Joseon civil official of the Haman Jo clan, with courtesy name Baegyu and pen name Daesoheon. After passing the saengwon examination in 1558 he became postal commissioner of Angi, and in 1585 was chosen magistrate of Yangji. In 1589 he was imprisoned for a time during the Jeong Yeo-rip rebellion affair and then released.
When the Imjin War broke out in 1592 he became magistrate of Aneum and later governor of Hamyang, withdrawing because of illness. Under the volunteer leader Gim Myeon he fought alongside Gwak Jun in battles such as Ucheokhyeon. In 1597, when the second invasion began, he held Hwangseok Fortress with Gwak Jun and was killed fighting the army of Kato Kiyomasa when the fortress fell.
His posthumous title is Chungui (忠毅), and his collected works are the Daesoheon-jip. He and Gwak Jun are said to be enshrined at Hwangamseowon, built in Aneum in 1717 and granted a royal plaque the following year. In the clan association's arrangement his line is grouped as the Daesoheon-gong branch (Jong-do, 17th generation) under Namgye-gong, a fifth-generation descendant of Eogye Jo Ryeo.
In the early Imjin War, volunteers such as Gwak Jae-u, Gim Myeon and Jeong In-hong rose in the right Gyeongsang region. Jo Jong-do is known to have served under Gim Myeon with Gwak Jun and to have fought in battles such as Ucheokhyeon. He left his post as governor of Hamyang because of illness, but when the war resumed in the second invasion he again gathered volunteers and took part in defending a fortress.
In 1597 Jo Jong-do and Gwak Jun, who defended Hwangseok Fortress, were killed fighting the Japanese army under Kato Kiyomasa. Gwak Jun is said to have died with his two sons. The battle is remembered as part of the western Gyeongsang defense in the second invasion. Hwangamseowon, honoring both men, was built in Aneum in 1717.
Jo Jong-do is counted as a fifth-generation descendant of Eogye Jo Ryeo, and tradition says descendants of Jo Ryeo who died in or fought with distinction in the Imjin and second invasions were enshrined at Seosan Seowon as the Thirteen Loyalists. Korean Wikipedia's branch list gives the Daesoheon branch separately. Namuwiki describes the thirteen as one grandson, three great-grandsons, eight fifth-generation and two sixth-generation descendants of Jo Ryeo.
His tomb could not be confirmed here.