Sijo poet of Gangjin, author of 'Seosan Ilrakga' and supporter of righteous armies in the Imjin War; pen name Haeam
| Life | 1527 ~ 1620 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 도강 김씨 |
Kim Eung-jeong (金應鼎, 1527-1620) was a mid-Joseon man of letters of the Dogang Kim, with courtesy name Sahwa and pen name Haeam. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture his father was Kim Han-geol, a probationary official at the Yebinsi, and his mother was of the Haenam Yun. Wikipedia lists him as 15th generation of the clan and 9th of the Sijik-gong branch. He lived in the countryside, reading and composing sijo, and reached the age of 93.
On the deaths of Queen Dowager Munjeong, King Myeongjong and King Seonjo he put on mourning and attended the funerary rites despite his age and lack of office, following the Book of Rites. Impressed, the Jeolla governors Jeong Cheol and Choe Gwan petitioned the court to give him posts, and he was offered such offices as a Neungneung attendant and an Inspector, but did not take up any of them.
During the Imjin and Jeongyu wars he recruited volunteers and is said to have sold all his land and servants to raise 500 seok of provisions to help the righteous-army leaders Go Gyeong-myeong and Jo Heon. His best-known work, 'Seosan Ilrakga', is a sijo written in 1567 on hearing of King Myeongjong's death; eight sijo survive in the Haeam Munjip, and a preface by O I-geon says he composed more than a hundred songs.
'Seosan Ilrakga' is described as a lament on the king's death, its image being the setting sun that darkens heaven and earth. A scholar without office who grieved the king's passing as a personal loss shows how he valued loyalty and ritual. Because wording differs among editions of the Haeam Munjip, the lyrics are not reproduced here.
The Haeam Munjip was first printed in 1773, with a 1905 reprint widely used, as scholars explain. He is regarded as a countryside literati sijo poet who declined office, and is among the first names in Gangjin's literary history.
His tomb's exact location could not be confirmed; he is remembered in the Gangjin area.
He is listed as 9th generation of the Sijik-gong branch, whose members are said to have lived around Seokcheon village in Doam-myeon, Gangjin.