Mayor of Hanseong who went to Japan as envoy in 1439; pen name Yeonggok; posthumous title Munchung
| Life | 1388 ~ 1452 |
| Era | 조선 초기 |
| Clan | 제주 고씨 |
Go Deuk-jong (高得宗, 1388-1452) was an early-Joseon civil official of the Jeju Go clan, with courtesy name Jabu, pen name Yeonggok and posthumous title Munchung. His great-grandfather was Go Sun-won, his grandfather the Tamna seongju Go Sin-geol, and his father General Go Bong-ji. Sources differ on his dates; a Jeju local article gives 1389-1460.
He was recommended for filial conduct in 1413 and became a jikjang, passed the civil examination in 1414 with eul-gwa rank, and again in 1427 at the jungsi retest. He then served as Vice Minister posts in the Privy Council and the Ministries of Taxation and Rites before becoming Second Minister of the Privy Council and Mayor of Hanseong. In 1438 he went to Ming China, in 1439 to Japan as envoy, bringing back letters from the Ashikaga and Ouchi, and in 1441 to Ming again as the birthday envoy.
In 1448 he was made transport commissioner to move rice from Chungcheong and Jeolla to Pyeongan. He excelled in prose and calligraphy, was so filial that a memorial gate was raised after his death, and several of his poems appear in the Sinjeung Dongguk Yeoji Seungnam. Some accounts say he associated with Hwang Hui and Prince Anpyeong. His sons were Go Tae-pil, Tae-jeong, Tae-bo and Tae-ik, and the Yeonggok-gong branch is among the main branches of the Jeju Go. After Go Bong-rye had the seongju title changed, his house made its mark in the central bureaucracy.
Recommended for filial conduct in 1413, he passed the royal-attendance civil examination in 1414 and the jungsi retest in 1427 in eul-gwa rank, then served in the Privy Council and as vice ministers of Taxation and Rites.
He went to Ming in 1438 and 1441, and to Japan in 1439 as envoy, returning with letters. His prose and calligraphy are said to have served him in diplomatic work.
Rites are held at Yeongmosa (Ganghwa) and Hyanghyeonsa at Ohyeondan, Jeju. Among his sons, the line of Go Tae-pil mostly stayed on Jeju while the others spread nationwide, continuing a house of central officials that had earlier produced Go Jo-gi.
Said to be buried at Jaegung-dong in Gaepung, Hwanghae; rites are held at Yeongmosa in Duun-ri, Ganghwa, and Hyanghyeonsa at Ohyeondan in Jeju City.
Sons Go Tae-pil, Tae-jeong, Tae-bo and Tae-ik; founder of the Yeonggok-gong branch.