A late-Goryeo civil official who introduced cotton (mumyeong)
| Life | 1329 ~ 1398 |
| Era | 고려 말 |
| Clan | 남평 문씨 |
Mun Ik-jeom (文益漸, 1329–1398) was a scholar-official of the late Goryeo period, of the Nampyeong clan, with the pen name Samudang. In 1363, while serving as Third Censor of the Saganwon, he was selected as recording secretary to envoy Yi Gong-su and sent on a mission to Yuan China; there, after being implicated in supporting Prince Deokheung during a political upheaval, he was forced to return home, stripped of office, and exiled.
On his way home in 1367 he smuggled cotton seeds back in the cap of his writing brush and, together with his father-in-law Jeong Cheon-ik, successfully cultivated cotton in his hometown of Sancheong, South Gyeongsang Province, transforming the clothing of the Korean people. Under King Taejong of Joseon he was posthumously granted the title Lord of Gangseong, and in 1440 under King Sejong he was further posthumously promoted to Chief State Councillor and ennobled as Bumin-hu ("Marquis who enriched the people"), receiving the posthumous name Chungseon; he is honored as the symbolic figure who brought cotton to Korea.
Mun Ik-jeom and his father-in-law Jeong Cheon-ik are said to have succeeded in growing cotton in Sancheong after three years of trials, then distributed seeds to encourage cultivation. He also learned and spread the tools for removing seeds and spinning thread, and is credited with helping shift cloth from hemp toward cotton. Later scholars such as Jo Sik and Jeong Yak-yong praised his contribution.
The number of seeds differs: the Taejo sillok says a dozen or so, while Nam Hyo-on's Mokmyeon-gi says three. Some argue the hidden-in-a-brush-cap story lacks support, and accounts of whether he backed Prince Deokheung, his place in the embassy and his place of exile vary by source. His dates are also given as 1329-1398 or 1331-1400.
He passed the civil examination in 1360, served as registrar of Gimhae and as a Sunyu doctor, and became Left Remonstrator in 1363. Under King U he served in the Court of Medicine and as Left Sauidaebu and rose to head of the Seonggyungwan, but under King Gongyang he is said to have opposed the land reforms of Yi Seong-gye's faction and withdrew after impeachment by Jo Jun. He returned home in 1390 and is said to have held no further office, keeping loyalty to Goryeo.
The Mokmyeon Sibae Site in Danseong-myeon, Sancheong is a national Historic Site introduced as the place where cotton was first grown, with an exhibition hall and cotton fields. In Sinan-ri, Sinan-myeon stand Docheon Seowon, dedicated to him, his tomb (Gyeongsangnam-do Monument No. 66) and his spirit-path stele (Cultural Heritage Material No. 53). The academy and the cultivation site are different places.
Mun Ik-jeom is the founder of the Chungseon-gong branch, and the Heonnap-gong, Sunjil-gong, Uian-gong, Sijung-gong and Seongsuk-gong branches are explained as splitting from his five sons. Through ties to Gangseong in Sancheong the line is also called the Gangseong Mun. The Nampyeong Mun Bonri Clan Village at Inheung Village, Dalseong, Daegu, is said to have been settled by his 18th-generation descendant Mun Gyeong-ho.
His tomb is located in Sinan-ri, Sinan-myeon, Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang Province, near the Mun Ik-jeom memorial stele; the tomb area was designated Gyeongsangnam-do Monument No. 66 in 1983.
He had five sons, and his grandsons Mun Rae and Mun Yeong are said to have improved the spinning wheel, which according to tradition is the origin of its Korean name (mulle).