Mid-Joseon military official · Magistrate of Uiju and Samdo Tongeosa (naval commander of three provinces) · Refused to bow at the enthronement of Qing Emperor Hong Taiji (1636) · Posthumous title Chungnyeol
| Life | 1573 ~ 1640 |
| Era | 조선 |
| Clan | 나주 나씨 |
Na Deok-heon (1573–1640) was a military official of the mid-Joseon period. His clan seat was Naju; his courtesy name was Heonji and his pen name Jangam. His father was Na Sa-chim, magistrate of Iseong.
He passed the military examination in 1603 and served as a royal guard officer. During the Yi Gwal Rebellion of 1624 he fought under Supreme Commander Jang Man and distinguished himself at the Battle of Anhyeon, for which he was enrolled as a Jinmu Wonjong merit subject. Skilled in diplomacy, he travelled to Shenyang as an envoy several times, and served as magistrate of Gilju, then in 1635 as magistrate of Changseong and governor of Uiju.
In 1636 he went to Shenyang as spring envoy together with Yi Hwak. When Hong Taiji renamed his state Qing, proclaimed himself emperor and ordered the Joseon envoys to join the congratulatory ranks, Na refused to bow even after being beaten until his clothes were torn and his hat broken. When the Qing handed him a state letter demanding hostages, he refused to accept it without knowing its contents; while being escorted home he left the letter with a local at Tongwonbo and returned to Joseon. At court he was impeached for having accepted a letter in which the Qing ruler styled himself emperor; with Kim Sang-heon's defence he escaped the death penalty and was exiled to Baengma Fortress.
After the Qing invasion of 1636–37, when his defiance in Shenyang became known, he was released and promoted to Samdo Tongeosa; he retired in 1639. He received the posthumous title Chungnyeol, and a commemorative gate (jeongmun) was erected in his honour.