Son of O Geon and civil official who opposed the Yeongchang Daegun affair and the deposition of the queen dowager; pen name Saho
| Life | 1616 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 함양 오씨 |
O Jang (吳長, ?-1616) was a mid-Joseon righteous-army leader and civil official of the Hamyang O clan, with courtesy name Iksung and pen name Saho. A native of Sancheong in South Gyeongsang, he was the son of O Geon, who served as a senior fellow of the Hongmungwan. Korean Wikipedia records his line as great-great-grandfather O Jong-eun, great-grandfather O Sik, grandfather O Se-gi and father O Geon, and names two sons-in-law and three sons by a concubine. His birth year is not given in the sources.
When the Japanese invaded in 1592 he raised a righteous army and was recommended together with Jang Hyeon-gwang of Indong, though he received no post. He was appointed magistrate of Jinan in 1595 and passed the civil examination in 1610, then served as a remonstrator and as assistant magistrate of Gyeongseong. In 1613, as the Yeongchang Daegun affair and the proposal to depose the queen dowager arose, he opposed them against the Greater Northerners and was stripped of office and went home to Sancheong.
The next year, when Jeong On was exiled to Jeju for attacking the execution of Yeongchang Daegun, O Jang led Yeongnam students in a joint memorial against it. This earned him the enmity of the Greater Northern leader Jeong In-hong, and he was exiled to Tosan in Hwanghae, where he died in 1616. Skilled in prose and calligraphy, he left the collection Saho-jip. After the 1623 Restoration his rank was restored and he was posthumously made Senior Royal Secretary; he is enshrined at Seoho Shrine and Seogye Seowon in Sancheong. Sons by a concubine named O Jeong, O Son and O Seop are recorded, and one son-in-law, Seong Cheon-ji, served as magistrate of Jindo. That father and son are enshrined together at Seogye Seowon in Sancheong is explained by the continuity of the father's learning and integrity in the son.
In 1613 O Jang opposed the Yeongchang Daegun affair and the deposition proposal, clashed with the Greater Northerners and was dismissed. The next year he joined Yeongnam students in a memorial against Jeong On's exile, which earned Jeong In-hong's enmity and exile to Tosan. After the Restoration he was reinstated posthumously as Senior Royal Secretary.
The collection Saho-jip, with a preface by Kang Se-hwang and a postscript by Jeong Ji-geom, is thought to have been printed around 1781, and the lettering of its blocks is said to be by Kang Se-hwang. The blocks are preserved with those of his father O Geon's collected works as South Gyeongsang tangible cultural heritage.
The location of his tomb could not be confirmed here; he is enshrined at Seoho Shrine and Seogye Seowon in Sancheong.