Scholar-poet who served as Chief State Councillor under King Seonjo (pen name Saam)
Same-name figures:
박순(朴純) — Early Joseon official said to have died as an envoy to Haman (Hamheung) under King Taejong
박순(朴純) — Goryeo official; revered ancestor of the Gangneung Park clan
| Life | 1523 ~ 1589 |
| Era | 조선 |
| Clan | 충주 박씨 |
Park Sun (朴淳, 1523-1589), courtesy name Hwasuk, pen name Saam and posthumous title Munchung, was a mid-Joseon official, Neo-Confucian scholar and poet of the Chungju Park. A son of Inspector-General Park U and nephew of Park Sang (Nuljae), he is said to have become a pupil of Seo Gyeong-deok at fifteen. He took first place in the 1553 palace examination, served as Personnel section chief and Hongmungwan officer, and as Grand Remonstrator is said to have called for the punishment of the monk Bou and impeached Yun Won-hyeong.
He rose through Right and Left State Councillor to Chief State Councillor, serving about fourteen years in the top ministerial ranks, seven of them as Chief State Councillor, and was listed among the incorruptible officials. Because of his closeness to Yi I and Seong Hon he was labeled Westerner and attacked by the Easterners; he withdrew to Pocheon, where he died in 1589. After the 1591 settlement of the dynastic-lineage correction he was posthumously rated a first-class merit subject. The woodblocks of his collected works, the Saamjip, are a Gwangju city cultural property. Some sources give his birth year as 1519.