Deputy commander who fought at Haengju and fell at Ulsan Fortress; friend of Yi Sun-sin; pen name Chinchinjae
| Life | 1545 ~ 1598 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 보성 선씨 |
Seon Geo-i (1545-1598) was a mid-Joseon military official of the Boseong Seon clan, with courtesy names Sasin and Ijung and pen name Chinchinjae. A great-grandson of Seon Hyeong and eighth-generation descendant of Seon Yun-ji, his birth year is given as 1545 or 1550 depending on the source. He was appointed to the royal guard Gyeomsabok in 1569 as a descendant of a merit subject and passed the military examination in 1579.
In 1586 he became an aide to the North Hamgyeong commander Yi Il, and when Yi Sun-sin was jailed over the Nokdundo incident in 1587 he is said to have sent a letter to the Minister of War Jeong Eon-sin asserting his innocence. In the 1592 Imjin War he is said to have joined the naval victory at Hansando with Yi Sun-sin as magistrate of Jindo, and in November that year, as Jeolla army commander, fought at Dokseong Fortress. In February 1593, as Deputy Commander and Jeolla army commander, he fought at the Battle of Haengju with Gwon Yul. He served as Chungcheong naval commander in 1594-95, and in 1595 was appointed Hwanghae army commander but could not take up the post because of serious illness.
When the second invasion began in 1597 he fought in the battle of Ulsan Fortress despite his illness, killing some seventy Japanese, but was shot and killed in January 1598. As his body could not be found, a funeral calling back his spirit was held in his hometown Bongneung-ri, Joseong-myeon, Boseong. Descendants argue that his contribution deserved a first-class Seonmu merit rank, but he was in fact recorded as a first-class Seonmu Wonjong merit subject.
Seon Geo-i and Yi Sun-sin are said to have been close since serving in Hamgyeong. The Nanjung Ilgi records that Yi Sun-sin often visited Seon Geo-i when he suffered from rheumatism as Chungcheong naval commander, and wrote him a farewell poem when he left in September 1595.
The poem opens by saying they shared hardship in the north and life and death in the south. See also Yi Sun-sin.
At Haengju in 1593 he is said to have led the Jeolla troops with Gwon Yul. Afterwards, on an order to hold Jinju Fortress, he argued for preserving the army and withdrew his troops; some accounts say this was later treated as disobedience and kept him from the first-class Seonmu merit rank.
Since this account comes largely from the descendants' side it should be weighed carefully; his actual award was first-class Seonmu Wonjong. A loyal-subject gate was granted in 1801 and he was posthumously made Minister of War in 1862.
He fell at the battle of Ulsan Fortress in January 1598, and his merits are said to be mentioned in the Ilseongnok in 1799 under Jeongjo. A loyal-subject gate stands in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, and at Haengju Seowon in Goyang he is enshrined as Gwon Yul's deputy.
The Independence Hall of Korea is said to hold his March 1592 appointment as Jeolla army commander.
His body was not found and a funeral calling back his spirit was held in Bongneung-ri, Joseong-myeon, Boseong (a Gukbang Ilbo article instead says he was buried at Cheongnyong-dong in the family hill).
His 13th-generation descendant Seon Yeong-je served as Vice Chief of Staff of the Army and director of the War Memorial; his 14th-generation descendant is the baseball star Seon Dong-yeol.