Military official who went as an envoy to Shenyang and left the Shimyang Ilgi diary; naval commander of Gyeongsang
| Life | 1579 ~ 1643 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 보성 선씨 |
Seon Yak-hae (1579-1643) was a mid-Joseon military official of the Boseong Seon clan, with courtesy name Baekjong, and a tenth-generation descendant of Seon Yun-ji. His father Seon Ui-mun is said to have served as an aide to Choe Gyeong-jang in the righteous army and, as magistrate of Jindo under Yi Sun-sin, to have fought at Noryang. He passed the military examination in 1605 and became a royal messenger.
In 1630 (8th year of Injo), while a staff officer of the Border Defense Council, he was recommended as skilled in both letters and arms and went with the national letter to Shenyang of the Later Jin (Qing) as a consoling envoy. For acting on the principle of honoring Ming and rejecting Qing and not yielding to foreign power, his rank was raised on return and he received a gilt riding whip, a sable coat and a jade cup. He later served as magistrate of Pyeongsan and Miryang and became Gyeongsang naval commander, and is said to have died of illness at his post aged 64.
His Shimyang Ilgi (Shenyang mission diary) covers 3 April to 23 May 1630 and is valued as an important source on developments in Hebei and Shenyang and Later Jin military information before the Byeongja invasion. It was re-evaluated through an academic paper in 2009 and a translation edited by Sin Hae-jin in 2013. He was enshrined at Ojungsa when it received its plaque in 1830-31, and was posthumously made Vice Minister of War in 1862 and Minister of War in 1873.
In April 1630 Seon Yak-hae entered Shenyang of the Later Jin and left a record of about fifty days. The head association's materials say he won over the Qing king with words and averted a crisis, but this is the descendants' assessment and is best checked against the diary itself.
Whereas the Shimyang Ilgi of Crown Prince Sohyeon's party recorded life as hostages, Seon Yak-hae's diary is characterized as recording Later Jin military movements through a soldier's eyes. It is said to be included in China's Liaohai Congshu.
Boseong Ojungsa enshrines the founder Seon Yun-ji, Seon Hyeong, Seon Geo-i, Seon Se-gang and Seon Yak-hae; it is said to have been demolished around 1871 and restored in the 1960s.
He died at his post; the location of his tomb was not confirmed.