Chief State Councillor under King Hyojong; father of royal son-in-law Sim Ik-hyeon
| Life | 1593 ~ 1662 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 청송 심씨 |
Sim Ji-won (沈之源, 1593–1662) was a late-Joseon official under Kings Hyojong and Hyeonjong, of the Cheongsong Sim clan, with the courtesy name Wonji and the pen name Mansa. A descendant of Sim Deok-bu's fourth son Sim Jing, he belonged to the Insubuyun-gong branch.
He passed the civil examination in 1620 but, refusing to join the Greater Northerners despite a senior kinsman's ties to their leader Yi Icheom, retired to the countryside. After the Injo Restoration he held censorial and academic posts, and as special inspector of Hamgyeong in 1630 he exposed people who were selling men and horses across the border and proposed defenses for the six northern garrisons, winning King Injo's trust.
During the Manchu invasion of 1636 he set out late because of his aged mother and could not reach Namhansanseong; his attempt to raise volunteers failed and Ganghwa fell. Impeached for this, he was barred from office until 1643, when he returned as magistrate of Hongju and went on to serve as Inspector-General and Governor of Pyeongan.
In 1652 his son Sim Ik-hyeon married King Hyojong's daughter Princess Sukmyeong, and Sim rose in royal favor to Minister of Punishments and of Personnel and travelled to Qing as an envoy. He became Right State Councillor in 1654, Left State Councillor the following year and Chief State Councillor in 1658. When Hyojong died in 1659 he led the government as regent-minister and directed the royal funeral, and in the mourning-rites controversy he followed Song Si-yeol while defending the Southerner Jo Gyeong.
He left the collection Mansago and was a noted calligrapher; he was enshrined at Songgok Seowon in Yeongcheon. His tomb in Bunsu-ri, Gwangtan-myeon, Paju, lies directly in front of that of the Goryeo general Yun Gwan, and the site is famous for a burial-ground dispute between the Cheongsong Sim and Papyeong Yun clans that lasted some four centuries. His great-grandson was the painter Sim Sa-jeong.
His tomb and spirit-way stele (1686, text by Kim Su-hang) are in Bunsu-ri, Gwangtan-myeon, Paju, designated a Gyeonggi Provincial Monument in 1992.
His son Sim Ik-hyeon became King Hyojong's son-in-law; his great-grandson was the painter Sim Sa-jeong.