Goryeo official who travelled four times to the Mongols to negotiate peace; Pan jangjakgam-sa; son of Song Sun
| Life | 1204 ~ 1247 |
| Era | 고려 후기 |
| Clan | 진천 송씨 |
Song Eon-gi (宋彦琦, 1204-1247) was a late-Goryeo official from Jincheon. The Jincheon encyclopedia gives 1204-1247 while Wikipedia's Jincheon Song article gives 1204-1246, a year apart. His father was Song Sun, his great-grandfather Song In and his grandfather Song Won-gyeom.
A reader from youth, he passed the examination under Gojong and rose to Pan jangjakgam-sa. Yongin Sinmun says he served as magistrate of Jeonju, restraining powerful local families and governing fairly, then toured the provinces as an inspector; in a famine he opened the granary and was praised as a "famous inspector".
He is best known for dealing with the Mongols. The Jincheon encyclopedia says that when Mongol troops entered the border he went out with a small mounted party and made them withdraw, and was sent repeatedly as peace envoy, after which the border stayed calm for seven years. Yongin Sinmun counts four trips. In 1246, when he was too ill to go again, a minister is recorded in the Goryeosa as saying his life was a blessing to the country and his death a worry for it.
Together with the tale of Song Mun-ju defending Jukju Fortress, his activity underlies the view that the Jincheon Song served the state in both civil and military roles during the 13th-century Mongol wars. That Mun-ju was his younger brother is the clan's tradition and is disputed, as noted under Song Mun-ju.
The Jincheon encyclopedia gives 1247 and Wikipedia 1246, while Yongin Sinmun also gives 1204-1247. This page follows the encyclopedia and notes Wikipedia's value.