First-generation ancestor of the Jincheon Song clan; Chief Councillor who was killed protecting the king during Yi Ja-gyeom's rebellion
Same-name figures:
송인(宋寅) — Royal son-in-law of King Jungjong and calligrapher skilled in regular script; Lord Yeoseong; pen name Iam; posthumous title Mundan
| Life | 1126 |
| Era | 고려 중기 |
| Clan | 진천 송씨 |
Song In (宋仁, ?-1126) was a mid-Goryeo official from Jincheon, North Chungcheong, honored as the first-generation ancestor of the Jincheon Song clan. The Digital Jincheon Encyclopedia calls him Lord of Sangsan (常山伯) under King Injong and says he reached the rank of Pyeongjang-sa; Wikipedia says he rose to Chief Councillor (Munha pyeongjang-sa) with the title Chanhwa meritorious subject and Samjung daekwang, and was made Lord of Jincheon. Whether the enfeoffment was Sangsan or Jincheon varies by source, but the old Jincheon was once called Sangsan. Yongin Sinmun explains that descendants took Sangsan as their seat and changed it to Jincheon when the place name changed.
His birthplace is given as Deoksan with different spellings: Dumul-ri in Wikipedia, Dunchon-ri in Yongin Sinmun and Duchon-ri in the Jincheon encyclopedia. One article gives his birth as 1125, which conflicts with his death in 1126, so no birth year is stated here. Because the clan's line after the legendary founder Song Sun-gong is lost for about 340 years (350 by another count), the genealogy begins with the documented Song In.
He is said to have been killed in 1126, the fourth year of Injong, by rebels led by Cheok Jun-gyeong while guarding the king during the rebellion of Yi Ja-gyeom. Descendants remember this as an emblem of loyalty. Wikipedia adds that he governed Sangsan fairly and valued youth education, but this rests on a single source.
His tomb at Duchon-ri, Deoksan-eup, Jincheon is Chungbuk Monument No. 91. Descendants maintain an altar there honoring the founder and ancestors up to the sixth generation (12 tablets), with a rite on the tenth day of the tenth lunar month. His son Song Won-gyeom reached Sangjuguk Taejae, and his grandsons Song Sun, Song Hui and Song Guk-cheom raised the family to prominence.
The clan honors Song Sun-gong, said to have held the Daeachan rank under Silla's King Heongang, as founder, but the line is lost for about 340 years afterward. Yongin Sinmun accepts the gap and counts Song In as the first generation. The Jincheon encyclopedia calls Song In both founder and the ancestor who settled in the area, so the use of the title "founder" varies by source.
The Tomb of Song In is Chungbuk Monument No. 91, and the photo list of the Jincheon encyclopedia also mentions the Sangsanjae lodge, its marker stone and the clan altar stele nearby. Descendants hold a rite at the altar on the tenth day of the tenth lunar month.
Duchon-ri, Deoksan-eup, Jincheon-gun (Chungbuk Monument No. 91, Tomb of Song In)
His line runs through his son Song Won-gyeom and grandsons Song Sun, Song Hui and Song Guk-cheom.