Official dismissed for opposing the demotion of the dowager queen; pen name Pyoong; posthumous title Chungsuk; author of the Pyoong yugo
| Life | 1556 ~ 1620 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 진천 송씨 |
Song Yeong-gu (宋英耉, 1556-1620) was a mid-Joseon official of the Jincheon clan, with courtesy name Insu and pen names Pyoong, Ilho and Baekryeon geosa. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture his great-grandfather was Song Se-ung, his grandfather Song Eok-su and his father Song Yeong; his mother was a daughter of Ha Se-jun. A disciple of Seong Hon, he married a lady of the Haepyeong Yun clan. The Digital Iksan Encyclopedia says he was from Iksan.
He passed the 1584 special examination in the third class. When the Imjin War broke out he became aide to Grand Commissioner Jeong Cheol and in 1597 aide to the Chungcheong governor. After a mission to Ming as secretary he lived in Wansan without office, returned around 1599, held several posts including magistrate of Cheongpung, and in 1607 as magistrate of Seongju was dismissed through the ill will of the strongman Jeong In-hong.
Under Gwanghaegun he became Saganwon head in 1610, took part in compiling the Veritable Records of Seonjo, served as Gyeongsang governor (1611 or 1612 by source), and in 1613 as envoy to Ming showed that Korea had made no peace with Japan, earning promotion to Jisa. The Ming official Zhu Zhifan he met then is said to have written the plaque of his pavilion Mangmodang. In 1616 he became Vice-Minister of War, but was dismissed for refusing to join the court petition during the debate on deposing the dowager queen, in 1618 per the Encyclopedia but 1615 per the Iksan encyclopedia.
He died in 1620 and was posthumously honored after the 1623 Restoration, as Minister of Rites per the Encyclopedia or Minister of War per the Iksan encyclopedia; the posthumous title Chungsuk was granted in 1809. He is described as dignified, upright and generous to others' faults. His 3-volume collection Pyoong yugo was published by a 7th-generation descendant, Song Mun-sul. A shrine, Seosansa, was built in Jeonju; his grave is at Jenae-ri, Bongdong, Wanju with the lodge Usan Jeongsa, and a merit stele is preserved at the Cheongpung Cultural Heritage Complex in Jecheon.
Mangmodang, in Gwangam-ri, Wanggung-myeon, Iksan, is designated a tangible cultural heritage of North Jeolla. The plaque is said to have been written by Zhu Zhifan, whom he met on his mission to Ming. By his grave at Jenae-ri stands the lodge Usan Jeongsa.
According to Wikipedia's entry on Song Chang, his grandfather Song Heung-si, a son of Song Yeong-jin, was adopted as heir of Song Yeong-gu. Song Yeong-gu and Song Chang thus appear as part of one family line.
Jenae-ri, Bongdong-eup, Wanju (with the lodge Usan Jeongsa)
His 7th-generation descendant Song Mun-sul published the Pyoong yugo; Song Heung-si, grandfather of Song Chang, was adopted as his heir (family accounts vary).