Late Goryeo recluse scholar of Mt. Chiaksan, known as the teacher of Yi Bang-won (King Taejong) and author of Ungok Sisa; pen name Ungok
| Life | 1330 ~ 미상 |
| Era | 고려 말~조선 초 |
| Clan | 원주 원씨 |
Won Cheon-seok (born 1330, death year unknown) was a scholar and poet of the late Goryeo and early Joseon from the Wonju Won clan, with courtesy name Jajeong and pen name Ungok. Wikipedia gives his birth as the 8th day of the 7th lunar month of 1330. His grandfather Won Yeol was a Jeongyong Byeoljang and his father Won Yun-jeok a Jongbuyeong. He passed the jinsa examination but, seeing the disorder of late-Goryeo politics, did not take office and withdrew to Mt. Chiaksan.
He is widely known as the childhood teacher of Yi Bang-won, the future King Taejong. It is said he taught the young prince at Gangnimsa in Hoengseong, and that after Yi Bang-won became king he came several times to Chiaksan to ask him to serve, but Won never agreed. Taejongdae in Gangnim-myeon, Hoengseong is said to be where the king stayed when visiting. Accounts of the visit dates are inconsistent, so the exact time cannot be fixed. He is described as associating with Yi Saek and helping spread Neo-Confucianism.
His collected poems, Ungok Sisa, survive, along with two sijo. According to Heo Mok's Gieon, he wrote six volumes of unofficial history, which his descendants burned for fear of calamity to the family. In 1612 he was enshrined at Chilbong Seowon in Wonju. The clan association honors him as the mid-founder of the Ungok line.
He passed the jinsa examination but, seeing the chaos of late Goryeo, declined office and withdrew to Mt. Chiaksan. He is said to have kept faith with Goryeo even after the founding of Joseon.
He is said to have taught the young Yi Bang-won, and the pupil, later King Taejong, repeatedly asked him to take office without success. The Wikipedia entry itself mentions only the king's requests, not the teaching episode.
His collected poems, Ungok Sisa, survive. Heo Mok's Gieon says his six-volume unofficial history was burned by descendants fearing reprisal, so his record of the politics of his day was lost.
He was enshrined at Chilbong Seowon in 1612 and the shrine Changuisa stands at his tomb in Haenggu-dong. Tradition says the monk Muhak chose the burial site. He appears as a character in the KBS drama Tears of the Dragon.
His tomb is in Haenggu-dong, Wonju, at the foot of Mt. Chiaksan (Gangwon Monument No. 75, designated 2000). The stele reads 'Tomb of Won Cheon-seok, Goryeo jinsa'; a 1670 epitaph was written by Heo Mok; the lodge Moun-jae (built 1704, rebuilt 1984) and the shrine Changuisa (2006) stand within the precinct.
The clan association honors him as mid-founder of the Ungok line.