원호 元豪

Joseon officer who as Gangwon auxiliary commander blocked Japanese crossings of the Namhan River at Yeoju in the Imjin War; posthumous title Chungjang

Same-name figures:
원호(元昊) — One of the Six Living Ministers (Saengyuksin) who withdrew after King Danjong's deposition; Jiphyeonjeon Jikjehak; pen name Gwallan; posthumous title Jeonggan

Life & career

Won Ho (1533-1592) was a mid-Joseon officer of the Wonju Won clan with the posthumous title Chungjang. His father was Won Song-su and his mother is recorded as of the Sunheung An clan; his father died before he was ten. He studied under Kim Deok-su in Yangju and was close to the Yun brothers Du-su and Geun-su. After failing to advance through the civil examinations he passed the military examination in 1567 and served as magistrate of Gyeongwon and Gyeongheung on the northern frontier, helping put down Nitanggae's raid in 1583; a story says his fingers were severed after shooting arrows all day in midwinter. In 1587, as Right Jeolla naval commander, he lost ships when a Japanese raid hit Sonjuk Island and was exiled to Gangjin, later holding minor posts before retiring.

When the Imjin War began in 1592 he was made auxiliary defense commander of Gangwon Province, guarding the eastern road to Hanseong. After Konishi Yukinaga's vanguard destroyed Sin Rip's army at Chungju and advanced through Yeoju, Won held the ferry crossings near Silleuksa temple with about 300 soldiers, striking whenever the Japanese tried to cross and delaying them for days. Gangwon Governor Yu Yeong-gil then recalled him for the defense of his own province, and the Japanese crossed the river with ease. Won returned, gathered local militia, fought guerrilla-style, and in one night raid at Gumipo ferry in Yangpyeong is said to have taken around fifty heads.

Yu again recalled him, and he was sent toward Gimhwa to stop Japanese forces coming down from Hamgyeong. Surrounded by an ambush of Shimazu Toyohisa's troops, he fought on and then leapt from a cliff; some sources give the date as the 19th of the 6th lunar month of 1592. He was posthumously made Minister of War and Left State Councillor with the title Chungjang. Ryu Seong-ryong lamented in the Jingbirok that no one was left in Gangwon to stop the enemy. He is enshrined at Chungjangsa in Gimhwa and Chungnyeolsa in Wonju, and a Victory Monument stands near Silleuksa (1990). His son Won Yu-nam and grandson Won Du-pyo became Injo Restoration merit subjects.

Frontier Officer

He passed the military examination in 1567, served in northern frontier posts such as Gyeongwon and Gyeongheung, and joined the suppression of Nitanggae in 1583. He was also exiled over the 1587 Sonjuk Island raid.

Defending the Namhan River at Yeoju

Early in the Imjin War, with about 300 men, he guarded the crossings around Silleuksa and delayed the Japanese for days. Amid repeated recalls and returns he scored victories such as the Gumipo night raid. Some link the recall to factional strife, though one commentary warns against such a reading.

Death at Gimhwa

In June 1592 he was surrounded by an ambush at Gimhwa and is said to have leapt from a cliff. The Jingbirok records that no one remained in Gangwon to stop the enemy.

Posthumous Honors

He was posthumously made Minister of War and Left State Councillor, given the title Chungjang, and enshrined at Chungjangsa in Gimhwa and Chungnyeolsa in Wonju. In 1990 a Victory Monument with an inscription by the novelist Park Jong-hwa was erected near Silleuksa.

Grave

His tomb is at Jangam-ri, Bungnae-myeon, Yeoju, which was originally Wonju land in Gangwon and joined Gyeonggi in 1914; it is known together with his grandson Won Du-pyo's tomb as the Won Ho and Won Du-pyo tomb site.

Descendants

Son Won Yu-nam and grandson Won Du-pyo continued the line; the clan association lists him as 14th generation of the Sijung line in the Eumseong-gong branch under Prince Wonsan.

Other 원주 원씨 figures