Left Gyeongsang army commander at the start of the Imjin War, beheaded for abandoning his post
| Life | 1592 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 함평 이씨 |
Yi Gak (died 1592) was a mid-Joseon military official of the Hampyeong Yi clan, introduced as a great-great-grandson of Yi Jong-saeng through Yi Ryang, Yi Se-beon and Yi Yun-sil. His elder brother Yi Gwan took first place in the civil examination and rose to Vice Minister of Rites. Yi Gak passed the military examination and rose to Left Gyeongsang army commander.
The Seonjo Sujeong Sillok is said to record that he had a bad temper when drinking but became gentle whenever he saw merit. At the outbreak of the Imjin War in 1592 he was Left Gyeongsang commander at the northern camp near Ulsan; he did not arrive in time for the battle of Busanjin, and at the battle of Dongnae he left the defense of the fortress to Magistrate Song Sang-hyeon and escaped.
He was then charged with abandoning his post and army, and after the fall of Hanseong was arrested while fleeing to Commander Kim Myeong-won's camp at the Imjin River, and beheaded on the 14th day of the fifth lunar month by an officer sent by King Seonjo. He appears in the 2015 drama Jingbirok.
Yi Gak is introduced as great-great-grandson of Yi Jong-saeng, with great-grandfather Yi Ryang, grandfather Yi Se-beon (Magistrate of Gimhae) and father Yi Yun-sil. His elder brother Yi Gwan (1523-1596) placed first in the 1548 civil examination, and his nephew Yi Hyo-won served as Grand Remonstrator.
Wikipedia introduces the mother of the wandering poet Kim Sat-gat among the descendants of his nephew Yi Hyo-won; as this comes from a single entry, it is best checked against a genealogy.
At the outbreak he was the Left Gyeongsang commander at the Ulsan camp. Busanjin fell on the first day and Dongnae fell after Song Sang-hyeon's resistance, and Yi Gak is said to have left Dongnae and withdrew.
Before the battle of Gyeongju he was blamed for abandoning post and army. His case is often cited as showing the confusion of the Joseon army in the early stage of the war.
After the fall of Hanseong he fled toward the Imjin River, was arrested, and was beheaded on the 14th day of the fifth lunar month in 1592. The Seonjo Sujeong Sillok is the main source cited.
The location of his tomb was not confirmed.