Goryeo state councillor under King Chungseon; founder of the Munjang-gong branch
| Life | 1252 ~ 1312 |
| Era | 고려 후기 |
| Clan | 전의 이씨 |
Yi Hon (李混, 1252-1312) was a civil official of late Goryeo from the Jeonui Yi clan. His original name was Yi Ja-bun, his courtesy names Geohwa, Ilu and Taecho, his pen name Mongam and his posthumous name Munjang. The second son of General Yi Cheon, he founded the Munjang-gong branch of the clan.
He passed the civil examination in 1268 at the age of 17 and, after posts in Gwangju and the National Academy, rose under King Chungnyeol through the Royal Secretariat to deputy and then associate director of the Privy Council and military commander of the north-west. In 1296 a memorial on current abuses submitted by the State Council angered the king's favourites; suspected of proposing it, he was jailed and dismissed, but the next year was recalled as director of the Privy Council and tutor to the crown prince. He later served as governor of the Western Capital, minister of personnel, academician of the Jiphyeonjeon and chancellor-level posts.
In 1307 he went to the Yuan court as New Year envoy and discussed reform of the government structure with King Chungseon, and when Chungseon took the throne in 1308 he was appointed Daesabaek and enrolled as a merit subject. Resented by those who lost posts in the reform and disliked by Consort Suk, he was demoted to magistrate of Hoeju and Yeju, but was recalled and retired as state councillor. The Goryeosa records both criticism that he grew rich while handling appointments and an anecdote in which he declined the king's wish to give his brother Yi Ja-hwa a senior post.
He was a gifted writer whose verses circulated widely, and the Goryeosa's treatise on music says that while exiled to Yeonghae he made a great drum from driftwood, the origin of the court drum dance Mugo. The Yean Yi clan descends from his line: the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture says he was enfeoffed as Earl of Yean and became its founder, while other sources say his grandson Yi Ik's enfeoffment as Lord Yean led to the split.