Joseon official who defended Jeonju Fortress in the Imjin War
| Life | 1529 ~ 1600 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 전의 이씨 |
Yi Jeong-ran (李廷鸞, 1529-1600) was a mid-Joseon civil official of the Jeonui Yi clan, with the courtesy name Munbo. His father was Yi Seung-hyo, a royal lecturer, and the family lived for generations in Jeonju, Jeolla Province. Maname Yi Sang-jin, Right State Councillor under King Sukjong, was his great-grandson.
He is said to have been wary early on of his neighbour Jeong Yeo-rip. He passed the augmented civil examination in 1568, but because Jeong Yeo-rip, then in a powerful post, obstructed his career, he served only in posts such as instructor at the National Academy, magistrate of Haemi, station master of Yangjae and official in Gaeseong before resigning and retiring home. When Jeong Yeo-rip was executed for rebellion in 1589, people admired his foresight.
When Japanese forces invaded Jeolla in 1592, he became commander of the defence at the age of 64 and led the townspeople in holding Jeonju Fortress. His strict discipline and strong defences deterred the enemy, who withdrew without attacking, and the court rewarded him with a post in the Office of Sacrificial Rites. He later served as director of the Armaments Office and magistrate of Suwon and Gongju, but was dismissed from Gongju after the Office of the Inspector-General charged him with neglecting famine relief and agriculture.
When the Japanese again besieged Jeonju during the second invasion of 1597, his proposals for its defence were not adopted; after the Ming commander guarding it fled and the city fell into chaos, he appealed to the court and defended it as magistrate of Jeonju, later becoming recruiting commissioner for the three southern provinces; Korean Wikipedia instead says he was appointed magistrate and commissioner after the previous magistrate died, so accounts of the appointment differ slightly. According to Korean Wikipedia and other sources, his posthumous name is Chunggyeong, he is enshrined at Hangye Seowon in Jeonju, and a shrine to him stands in Maryeong-myeon, Jinan. His deeds are recorded in the Annals of King Seonjo, Yi Jeong-gwi's Wolsa-jip, Song Si-yeol's Songja Daejeon and the Haedong Myeongsillok, and his family's ties to Jeonju continued, with a shrine to his great-grandson Yi Sang-jin founded there in 1695.