Leading writer of the Yeongjo-Jeongjo era, nephew of Yi Ik and father of Yi Ga-hwan; pen name Hyehwanjae
| Life | 1708 ~ 1782 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 여주 이씨 |
Yi Yong-hyu (1708-1782) was a late-Joseon writer of the Yeoju Yi clan, courtesy name Gyeongmyeong and pen name Hyehwanjae. His father Yi Chim, an elder brother of Yi Ik, was adopted out to Yi Myeong-jin; Yong-hyu was thus Yi Ik's nephew and the father of Yi Ga-hwan. His maternal grandson Yi Seung-hun, of the Pyeongchang Yi, is known as Korea's first baptized Catholic.
He passed the jinsa examination and received an honorary post as Deputy Commissioner by protected appointment, but is said not to have sat the higher examination. Under the family's Silhak influence he wrote realistic verse, and works from the standpoint of ordinary people stand out. The Chinese-language tale "Haeseo Gaeja" depicts a beggar in dialogue as innocent and without pretense.
His works include the Tanmanjip, Hyehwan Sicho and Hyehwan Japjeo, and he is rated with Bak Ji-won as a representative figure of the literary world of the Yeongjo-Jeongjo period. He is noted for turning, unlike traditional biographical writing, to lower-status subjects. His son Yi Ga-hwan's death in the 1801 persecution came after his own death.
His son was Yi Ga-hwan and his maternal grandson Yi Seung-hun (Pyeongchang Yi).