Yi Eonjeok

Who was Yi Eonjeok?

Yi Eon-jeok, sometimes known by his pen name Hoejae, was a public official and intellectual of the middle Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He was born and died in Gyeongju, then the capital of Gyeongsang province. Like most intellectuals from Gyeongsang in this period, he was a member of the Sarim faction. He contributed to the polarity-nonpolarity debate in classical Korean Confucianism.

A scion of the Yeoju Yi clan, he passed the literary section of the gwageo in 1514 and entered government service. He was twice expelled from service and then re-hired due to factional strife. He was exiled after Fourth Literati Purge of 1545. He spent the intervening periods teaching on Jaok Mountain in Gyeongju. After his death, the Oksan Seowon was erected on Jaok Mountain to venerate his memory. It still stands today in Angang-eup, Gyeongju City, North Gyeongsang, South Korea.