Yi Jachun

Who was Yi Jachun?

Yi Ja-chun was a minor military officer of the Yuan Dynasty and the father of Yi Seong-gye, the founder of the Joseon Dynasty. He was given the temple name Hwanjo by Taejong.

Yi Ja-chun was a mingghan of the Yuan Dynasty in Shuangcheng, but his ethnicity was Korean. After Shuangcheng was annexed by Goryeo under King Gongmin, he migrated to Hamju, Hamgyŏngnamdo and got promoted to manho. He died there in 1360.

Since he was glamorized by his descendants, descriptions of Yi Ja-chun's life tend to be contradictory to each other. For example, he is said to have risen to the rank of scholar-official. However, when he died, the king at the time expressed condolences for Jachun as if for scholar-officials, implying that Yi Ja-chun was not a scholar-official.