Song Sang-hyeon

For the South Korean lawyer, see Song Sang-hyun.

In this Korean name, the family name is Song.

Song Sang-hyeon (Korean: 송상현; Hanja: 宋象賢; 1551 – 23 May 1592) was a civil minister, writer, and general during the Joseon dynasty. He was the prefect of Dongnae during the Siege of Dongnae, one of the first battles of the Imjin War. He led troops against Japanese general Konishi Yukinaga and was defeated. When presented with demands of surrender, Song famously declined and was captured alive and subsequently killed. His art name was Cheongok, his courtesy name was Deokgu, and his posthumous name was Chungnyeol.

Song Sang-hyeon
Statue of Chungnyeolgong Song Sang-hyeon
Born	1551 (1551)
Died	May 23, 1592(1592-05-23) (aged 40–41) Busan, Joseon
Korean name
Hangul	송상현
Hanja	宋象賢
Revised Romanization	Song Sanghyeon
McCune–Reischauer	Song Sanghyŏn
Art name
Hangul	천곡
Hanja	泉谷
Revised Romanization	Cheongok
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'ŏn'gok
Courtesy name
Hangul	덕구
Hanja	德求
Revised Romanization	Deokgu
McCune–Reischauer	Tŏkku
Posthumous name
Hangul	충렬
Hanja	忠烈
Revised Romanization	Chungnyeol
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'ungnyŏl

Early life

Song Sang-yeon was born to Saheonbu baliff Song Bok-heung (宋復興) and his wife, a descendant of Lee Mun-gun (李文健), writer of the Mukjae Diaries. Known to be a gifted child, Song is said to have mastered the Confucian classics (經史) during his teens. At fifteen years old, he took Seungbosi, the preliminary Sungkyunkwan admission exam, and won first place. It was during this time that Song became friends with eminent future Joseon scholar and politician Kim Jang-saeng. In 1570, he passed the higher Sungkyunkwan admission exam, Jinsasi, and became a Jinsa.

Legacy

After his death, the Chungnyeolsa Shrine was built in his memory on 1608 by Yun Hwon, the governor of Dongnae.