Park Jung-seon

Park Jung-seon (朴仲善; 1435 – 1481) was a military officer of mid-Joseon. His family seat was Suncheon (順天). His courtesy name was Jasuk (子淑), and his posthumous name was Soyang (昭襄). He was a nephew of Queen Soheon and a cousin of King Sejo. He was the father of Park Won-jong and the maternal grandfather of Yun Im and Queen Janggyeong.

Life

He was born to Park Geo-so (朴去疎), Vice Minister of the Office for Royal Relatives (副知敦寧府事), and his wife of the Cheongsong Sim clan, and was the grandson of Park Seok-myeong (朴錫命), Prince Pyeongyang (平陽君). His mother was the youngest daughter of Sim On and a younger sister of Queen Soheon. Park Jung-seon lost his parents at an early age and was raised in the household of his aunt's husband, Kang Seok-deok (姜碩德), Minister of the Office for Royal Relatives (知敦寧府事).¹ As a child he studied alone under teachers, and he showed an aptitude for martial arts from an early age, excelling at archery and horseback riding.² In 1460 he passed the military examination at the top of his class. He caught the eye of the powerful Han Myeong-hoe and rose rapidly, reaching the post of Vice Minister of War (兵曹參判) within six years.³ As a military man, he was well suited to King Sejo's temperament,⁴ and he even served as an escort when the king went out on night hunts.⁵ In 1466 he married his daughter to Grand Prince Woljsan, thereby forming a marriage alliance with Sejo.⁶ The following year, he pacified , and was registered as a First-Class Meritorious Subject for the Pacification of Jeokgae (適開功臣). He was enfeoffed as Prince Pyeongyang, the title previously held by his grandfather, and was promoted to , seizing control of military power in his early thirties. In 1468 he contributed to the purge following 's case and was registered as a Third-Class Meritorious Subject for the Pacification of Jeongnan and Support of the Throne (靖難翊戴功臣). In 1471 he contributed to the accession of and was registered as a Third-Class Meritorious Subject for Jwari (佐理功臣). In 1478, on the recommendation of his cousin , he was appointed Minister of Personnel (吏曹判書), an unusual appointment for a military man. The Veritable Records of King Seongjong describe him as having passed the military examination but as being unable to read texts, and as being close only to singing and women. Afterward, Heo Chim (許琛), Lee Geuk-gi (李克基), and others opposed his appointment as Minister of Personnel, arguing that as a man of military background who did not understand poetry and classics and had never associated with the scholar-official class, he was unsuitable. However, King Seongjong did not heed them. The following year, in 1479, he became Senior Minister of the Office for Royal Relatives (判敦寧府事), and he died in 1481.