Seon Geo-i (宣居怡, 1545 – February 1598) was a military officer of mid-Joseon. His bongwan was Boseong, his courtesy names were Sasin (思愼) and Ijung (怡仲), and his pen name was Chinchinjae (親親齋).
On 17 March 1592 (25th year of King Seonjo), shortly before the Imjin War broke out, he was appointed provincial military commander of Jeolla Province. However, because he did not receive the appointment document, he handed the post of naval commander of Jeolla to Yi Eok-gi and, serving concurrently as magistrate of Jindo County, fought alongside Yi Sun-sin in the Battle of Hansan Island and won. That December, as provincial military commander of Jeolla Province, he won the Battle of Doksan Fortress, and afterward, as deputy commander-in-chief, he led the victory at the Battle of Haengju. He also won the Battle of Jangmunpo in September 1594. In 1605, he was posthumously conferred the rank of Seonmu Wonjong merit subject of the first class (宣武原從功臣一等).
Life
He was the 8th-generation descendant of Seon Yun-ji (宣允祉), the founder of the Boseong Seon clan.
His great-grandfather was Left Councilor (senior first rank) "Yuseonggun Hyeong (炯)"; his grandfather was Director of the Ojwi Dochongbu (senior fifth rank) Sukcheol (淑鐵); and his father was Commissioner of the Uigeumbu (senior fifth rank) Sang (祥).
He was born on 25 July 1545 (1st year of King Myeongjong). In 1569 (2nd year of King Seonjo), as a descendant of a merit subject (Yuseonggun Seon Hyeong), he was appointed to the Gyeomsabok (兼司僕, a post akin to the presidential security service). After completing the seven-year term of Gyeomsabok, he passed the regular military examination (sikyeongsi, held every three years) in 1579 (12th year of King Seonjo). With his Gyeomsabok experience added, in 1586, the 14th year after passing the examination, he was appointed as a Gyeru Gungwan (啓請軍官, senior third rank, an aide to a corps commander) to Yi Il, the Military Commander of Hamgyeong Province. In 1587, Yi Sun-sin, his friend of the same age and then Mansang of Josan (senior fourth rank), fought the Jurchens at Nokdun Island (鹿屯島), but Military Commander Yi Il, to conceal his own mistakes, cited the loss of combat strength and had Yi Sun-sin imprisoned. Seon Geo-i, lamenting as Yi Sun-sin was taken to prison, told him, "You are going to prison unjustly on false charges, at least have a drink before you go." Yi Sun-sin replied, "Whether one lives or dies is fate, so what use is drinking?" (from the record of Yi Hang-bok in 1629, in Baeksajip, vol. 4).
To rescue Yi Sun-sin, Seon Geo-i sent a letter asserting his innocence to Jeong Eon-sin, Minister of War (senior second rank, equivalent to a defense minister). It is unknown whether the letter helped, but Yi Sun-sin was released soon afterward. The two then earned military merit by defeating the Jurchens who had raided Nokdun Island (the Battle of Sijeon village).
** In the Jangyanggong Jeongto Sijeon Buhodo (held by the Army Museum), the names and positions of the generals who took part are recorded: Right Wing, 3rd, Yongyangdo Jangjeol Chungjang-gun (senior third rank), Acting Buhogun (senior fourth rank) Seon Geo-i; Right Wing, 12th, Uhwayeol Jang, Gupjae Yi Sun-sin; Right Wing, 23rd, Ilgyewon Jang, Jongseong Buska (senior third rank) Won Gyun.
In 1588 he served as Magistrate of Geoje (senior fifth rank) and Mok of Seongju (senior third rank), and in 1589 he became Gwangneung Heongwan (a senior third-rank official responsible for ancestral rites for the tomb of King Sejo, the seventh king of Joseon).
** In the 35-year handwritten diary of Song-gan Yi Jeong-hoe (李庭檜), the "Gwangneung Heongwan Seon Geo-i" appears.
In 1590 he became Naval Commander of the Right Division of Jeolla (junior third rank; a fleet commander in the right naval zone of Haenam, Jeolla). When Seon Geo-i was appointed as a junior third-rank naval commander, Yi Sun-sin was Magistrate of Jeongeup (junior sixth rank). Yi Sun-sin came to the Jeolla Right Naval Command to congratulate his closest comrade on attaining the rank of senior official (highest-ranking official), and Seon Geo-i, who was delighted to see him despite Yi Sun-sin being several ranks below him, treated him with special care as the most honored guest. In 1591 he received orders to concurrently serve as Magistrate of Jindo (senior fourth rank).
On 17 March 1592, he was appointed Provincial Military Commander of Jeolla (senior second rank; at the time the highest military post, a corps commander of Jeolla). However, the Imjin War broke out less than a month later, so the appointment document was never delivered and remained with the court (state/government). It is currently held and displayed at the Independence Hall of Korea in Mokcheon-eup, Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.
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When the Imjin War broke out on 13 April 1592, Seon Geo-i, who had not received the promotion order, handed the Jeolla Right Naval Command to his successor Yi Eok-gi. He then, as Magistrate of Jindo, fought alongside his friend, Admiral Yi Sun-sin, who had taken up the post of Naval Commander of the Left Division of Jeolla (junior third rank), in the Battle of Hansan Island and won.
In November 1592 he was again appointed Provincial Military Commander of Jeolla (senior second rank; corps commander of Jeolla), and he won the battle at Doksan Fortress in Osan, but was wounded by a Japanese bullet.
In February 1593, as Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Provincial Military Commander of Jeolla (senior second rank), he won a great victory at the Battle of Haengju together with Commander-in-Chief and Jeolla Provincial Governor (senior second rank, equivalent to a provincial governor of Jeolla) Kwon Yul.
Commander-in-Chief Kwon Yul passed the civil service examination in 1582 at the late age of 45, and in July 1592, at age 55, he was appointed Jeolla Provincial Governor (senior second rank). Deputy Commander-in-Chief Seon Geo-i began his career as a Gyeomsabok in 1569, and after 23 years, in March 1592, at age 47, he was appointed Provincial Military Commander of Jeolla (senior second rank).
Even during the Imjin War, the policy of favoring civil officials was maintained: Kwon Yul, a civil official, was appointed Commander-in-Chief (chairman of the joint chiefs of staff), while Seon Geo-i, a military officer, became Deputy Commander-in-Chief (army chief of staff). Therefore, it is reasonable to say that the planning and command of all battles were led not by the 55-year-old, 10-year civil Commander-in-Chief, but by the 47-year-old Deputy Commander-in-Chief, a 23-year veteran general who was relatively young, and the merit of first-class merit subject for the Battle of Haengju should rightly go to the military officer and general Seon Geo-i, not to the civil official Kwon Yul.
Looking back on the situation at the Battle of Haengju, Kwon Yul, as Jeolla Provincial Governor, personally commanded only 800 soldiers belonging to the Jeolla Provincial Office. Seon Geo-i, as Provincial Military Commander of Jeolla, commanded 6,000 troops of the Jeolla Military Command and arrived at Suwon. Of these, he had 2,000 soldiers guard Suwon Fortress, and led 4,000 soldiers to take part in the Battle of Haengju Fortress. Then, an advance force of 8,000 soldiers of the Jeolla Military Command, which had been stationed on Ganghwa Island under the former Provincial Military Commander of Jeolla, joined them. Thus, a total of 12,000 Jeolla military soldiers took part in the Battle of Haengju Fortress under the command of Deputy Commander-in-Chief Seon Geo-i.
The great victory at the Battle of Haengju was achieved through the joint operation of Commander-in-Chief Kwon Yul, who commanded 800 soldiers (6%) of the Jeolla Provincial Office; the 1,000 soldiers (7%) of the Suwon Prefecture led by Suwon Prefect Kim Cheon-il; the 1,000 monk soldiers (7%) led by Monk Cheo-yeong, abbot of Geumsansa Temple in Gimje; and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Seon Geo-i, who commanded 12,000 soldiers (80%) of the Jeolla Military Command. Judging by the circumstances at the time and by the merit of the battle commanders (the evaluation of the battle), Deputy Commander-in-Chief Seon Geo-i, who commanded 80% of the total troops, should rightly have received merit equal to or greater than that of Commander-in-Chief Kwon Yul. However, when the victory at Haengju was reported and merit was judged, present were Kwon Chul, the Chief State Councilor (prime minister) and father of Kwon Yul, and Yi Hang-bok, Minister of War (defense minister) and son-in-law (husband of Kwon Yul's daughter) of Kwon Yul.
Although he won at the battles of Uibong, Geumnyeong, and Sapyeong, in June 1593 he opposed the government's order to defend the Jinju Fortress in Gyeongsang Province, and sent his fighting forces to the rear. Deputy Commander-in-Chief Seon Geo-i argued, "The Joseon army has few troops and the Japanese army has many. If all of Joseon's troops enter Jinju Fortress and are surrounded and cut off, the entire Joseon army could be annihilated. Now it is right to preserve our forces, block the northward advance, and defend Honam," and persuaded Commander-in-Chief Kwon Yul. (from the record of Yi Hang-bok in 1629, in Baeksa Byeolgi, vol. 3.) In the end, having received Commander-in-Chief Kwon Yul's approval and order, he withdrew the troops, but the charge of "disobedience of orders" was applied only to Seon Geo-i, excluding Kwon Yul. Because of this, he did not rise to the first class of Seonmu merit subjects (Yi Sun-sin, Kwon Yul, Won Gyun).
In September 1594 he took up the post of Provincial Military Commander of Chungcheong (senior second rank; corps commander of Chungcheong), and in November 1594 he was demoted to Naval Commander of Chungcheong (junior third rank; fleet commander of Chungcheong's naval zone).
Seon Geo-i and Admiral Yi Sun-sin each highly valued the other's abilities. While Seon Geo-i served as Naval Commander of Chungcheong at the Samdo Naval Command on Hansan Island, he contracted rheumatoid arthritis (a disease described as a wind disorder), and Yi Sun-sin visited him often and worried about him. When Seon Geo-i returned from Chungcheong to become Military Commander of Hwanghae, Yi Sun-sin left a poem lamenting their parting in his Nanjung Ilgi (War Diary).
Parting with Naval Commander Seon Geo-i (贈別宣水使居怡 증별선수사거이)
We suffered hardship together in the north, and in the south we shared life and death. (北去同勤苦 북거동근고 南來共死生) Tonight, after we share a cup of wine under the moonlight, tomorrow we will share the feelings of parting. (一杯今夜月 일배금야월 明日別離情 명일별리정)
In September 1595 he was appointed Provincial Military Commander of Hwanghae, but because his chronic illness worsened, he was unable to take up the post.
Called the "flying general" (飛將軍) by the Japanese troops, Seon Geo-i, when the Jeongyu War broke out, led his ailing body and, as Deputy Commander-in-Chief and honorary Provincial Military Commander of the Seven Provinces (an honorary post), took part in the last battle of the Imjin War, the Second Battle of Ulsan Castle. He killed some 70 Japanese soldiers, but in January 1598, at the age of 53, he was killed by an enemy bullet. (From the diary of King Jeongjo, the Ilseongrok, entry of 22 August 1799: "The late Provincial Military Commander of Jeolla, Seon Geo-i, was the great-grandson of the Merit Subject of Conquest of the Enemy in the reign of King Sejo, Yuseonggun Seon Hyeong ... (omitted) ... he cut off the heads and captured more than 70 enemies. Though he bound his wounds and fought fiercely, he was struck again by a bullet and died.") Because it was the final situation of a fierce war, his body could not even be found, and his funeral was held in his hometown of Bongneung-ri, Josong-myeon, Boseong County, South Jeolla Province, as a "Chohonjang" (a funeral in which the soul of the dead is summoned and rites are performed without the body). (From the Godae Ilrok, the list of persons, a diary covering 1592 to 1609 written by Jeong Gyeong-un.)
He was the oldest and closest friend and comrade of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, and as one of only two military officers who served in the highest positions of both army and navy during the Imjin War, he suffered severe slander from civil officials. Born four months apart in the same year, the two spent their lives together in battles against the Jurchens and the Japanese; General Seon Geo-i died in the last land battle of the Imjin War (January 1598), and Admiral Yi Sun-sin died in the last naval battle (December 1598).
A metal or stone inscription issued to General Seon Geo-i by the Ministry of Rites (education and culture ministry) records that "during the Imjin War, he was called 'Yi Sun-sin' at sea and 'Seon Geo-i' on land, and his merit was comparable to that of Admiral Yi Sun-sin."
After the war, due to the "Jinju insubordination" charge, he did not even rise to the second or third class of Seonmu merit subjects, and was instead enrolled as a first-class Seonmu Wonjong merit subject, a lower grade. Two hundred years later, in 1801, the court granted him a loyal subject's memorial gate (a gate with a raised roof and a stone monument honoring loyal subjects), and the "Chungsin Jeongryeomun" (Loyal Subject's Memorial Gate) was erected in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju. In November 1862 he was posthumously promoted to Minister of War (senior second rank, defense minister).
He is enshrined, with rites performed by the state, together with the other generals under the Deputy Commander-in-Chief (military officer) Seon Geo-i and the Commander-in-Chief (civil official) Kwon Yul, at Haengju Seowon in Goyang, which annually holds the "Haengju Victory Commemoration Rites." The 162nd Infantry Brigade of the Republic of Korea Army has the nickname (alias) "Seon Geo-i Unit."
Rites are also held in spring and autumn at Ojungsa (Shrine of the Five Loyal Subjects) in Boseong County, South Jeolla Province; Ojungsa (Shrine of the Five Loyal Subjects) in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province; and Podungsa (Shrine of Commendation for Loyalty) in Jangheung County, South Jeolla Province.