Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng

Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng (? – 1144), also sometimes known as T'ak Chun-gyŏng, was a Korean soldier and politician who lived during the Goryeo dynasty.

Early life
Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng hailed from Kokju (modern-day Koksan County, North Korea) and was the son of Ch'ŏk Wi-gong, of the Koksan Ch'ŏk clan. He was of a poor hyangni (local functionary) background. Due to the poverty of his family, he was unable to pursue his education and instead associated with delinquents. He would become the subordinate of Duke Gyerim. After Duke Gyerim became King Sukjong, he appointed Ch'ŏk as an administrative aide of the Security Council.

Fighting the Jurchens


Ch'ŏk fought in the wars against the Eastern Jurchens on Goryeo's northeastern border. In 1104, after the defeat of the Goryeo army led by Im Kan to the forces of the Eastern Jurchens, Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng asked Im for a weapon and an armoured horse. Ch'ŏk rode into the enemy camp and slew one of the enemy commanders, and killed with his bow two more enemy commanders who tried to pursue him as he returned from the Jurchen camp. Ch'ŏk's act was able to allow the defeated remnants of the Goryeo army to retreat from the battlefield. Ch'ŏk was rewarded with an appointment as the Ch'onu-wi recorder adjutant. At some point, Ch'ŏk committed a crime, but general Yun Kwan recognized Ch'ŏk's martial talents and got the royal court to release Ch'ŏk from jail.

In 1108, he served under general Yun during Yun's invasion of the Jurchens. On January 18, 1108, Yun began the war against the Jurchens. He invited prominent Jurchen chiefs to a banquet and got them drunk. Yun had Ch'ŏk and Kim Pu-p'il ambush and kill the Jurchen chiefs. On January 29, Yun, Ch'ŏk and the Goryeo army reached Seokseong. The Jurchen defenders refused to surrender and Goryeo army faced stiff resistance. Yun asked Ch'ŏk to attack the fort alongside General Yi Kwan-jin. Ch'ŏk instead told Yun that he would repay Yun's favour in releasing him from prison even if it meant losing his life. He then put on his armour and took a shield, and scaled the walls of the fort, killing several of the Jurchen chiefs. This allowed for Yun Kwan to conquer the fort. On February 27, Yun Kwan and his deputy commander, O Yŏn-ch'ong, and their force of 8000 men were ambushed by a Jurchen surprise attack. Most of the Goryeo army dispersed with only around 10 soldiers remaining alongside Yun and O. O was hit by an arrow and was severely injured. Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng took 10 men to aid Yun and O. Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng's younger brother, Ch'ŏk Chun-sin, attempted to persuade Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng to not risk his life, however Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng refused to heed his brother's advice. Ch'ŏk and his men killed 10 enemy combatants and helped Yun and O fend the Jurchen ambushers until Goryeo reinforcements led by Ch'oe Hong-jong and Yi Kwan-jin arrived. When the Jurchens lifted the ambush, Ch'ŏk pursued them and beheaded 36 Jurchen soldiers. Yun Kwan told Ch'ŏk that he would now regard Ch'ŏk as if he were his own son. For his contributions during the war, Ch'ŏk was promoted to hapmun chihu and an assistant office chief of the Ministry of Works  by the end of the war in 1109. These promotions would have taken an ordinary civil official ten years, however Ch'ŏk as a military official had only been promoted after a period of around two years.

Rise and Fall in the Royal Court
Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng would forge a strong personal relationship with Yi Cha-gyŏm, a powerful Goryeo aristocrat of the Inju Yi clan. Yi Cha-gyŏm and his clan were the maternal in-laws of Goryeo's royal House of Wang, and he had more power and influence than the king himself. Yi would help promote Ch'ŏk and his relatives to high-ranking offices in the royal court, in exchange for Ch'ŏk's loyalty and influence over the Goryeo military. Ch'ŏk would strengthen this bond by becoming in-laws with Yi by marrying his daughter to Yi's son, Yi Chi-wŏn. In 1123, Ch'ŏk was appointed the minister of personnel and the assistant executive in political affairs. On January 20, 1126, Ch'ŏk would be promoted to the vice-director of the Chancellery.

On March 20, 1126, loyalists of King Injong attempted to assassinate Yi Cha-gyŏm and Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng and remove their influence on the government. The conspirators seized the royal palace, and killed Ch'ŏk's brother and son. However, they were unable to kill Ch'ŏk or Yi. During the night, the angered Ch'ŏk, without consulting his ally Yi, burned the royal palace to the ground to force the conspirators to surrender. On May 9, Ch'ŏk was rewarded for suppressing the conspirators with the office of the Superintendent of the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Executive of Secretariat-Chancellery , giving him command of the armed forces.

The remaining aristocratic rivals of Yi Cha-gyŏm and Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng plotted to overthrow them by turning them against each other. The schemers convinced Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng to betray his ally Yi. Three months after the assassination plot had been foiled, Ch'ŏk and his soldiers would arrest Yi Cha-gyŏm and his political allies. Yi was sent into exile. However, just a year later in 1127, Ch'ŏk himself was impeached from his offices by Chŏng Chi-sang and sent into exile. Ch'ŏk died in 1144.