Yi Cha-ch'un

Yi Cha-ch'un (20 January 1315 – 3 June 1361) or known by his Mongolian name Ulus Bukha, was a minor military officer of the Yuan Empire who later transferred his allegiance to Goryeo and became the father of Yi Sŏng-gye, founder of the Joseon Dynasty.

Biography
Yi Cha-ch'un was a chiliarch of a Yuan Dynasty mingghan in Ssangseong Prefecture (present-day Kŭmya County, South Hamgyŏng Province, North Korea - former Goryeo territory annexed by Mongol Empire). After Ssangseong was reconquered by Goryeo under King Gongmin, he migrated to Hamju and got promoted to manho (the equivalent of the Mongolian myriarch of a tümen, lit. ten thousand or chief of ten thousand). He married a Goryeo-Korean lady from Anbyeon, who became Queen Uihye, the mother of Yi Sŏng-gye. He died in Hamgyong in 1361.

Since he was glamorized by his descendants, descriptions of Yi Cha-ch'un'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 Cha-ch'un as if for scholar-officials, implying that Yi Cha-ch'un was not a scholar-official.

Family

 * Father: Yi Ch'un
 * Grandfather: Yi Haeng-ni
 * Grandmother: Queen Jeongsuk of the Yeongheung Ch'oe clan
 * Mother: Queen Gyeongsun of the Munju Pak clan
 * Grandfather: Pak Kwang
 * Wives and their Children:
 * 1) Lady Yi of the Hansan Yi clan (부인 한산이씨; d. 1333)
 * 2) Yi Wŏn-gye, Grand Prince Wanpung (1330–1388)
 * 3) Yi Ch'ŏn-gye, Grand Prince Yeongseong (1333–1376)
 * 4) Lady Yi – married Kang U
 * 5) Queen Uihye of the Yeongheung Ch'oe clan
 * 6) Yi Sŏng-gye, King Taejo of Joseon (1335–1408)
 * 7) Princess Jeonghwa
 * 8) Lady Kim Koŭmga (d. 1404)
 * 9) Yi Hwa, Grand Prince Uian (1348–1408)
 * 10) Unknown woman
 * 11) Yi Yŏng (이영; d. 1394)

In popular culture

 * Portrayed by Jeon Byung-ok in the 2005–2006 MBC TV series Shin Don.
 * Portrayed by Jung Dong-gyu in the 2012 SBS TV series Faith.
 * Portrayed by Lee Soon-jae in the 2015–2016 SBS TV series Six Flying Dragons.