Samyeongdang

Samyeongdang (1544 - 1610), also known by his Buddhist name, Yujeong (or Yu jeong), was a Korean Buddhist monk during the Joseon Dynasty. He is seomtimes identified by his pen name, Songun. He was born to a family of the Im clan in Miryang, Gyeongsang province. After the deaths of his mother in 1558 and his father in 1559, he became a monk at Jikjisa on Hwangaksan in Gimcheon.
==Life==
In 1561, he passed the seon-gwa, the specialized civil service examinations for Buddhist monks. He corresponded with various scholars of the time including Pak Sa-am, Heo Ha-gok, and Im Baek-ho. In 1575, he was recommended for the headship of the Seon order, but refused and instead traveled to Myohyangsan. There he was instructed by preceptor Seosan. He went on to pass three years at Podŏksa on Kŭmgangsan, and later traveled through Palgongsan, Cheongnyangsan, and Taebaeksan.
With the outbreak of Japanese invasions in 1592, Yujeong joined his teacher Seosan's righteous army of monks. After Seosan retired due to his age, Yujeong took over the leadership of the monks' army. He led the army into battles at Pyongyang and Uiryeong in 1592, set up mountain fortresses through Gyeongsang in 1594, and joined in battle again at Ulsan and Suncheon. 
In 1604, after the end of the war, he traveled to Japan on King Seonjo's orders to forge a peace accord with Tokugawa Ieyasu, and returned with 3500 Koreans who had been taken prisoner. Yu jeong's diplomatic missions established a resiliant foundation for a series of major Joseon missions to Japan. "Yu Jeong", Encyclopedia Britannica Korean Edition
After his death in 1610 on Haeinsa, Yujeong was enshrined in the Pyochung Seowon in Miryang and at Suchungsa in Nyŏngbyŏn. He continues to be remembered in modern times, with numerous statues and other memorials around Korea. He has been cited together with Seosan as an example of a "patriotic-minded" Buddhist by the North Korean Korean Buddhist Federation. Yujeong's writings are preserved in the Samyeongjip (사명대사집, 四溟大師集) and Bunchungseo Nallok (분충서난록, 奮忠紓難錄).
==Notes==
 
==References==
* Kang, Jae-eun and Suzanne Lee. (2006). The Land of Scholars : Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism. Paramus, New Jersey: Homa & Sekey Books. 10-ISBN 1-931-90737-4; 13-ISBN 978-1-931-90737-8; OCLC 60931394
* Walker, Brett L. "Foreign Affairs and Frontiers in Early Modern Japan: A Historiographical Essay," Early Modern Japan. Fall, 2002, pp. 44-62, 124-128.
*
==See also==
* List of Joseon Dynasty people
* Military history of Korea
* Seosan
==External links==
* Samyeongdang Memorial Association
* Empas entry
Category:1544 births
Category:1610 deaths
Category:Buddhism in Korea
Category:Joseon Dynasty people
Category:Korean Buddhist monks
Category:Diplomacy
ja:惟政
ko:유정 (승려)