Ch'oe Yŏng
Goryeo general who suppressed rebellions and fought Japanese pirates.
Ch'oe Yŏng (1316–1388), also romanized as Choi Young, was a Korean general born in Hongseong or Cheorwon during the Goryeo period. He became a national hero after putting down Cho Il-sin's Rebellion and participated in the Red Turban Rebellions. In his final years, he was betrayed and executed by his former subordinate Yi Sŏng-gye, who founded the Joseon dynasty.
Quick Facts
- Born
- 1316
- Birthplace
- Cheorwon, Goryeo
- Died
- 1388
- Place of death
- Kaesong, Goryeo
- Burial place
- Goyang
- Allegiance
- Goryeo
- Spouse
- Lady Yu, of the Munhwa Yu clan
- Children
- Ch'oe Dam (son)
- Royal Consort Yŏng
- Lady Ch'oe
Facts from the source article.
Early years
Ch'oe Yŏng came from the distinguished Cheorwon (Dongju) Ch'oe family, a noble Goryeo clan. He was the great-great-great-grandson of Ch'oe Yu-ch'ŏng, a top scholar at the Royal Academy, and the son of Ch'oe Wŏn-jik. Raised with strict austerity, he cared little for his clothing or food and avoided luxury even after gaining fame. He scorned those who coveted expensive possessions, valuing simplicity instead. His father's guiding principle, which Ch'oe Yŏng lived by, was to treat gold as no more valuable than stones.
Military career
Ch'oe Yŏng's temperament and principles made him a natural fit for a military career. He earned the trust of his soldiers and the king by winning many battles against Japanese pirates, who had been raiding Korea's coast since about 1350. In 1352, when he was 36, he became a national hero by crushing a rebellion led by Cho Il-sin after rebels surrounded the royal palace and killed many officials. Because Goryeo was a tributary state to the Mongol Yuan dynasty, Ch'oe Yŏng was sent in 1354 to help Yuan forces fight the Red Turban Rebellion in northern China. He led 2,000 Korean mounted archers and was joined in Kanbaluk by 20,000 veterans from Goryeo's Tumen units, together putting down the revolt. After returning home, he told King Gongmin about the Yuan dynasty's internal weaknesses, which inspired the king to reclaim lost northern lands. In 1356, Ch'oe Yŏng attacked and accepted the surrender of the Mongol-Korean governor of Ssangseong Chonggwanbu, Yi Cha-ch'un, whose son Yi Sŏng-gye later founded the Joseon dynasty. He defeated the Red Turbans again during their invasion of Goryeo in 1360. On April 15, 1363, he saved the king from an assassination attempt by senior official Kim Yong and captured the plot's leader.
Betrayal and redemption
Following a dream, King Gongmin promoted a monk named Sin Ton to a lofty position, allowing him considerable influence. Sin Ton grew increasingly ruthless and corrupt, and Ch'oe Yŏng, who opposed corruption, found himself at odds with him. Sin Ton engineered false accusations of misconduct against Ch'oe Yŏng, resulting in six years of exile and bringing him close to execution. After Sin Ton's death in 1374, Gongmin restored Ch'oe Yŏng to his previous position. In 1374, Mongol horse herders on Tamna Island rebelled; Ch'oe Yŏng was picked as commander of a force of 314 ships and 25,605 troops, landing on October 4 and freeing the island, executing three ringleaders. In 1376, Japanese pirates captured Gongju; with a new gunpowder recipe from scientist Ch'oe Mu-sŏn, General Ch'oe and his subordinate Yi Sŏng-gye routed the pirates and reclaimed the city.
Final years
In 1388, General Yi Sŏng-gye was ordered to push Ming forces out of Liaodong but opposed the expedition, citing four reasons including Confucian order and summer farming. General Ch'oe ordered the invasion anyway, supported by young King U. Yi Sŏng-gye returned to the capital Gaegyeong and triggered a coup, known as the Wihwado Retreat. Ch'oe Yŏng put up a gallant defense at the palace but was outnumbered and overwhelmed, captured, and banished to Goyang, later beheaded by Yi Sŏng-gye's government. Before execution, Ch'oe predicted that due to his unjust demise, grass would never grow on his grave; grass did not grow until 1976, and the site became known as Jeokbun (red grave) because of the red soil.
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