홍순언 행적과 기억과정 = Hong Sun-eon’s Meritorious Deeds and Memory Process

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Hong Sun-eon, an official interpreter in King Seonjo’s reign, was in-stalled as a meritorious minister based on his contribution to settling the matter of “clarifying the royal lineage.” He was also given the honor-ific title Dangreung-gun. Then when the Japanese invasions occurred, he played a key role in requesting military aid from Ming China without paying a bribe. Such achievement gave him a reputation for integrity, and since then his work was often talked about among the officials. There is a story about him helping a Chinese acquaintance when he was dispatched to Ming as an envoy. It was recorded first in the Eou’s Unofficial Stories by Yu Mong-in, who lived in the same town as him. However, the simple story got expanded and embellished as time went on, and a different version of it is included in other story books. For example, in the Gukdang’s Amusing Story by Jeong Tae-je, the Chinese acquaintance turned into a woman. In the story, Hong was on a diplo-matic mission to Ming and rescued the woman from her predicament. She later became a concubine of Minister Shi Xing and repaid Hong’s kindness by asking her husband to provide assistance to him in both “clarifying the royal lineage” and obtaining the promise from the Ming court to send troops against the Japanese invasions. The story was likely developed after the Westerners ousted King Gwanghaegun from power in order to disparage the deposed king’s diplomatic policy toward Ming and at the same time praise Hong’s diplomatic achievements. As the pro-Ming stance became dominant, Shi Xing’s assistance was also hon-ored in Joseon society. This political and social situation must have in-fluenced the collective memory, which is reflected in the story. Although the memory differs from the actual history, the memory process itself contains historical significance.