Seong Sam-mun


Seong Sammun was a scholar-official of early Joseon who rose to prominence in the court of King Sejong the Great. He was executed after being implicated in a plot to dethrone King Sejo and restore his predecessor King Danjong, and is known as one of the sayuksin with reference to this plot.

Biography

Seong Sammun was born in Hongseong, South Chungcheong province to a yangban family of the Changnyeong Seong lineage. He passed the lower examination at the regular triennial administration in 1438. He soon gained the favor of King Sejong, and was appointed to the Hall of Worthies. From 1442 to 1446, he cooperated with other members of that body to compose the Hunmin Jeongeum, in which the hangul alphabet was first presented to the world. The level of his involvement in the creation of the Korean alphabet Hangul is disputed, although he and other scholars were sent on trips to consult with a Ming Chinese phoneticist several times, presumably because one of the first uses the new alphabet was put to was to transcribe the sounds of hanja, or Sino-Korean characters. In 1447, Seong achieved the highest score on the higher literary examination.
In 1455, Prince Suyang forced the young King Danjong, his nephew, to abdicate, taking the throne instead as King Sejo. Following secret orders from his father Seong Seung, Seong Sammun along with Bak Jungrim, Bak Paengnyeon and others plotted to assassinate the new king and restore King Danjong to the throne. The plot was exposed and the plotters all arrested. Seong Sammun and his father were executed along with other plotters. Before his execution, Seong Sammun condemned the king as a pretender. The sayuksin and the saengyuksin, who refused to accept King Sejo as the legitimate king, were praised by later generations for holding fast to the Confucian value of staying loyal to the true king.

Poems for his loyalty

He made several poems during imprisonment and before his execution. The following is his death poem.
擊鼓催人命 -둥둥 북소리는 내 생명을 재촉하고,
回頭日欲斜 -머리를 돌여 보니 해는 서산으로 넘어 가려고 하는구나
黃泉無一店 -황천으로 가는 길에는 주막조차 없다는데,
今夜宿誰家 -오늘밤은 뉘 집에서 잠을 자고 갈거나
As the sound of drum calls for my life,
I turn my head where the sun is about to set.
In the afterlife, there is not a single inn
This night, at whose house shall I rest ?
Another poem in prison written in sijo format
Old KoreanTranslation
이 몸이 주거 가서 무어시 될고 하니,What shall I become after death?
봉래산 제일봉에 낙락장송 되야 이셔,A tall, thick pine tree on the highest peak of Bongraesan,
백설이 만건곤할 제 독야청청 하리라.Evergreen alone when white snow covers the whole world.

Another poem
HanjaEumdokModern KoreanTranslation
食人之食衣人衣식인지식의인의임의 밥 임의 옷을 먹고 입으며I've eaten food and worn clothes my lord has given,
素志平生莫有違소지평생막유위일평생 먹은 마음 변할 줄이 있으랴How could there be change in the steadfast heart?
一死固知忠義在일사고지충의재이 죽음이 충과 의를 위함이기에My death is for loyalty and righteousness.
顯陵松栢夢依依현릉송백몽의의현릉 푸른 송백꿈 속에서도 못잊져라How could I forget even in a dream with the green pine tree by Heonreung

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