Hong In-han (洪麟漢, 1722 – 5 or 11 July 1776) was a literary figure and politician of late Joseon. His courtesy name was Jeongyeo (定汝), and his family seat was Pungsan (豊山). He was the son of Minister of Rites Hong Hyeon-bo and the half-younger brother of Chief State Councillor Hong Bong-han. He was the half-uncle of Lady Hyegyeong Hong. He was also a member of the clan of Hong Guk-yeong. In factional terms he belonged to the Noron and was a leader of the maternal-relatives faction within the Noron.
After passing the civil service examination, he held prestigious posts and in 1757 was appointed Governor of Jeolla Province. While serving as governor, it is said that he found fault with the dancing and singing skills of gisaeng and freely meted out caning for amusement. This was not known at the central court until Seong Dae-jung made it known. He later passed through the posts of royal secretary, Censor-General, Grand Censor, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Rites, and Chief Royal Secretary, and then became Governor of Gyeonggi Province. He then held the posts of Minister of Personnel, Minister of War, and Minister of Public Works, and in 1774 became Right State Councillor of the State Council and in 1775 Left State Councillor.
After 1775 he strongly opposed the regency of the crown prince, and after King Jeongjo ascended the throne in 1776 he was exiled together with Jeong Hu-gyeom and others to Gogeum Island in Wando County, Jeolla Province. He was placed under confinement within a fence and then executed. In 1855 (6th year of King Cheoljong), King Cheoljong restored him, but the restoration was repeatedly cancelled due to opposition, and he was finally restored again in 1858 (9th year of King Cheoljong).
His elder half-sister's ...
Jo Eom, who first introduced the sweet potato, became his brother-in-law, and his elder sister became the great-grandmother of the mother of King Ikjong, Queen Jo.
Life
Early life
He was a sixth-generation descendant of King Seonjo and a fifth-generation descendant of Princess Jeongmyeong and Hong Ju-won, Lord Yeongan. His father was Hong Hyeon-bo (posthumous title Jeonghon), who served as Minister of Rites and Left Councillor and was posthumously granted the rank of Left Chief Councillor; his mother was of the Seongju Yi clan, the daughter of Yi Se-hwang. He was the half-younger brother of Hong Bong-han. He was the half-uncle (paternal uncle) of Lady Hyegyeong Hong, and Hong Chang-han, who served as governor, was his 8th-degree elder cousin. His full younger brothers included Hong Yong-han and Hong Jun-han.
The eldest son of Hong Ju-won was his great-great-grandfather Hong Man-hyeong, and Hong Man-yong, the second son of Hong Ju-won, became the great-great-grandfather of Hong Guk-yeong.
It was only known that he was the younger brother of Hong Bong-han, but his being Hong Bong-han's half-younger brother became known after the 1970s, when the royal annals, collected writings, and classical texts were translated into Korean. His personality and appearance are unknown.
He did not get along with his relative Hong Guk-yeong. According to Lady Hyegyeong, the paternal uncle of Hong Guk-yeong, Hong Nak-sun, and her own uncle Hong In-han regarded each other as enemies; the reason Hong In-han scolded Hong Guk-yeong was not disclosed; and when Hong Guk-yeong repeatedly asked Hong Bong-han to secure an office for his father Hong Nak-chun, Hong Bong-han refused because he was in mourning and then sent a man to Hong In-han, who wrote in a letter that Hong Guk-yeong was insane, and Hong Guk-yeong saw it. When Hong In-han opposed the crown prince, Hong Guk-yeong, who was protecting the crown prince, also attacked Hong In-han.
In 1736 (12th year of King Yeongjo), he signed a joint petition, together with Yi Hae-no (進士 李海老), Yi Ui-cheol and others, asking that Song Si-yeol and Song Jun-gil be enshrined in the Confucian shrine of the Sungkyunkwan. He later entered office through the hereditary recommendation system and became Tongdeokrang. In 1751, when Crown Princess Hyosun, the wife of Crown Prince Hyojang, died, he took part together with his nephews Hong Nak-seong, Hong Nak-in and others as an official in charge of the mourning hall. While serving as Tongdeokrang, in 1753 he passed the Jeongsi civil service examination with second rank in the third class (丙科). As a member of the Pungsan Hong clan, a prominent noble family of Joseon, and also because he was the maternal uncle of Lady Hyegyeong Hong, he received the trust of Yeongjo and followed a smooth official career.
Official career
In 1753 he served as Assistant Secretary in the Seungjeongwon and as Jeongeon in the Saganwon. In 1754, while serving as Gyori, he was dismissed from office when he tried to defend Jo Yeong-sun. He again became Gyori, and that same year he was dispatched as a secret royal inspector to Gyeonggi Province.
In 1755 he became Vice Gyori, and in the same year, after serving as Heonnap of the Saganwon, he was specially promoted to senior rank and in 1757 took up his post as governor of Jeolla Province. While serving as governor, it is said that he summoned gisaeng, listened to their dancing and singing, then pointed out and found fault with each of their dancing and singing skills, and freely meted out caning for amusement. This was not known at court, but Seong Dae-jung heard of it and recorded it in the Cheongseong Japgi.
Besides this, according to the royal annals, rumors circulated that he was so greedy and cruel in Jeolla that the people wanted to eat his flesh, and this was recorded in the annals. However, the specific ways in which he acted greedily in Jeolla are not concretely recorded in the royal annals.
In 1757 he was appointed Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Grand Academic Director of the Sungkyunkwan. Afterwards he served as Royal Secretary, Vice Mayor of Hanseong Prefecture, Grand Censor, and in 1760 Chief Royal Secretary and member of the Border Defense Council. In 1762 he toured and returned from the Honam Pacification Commission. In 1764 he became Left Mayor of Hanseong Prefecture. He then passed through the posts of Vice Minister of Revenue, Vice Minister of Rites, and Chief Royal Secretary, and in 1765 served as Governor of Gyeonggi Province, was promoted to Jaheon Daebu, and held the posts of Minister of Public Works, Minister of Personnel, and Minister of War, serving in turn as minister of all six ministries.
It is unknown for what reason he came into conflict with Crown Prince San or whether he opposed the crown prince's installation. However, his elder brother Hong Bong-han did not dissuade him. At that time the Noron adopted the removal of the crown prince as official party policy, but within the Noron, factions such as the Cheongmyeong faction opposed the removal of the crown prince. His niece Lady Hyegyeong Hong sent him several letters to persuade him, but he did not listen and, colluding with Jeong Hu-gyeom and others, attacked the crown prince. In 1773 he took up his post as Governor of Pyeongan Province. In 1774 he was specially promoted to Right State Councillor of the State Council. The following year he became Left State Councillor after serving as Director-General of the Royal Pharmacy.
In 1774 he was appointed Right State Councillor, and in 1775 Left State Councillor. In 1775, when the crown prince (later King Jeongjo) was given the regency, he opposed it; when Yeongjo ordered the regency of the crown prince, he insisted that the crown prince had no need to know three things and even obstructed the ghostwriting of royal secretaries and court historians. However, when Yeongjo's intention for the regency became firm, Lady Hyegyeong Hong sent a letter in advance to her uncle asking him not to obstruct the crown prince's regency. According to the Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong, she informed him by letter that this was the wish of the king. Nevertheless, Hong In-han, following the party policy of the Byeokpa, opposed the crown prince together with the Byeokpa, the maternal-relatives faction, Jeong Hu-gyeom and others, and he opposed the crown prince's regency in the presence of Yeongjo. Afterwards, together with Jeong Hu-gyeom, Sim Sang-un and others, he submitted a memorial slandering Hong Guk-yeong and others. He also had Acting Royal Secretary Sim Sang-un stir up public opinion against the crown prince's regency, but Acting Royal Secretary Seo Myeong-seon, at the request of Hong Guk-yeong, submitted a counter-impeachment memorial refuting it, and Sim Sang-un was instead exiled.
On the other hand, it is said that he abused power, colluded with his own faction, and spread the saying, "To attack the Hong clan is to work against the Eastern Palace," using it as a pretext to silence the whole world and intimidate people.
However, in the third lunar month of 1776, after Yeongjo died and Jeongjo ascended the throne, a purge began. Hong In-han, after being impeached by Seo Myeong-seon and others, together with Jeong Hu-gyeom, Mun Seong-guk, Kim Gwi-ju and others, was impeached repeatedly, struck from the list of officials, and expelled from the capital. He was soon exiled to Yeosan (礪山) in Chungcheong Province, and then his place of exile was moved to Gogeum Island. He was again impeached repeatedly and subjected to confinement within a fence (圍籬安置), and on 5 July of that year he received a sentence of death and was executed. According to the Joseon Wangjo Sillok and the Seungjeongwon Ilgi, he was recorded as executed on 5 July, but according to the Cheongseon Go, he was recorded as having received his punishment on 11 July.
It is said that Lady Hyegyeong Hong, who had strongly opposed the impeachment of her father Hong Bong-han, did not oppose his execution.
After death
His body was carried back and buried at Bonggok Masan (鳳谷馬山), Sangdo-ri, Sangdo-myeon, Gaepung County, Gyeonggi Province. His younger brother Hong Yong-han was attacked for having made a marriage-alliance promise with Jeong Hu-gyeom, but the matter was smoothed over because Jeongjo did not listen. In 1832 his grandson Hong Baek-yeong (洪百榮) appealed for his grandfather's innocence by beating a gong at the palace gate (gyeokjaeng), but was refused. At that time there was a proposal to punish Hong Baek-yeong, but Sunjo smoothed the matter over.
Portraits of his elder brother Hong Bong-han, his younger brother Hong Yong-han, his cousin Hong Sang-han, and his nephew Hong Nak-seong have been passed down to later generations, but his portrait has not survived.
Later, in 1855 (6th year of King Cheoljong), during the reign of King Cheoljong, the king ordered his restoration on the grounds that his guilt was ambiguous, but he met opposition from the Hongmungwan and the Yangsa. Eventually, due to repeated opposition, Cheoljong cancelled the restoration order, but on 25 October 1858 (9th year of King Cheoljong), the king, on the grounds that he was a close relative of Lady Hyegyeong Hong, issued a special decree to restore him. At that time the Seungjeongwon and the Okdang petitioned for the cancellation, and the Yangsa jointly petitioned for the cancellation of the restoration, but Cheoljong refused.
Family
His half-elder sister's grandson was Jo Man-yeong, whose daughter became the birth mother of Queen Sinjeong Jo, the crown princess of Crown Prince Hyomyeong, son of King Sunjo. Hong Guk-yeong, a confidant of Crown Prince Jeongjo, was the grandson of his eighth-degree elder cousin Hong Chang-han, and thus they were tenth-degree relatives.
- Grandfather: Hong Jung-gi (洪重箕)
- Father: Hong Hyeon-bo (洪鉉輔, 1680 – 1740)
- Mother: Lady Pungcheon Im – daughter of Im Bang
- Half-elder brother: Hong Bong-han (洪鳳漢, 1713 – 1778)
- Half-elder sister: Pungsan Hong clan
- Brother-in-law: Jo Eom
- Two maternal half-elder sisters
- Birth mother: Lady Seongju Yi – daughter of Yi Se-hwang
- Full younger brother: Hong Jun-han (1731 – ?)
- Full younger brother: Hong Yong-han (1734 – 1809)
- Wife: Lady Pyeongsan Shin – daughter of Shin Bang
- Eldest son: Hong Nak-won (洪樂遠)
- Grandson: Hong Gyeong-mo (洪敬謨)
- Second son: Hong Nak-sul (洪樂述)
- Third son: Hong Nak-jin (洪樂進)
- Fourth son: Hong Nak-son (洪樂遜)
- Fifth son: Hong Nak-jun (洪樂浚)
- Daughter: Pungsan Hong clan
- Son-in-law: Sim Neung-pil of the Cheongsong Sim clan – maternal grandson of Eo Yu-gu (魚有龜, 1675 – 1740, Yeongdonnyeong-busa), Prince Consort Hamwon of King Gyeongjong; son of Sim Ri-ji (沈履之, 1720 – 1780, Vice Minister of Personnel); grandson of Sim Tak (沈鐸, Magistrate of Gwangju, posthumously Vice Minister of Personnel); great-grandson of Sim Su (沈鏽, 1707 – 1776, Minister of Personnel)
- Younger sister: Pungsan Hong clan
Actors who portrayed Hong In-han
Film
References
- Lee Deok-il, Sado-se-ui Gobaek (Humanist, 2007)
- Lee Geum-hui, Hanjungnok (Vols. 1–2) (Gukhak Jaryowon, 2006)
- Lee Deok-il, Dangjaeng-euro Bon Joseon Yeoksa (Seokpil, 2004)