**Kim Sang-heon** (金尙憲, June 3, 1570 – June 25, 1652) was a mid-[[Joseon]] civil official and [[Neo-Confucianism|Neo-Confucian]] scholar. He was well known as a leading anti-appeasement minister during the Manchu invasions of 1627 and 1636 and was enshrined in the Jomyo (royal shrine) of [[Hyojong o
Born~Died 1570 ~ 1652Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 2:51 PM
Kim Sang-heon (金尙憲, June 3, 1570 – June 25, 1652) was a civil official and Neo-Confucian scholar of mid-Joseon. He was well known as a leading anti-appeasement minister during the Manchu invasions of 1627 and 1636, and was enshrined in the Jomyo (royal shrine) of Hyojong.1 His courtesy name was Sukdo (叔度), his pen names were Cheongeum (淸陰), Seoksil Sanin (石室山人), and Seogan Nono (西磵老人), his posthumous name was Munjeong (文正).1 His family seat was Andong. He was a disciple of Yun Geun-su (尹根壽), who was himself a disciple of Yi Hwang.
As a direct ancestor of the powerful families of the late Joseon period, he produced thirteen state councillors and dozens of ministers and vice ministers among his descendants. Three queens, including the queens of Sunjo, Heonjong, and Cheoljong, and the secondary consort Yeongbin Kim of Sukjong were all his descendants.
Life
Early life
On June 3, 1570 (the 3rd year of Seonjo), he was born in his maternal grandfather's house south of Hanseong, the fourth son of Kim Geuk-hyo (金克孝), who had served as Dojeong of the Dongnyeongbu. His mother, of the Dongnae Jeong clan, was the daughter of Jeong Yu-gil, who had served as Left State Councillor. At the age of three, he was adopted by his uncle Kim Dae-hyo, who had died without an heir, but he was raised under his biological father Kim Geuk-hyo.
From 1585 (the 18th year of Seonjo), he studied under Yun Geun-su, a disciple of Yi Hwang, and his Confucian learning traced its origins to the Neo-Confucianism of Seong Hon.1
🤖 This page was machine-translated by AI from 한국어 “김상헌”. Please fix any mistakes.
This page is based on “김상헌” from 한국어 위키백과, (r42069359) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
In 1590 (the 23rd year of Seonjo) he passed the jinsa examination, and during the Imjin War he passed the special civil service examination in 1596 (the 29th year of Seonjo) in the third class, becoming an Inui (引儀) of the Tongnyewon. He subsequently served as Assistant Compiler (부수찬), Clerk of the Ministry of Rites (예조좌랑), Assistant Lecturer (부교리), Clerk of the Ministry of Rites, Secretary of the Crown Prince's Tutorial Office (시강원사서), Clerk of the Ministry of Personnel (이조좌랑), and Compiler of the Hongmungwan (홍문관 수찬), among other posts.
In 1601 (the 34th year of Seonjo), he was appointed as Anmu Eosa (安撫御史) to deal with the treason case of Gil Un-jeol (吉雲節) that arose in Jeju, and was dispatched to Jeju Island for six months. The travel record he left from this period is the Jeju travelogue Namsaroku (南槎錄).
Conflict with the Northerners
Afterwards, he was implicated when Jeong In-hong and others criticized Seong Hon and his associates, and he was demoted to provincial posts. He later served as Chalbang (察訪) of Gosan and Pansa (判官) of Gyeongseong, and in 1608 passed the special civil service examination (munkwa jungsi), and after receiving the Sagadokseo (賜暇讀書) privilege he became Vice Chief Secretary of the Right (동부승지). However, he impeached Jeong In-hong, who had attempted to expel Yi Eon-jeok and Yi Hwang, and was demoted to Magistrate of Gwangju (廣州府使). Later, when Jeong In-hong and others submitted memorials in 1611 vehemently denouncing Yi Hwang and Yi Eon-jeok over the enshrinement of the two in the Munmyo (文廟), he denounced Jeong In-hong while serving as a royal secretary.
On August 27, 1614 (the 6th year of Gwanghaegun), he was granted the rank of Second Class of the Wiseong Wonjong Merit Subjects (衛聖原從功臣二等).
From October 1617 to 1618, when the proposal to depose Queen Inmok (廢母論) was raised, he opposed the deposition.
Injo Restoration and the Manchu invasion of 1627
After the Injo Restoration in 1623, he was promoted to Left Vice Minister of Personnel and became leader of the Cheongseo faction (淸西派) of the Westerners. In 1624 (the 2nd year of Injo), when Yi Gwal's Rebellion broke out, he repeatedly submitted memorials to Injo, urging the breaking up of factions and cliques, the employment of talented people, and the broadening of channels for free speech. However, even after the Restoration, his uncompromising character led him to repeatedly criticize state affairs, and as this went against the wishes of the Restoration leaders, he returned to his hometown. He then passed through the posts of Director of the Office of Censors (대사간), Vice Minister of Personnel, Chief Royal Secretary (도승지), and Vice Director of the Hongmungwan (부제학), and in 1627, when the Manchu invasion of 1627 occurred, he went to the Ming dynasty as an envoy and requested reinforcements. On his return, he strongly argued that peace negotiations with Later Jin should be broken off and that the titles of Kang Hong-rip should not be restored.
When Injo attempted to posthumously elevate his father, Grand Internal Prince Jeongwon, from Daewongun to king, a dispute over the so-called posthumous honors (追崇論議) arose. He strongly opposed it on the grounds that it violated ritual propriety, and he clashed with Yi Gwi and other Restoration merit subjects who supported it, and he again withdrew to the countryside. Afterwards, he again served as minister of the Six Ministries and as head of the Yemun-gwan and the Seonggyungwan, among other posts. He also served as Minister of Works, Minister of Justice, Minister of Rites, and Minister of Personnel.
In 1633 he was appointed Director of the Office of the Inspector-General (사헌부 대사헌), and over the following two years he was appointed to this post five times. Because of his uncompromising criticism, he clashed with several high officials and repeatedly took and resigned office.
The Second Manchu invasion and the anti-appeasement position
In 1636, while serving as Minister of Rites, the Second Manchu invasion of Korea broke out, and he accompanied Injo to Namhansanseong. He rejected the peace faction and continued to advocate war until the end, but as the situation turned against them, the decision to surrender hardened, and when Injo surrendered, he tore up the surrender document drafted by Choe Myeong-gil and wept bitterly. After the surrender was decided, he refused food and water for six days and attempted suicide by hanging, but he was discovered by Na Man-gap's son and Kim Sang-heon's nephew Kim Gwang-hyeon, and the attempt failed. Choe Myeong-gil criticized this, saying that someone who truly intended to die would not attempt suicide in front of his whole family, and that it was a performance. When the Samjeon-do humiliation (the surrender at Samjeondo) occurred, he did not follow Injo, but submitted a memorial arguing that Korea must wipe away the humiliation by enduring hardship and preserve its loyalty to the Ming dynasty. In February 1637 he retired to Sosan in Pungsan, Andong.
In 1638 he received an impeachment from Yu Seok (柳碩) and other Senior Secretaries (장령) of the Office of the Inspector-General, stating that "Kim Sang-heon pretends to be clean by himself and sells the king to gain fame." However, Injo did not accept this and soon ordered him to return to court, but when he heard that the court would send troops to help the Qing attack the Ming, he firmly opposed it.
Life as a hostage
In 1639 he submitted a memorial opposing the troop dispatch that the Qing dynasty demanded in order to attack the Ming dynasty, and in December 1640, after repeated demands from the Qing, he was escorted to Shenyang.2 He spent four years in prison in Shenyang in Manchuria and two years in prison in Uiju, Pyeongan Province, and was not fully released until six years later.3 While held in Shenyang, the Jurchens repeatedly tried to win him over, but with his uncompromising character and spirit he refused the Qing's demands for compromise and never yielded in the least, so that the Qing people admired him and praised him, saying, "Kim Sang-heon cannot be called by name."1
In 1645 he returned home together with Crown Prince Sohyeon, but because his relationship with Injo, who did not favor him, was strained, he gave up on office and retired to Seoksil. When Hyojong ascended the throne and pursued the Northern Expedition, he was respected as the ideological symbol of it as Daero (大老), and in 1649, while being respected as a great scholar, he was appointed Left State Councillor of the State Council. However, he refused several times, expressed his intention to retire, and urged Hyojong to nurture talent and complete the great undertaking. He also strongly opposed, together with Kim Jip and others, the implementation of the Daedong law that Kim Yuk had been promoting.
Later life
Afterwards, he served as Chief of the Dongnyeongbu (영돈령부사), and on May 28, 1650, because he did not receive his salary, Hyojong sent his salary, but he said he had not performed his duties and therefore could not accept it, and had it carried back. In August of that year he again requested to retire (致仕), but Hyojong refused.
On May 28, 1651, he resigned from all his posts, including Chief of the Dongnyeongbu, but his request was refused. On November 13, when he fell ill, the royal physician was sent to examine him and medicine was bestowed. In April 1652 he again submitted a memorial requesting resignation, which was rejected, and he died while still serving as Chief of the Dongnyeongbu.4 In 1653, by special decree, he was posthumously appointed Chief State Councillor. He was also well known as a calligrapher, and his collected works, the Cheongeum Jeonjip (청음전집), consist of 40 volumes.
After death
After his death, in 1661 (the 2nd year of Hyeonjong), he was enshrined in the royal shrine of Hyojong. The Tomb of Kim Sang-heon is located at Seoksil, Deokso-ri, Wabu-eup, Namyangju, in the Andong Kim family graveyard. In front of the tomb are a tombstone, a stone table, and an incense burner stone, and on either side is a pair of stone statues of civil officials. The tombstone was erected in the 10th year of Hyeonjong (1669). To the right of the tomb is a sindobi (神道碑, a stele erected along the road near a tomb to commemorate the lifetime achievements of a king or high official) erected in the 12th year of Hyeonjong (1671). The inscription on the front was written by his grandson Kim Su-jeung (Gokun), and the inscription on the back was written by Song Jun-gil (Dongchundang). On February 12, 1987, it was designated as Monument No. 100 of Gyeonggi Provincial Monuments.
After he was taken to the Qing as a captive, the sijo (time-verse) he composed while looking back at the mountains and rivers of his homeland became widely recited.
Related cultural properties
Jocheon Sinjang (Daejeon Metropolitan City Tangible Cultural Property No. 15)
Seolgyo Sichim (Daejeon Metropolitan City Tangible Cultural Property No. 27)
Seoksil Galcho (Daejeon Metropolitan City Cultural Property Material No. 63)
Historic sites
In Sosan-ri, Pungsan-eup, Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, there are Yangsodang (養素堂), the house of Kim Yeong-su, great-grandfather of Kim Sang-heon and Senior Secretary of the Office of the Inspector-General, and the Samguljeong pavilion (三龜亭) built by Kim Yeong-su's brothers. There is also Cheongwonru (淸遠樓), which was first built by his great-grandfather Kim Beon and rebuilt newly by Kim Sang-heon. On the hill behind the village of Sosan-ri lies the Yeokdong tomb area, where the tomb of Kim Gye-gwon, Magistrate of Hanseong and the fifth-generation ancestor of Kim Sang-heon, is located along with several tombs of Kim Yeong-su and his brothers Kim Yeong-jeon and Kim Yeong-chu. In Seoksil, Deokso-ri, Wabu-eup, Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, there are tombs of his great-grandfather Kim Beon, Magistrate of Pyeongyang, followed by his grandfather Kim Saeng-hae, his fathers Kim Dae-hyo and Kim Geuk-hyo, Kim Sang-heon, Kim Sang-yong, and his son Kim Gwang-chan. His house was in the Jangdong area, now around Hyoja-dong, Gungjeong-dong, and Cheongwadae in present-day Jongno-gu, Seoul. The fact that his family, which was of the Andong Kim clan, lived there is the reason they were called the Jangdong Kim clan.
This article includes text based on the entry "<<Second Manchu invasion of Korea>>" from the Global World Encyclopedia, distributed by Daum Communications (now Kakao) under the GFDL or CC-SA license.
Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, entry of the 8th day of the 12th month of the 18th year of Injo: Kim Sang-heon comes to Seoul to bid farewell to the king ↩
Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, Injo 46th scroll, 23rd year (1645, Eulyu / 2nd year of Qing Shunzhi), 23rd day of the 2nd month (Byeongja), 2nd entry: Former Chief State Councillor Choe Myeong-gil, Chungchubu Chief Yi Gyeong-yeo, and former Minister Kim Sang-heon return from Shenyang ↩
Kim Sang-heon (金尙憲, June 3, 1570 – June 25, 1652) was a civil official and Neo-Confucian scholar of mid-Joseon. He was well known as a leading anti-appeasement minister during the Manchu invasions of 1627 and 1636, and was enshrined in the Jomyo (royal shrine) of Hyojong.1 His courtesy name was Sukdo (叔度), his pen names were Cheongeum (淸陰), Seoksil Sanin (石室山人), and Seogan Nono (西磵老人), his posthumous name was Munjeong (文正).1 His family seat was Andong. He was a disciple of Yun Geun-su (尹根壽), who was himself a disciple of Yi Hwang.
As a direct ancestor of the powerful families of the late Joseon period, he produced thirteen state councillors and dozens of ministers and vice ministers among his descendants. Three queens, including the queens of Sunjo, Heonjong, and Cheoljong, and the secondary consort Yeongbin Kim of Sukjong were all his descendants.
Life
Early life
On June 3, 1570 (the 3rd year of Seonjo), he was born in his maternal grandfather's house south of Hanseong, the fourth son of Kim Geuk-hyo (金克孝), who had served as Dojeong of the Dongnyeongbu. His mother, of the Dongnae Jeong clan, was the daughter of Jeong Yu-gil, who had served as Left State Councillor. At the age of three, he was adopted by his uncle Kim Dae-hyo, who had died without an heir, but he was raised under his biological father Kim Geuk-hyo.
From 1585 (the 18th year of Seonjo), he studied under Yun Geun-su, a disciple of Yi Hwang, and his Confucian learning traced its origins to the Neo-Confucianism of .
In 1590 (the 23rd year of Seonjo) he passed the jinsa examination, and during the Imjin War he passed the special civil service examination in 1596 (the 29th year of Seonjo) in the third class, becoming an Inui (引儀) of the Tongnyewon. He subsequently served as Assistant Compiler (부수찬), Clerk of the Ministry of Rites (예조좌랑), Assistant Lecturer (부교리), Clerk of the Ministry of Rites, Secretary of the Crown Prince's Tutorial Office (시강원사서), Clerk of the Ministry of Personnel (이조좌랑), and Compiler of the Hongmungwan (홍문관 수찬), among other posts.
In 1601 (the 34th year of Seonjo), he was appointed as Anmu Eosa (安撫御史) to deal with the treason case of Gil Un-jeol (吉雲節) that arose in Jeju, and was dispatched to Jeju Island for six months. The travel record he left from this period is the Jeju travelogue Namsaroku (南槎錄).
Conflict with the Northerners
Afterwards, he was implicated when Jeong In-hong and others criticized Seong Hon and his associates, and he was demoted to provincial posts. He later served as Chalbang (察訪) of Gosan and Pansa (判官) of Gyeongseong, and in 1608 passed the special civil service examination (munkwa jungsi), and after receiving the Sagadokseo (賜暇讀書) privilege he became Vice Chief Secretary of the Right (동부승지). However, he impeached Jeong In-hong, who had attempted to expel Yi Eon-jeok and Yi Hwang, and was demoted to Magistrate of Gwangju (廣州府使). Later, when Jeong In-hong and others submitted memorials in 1611 vehemently denouncing Yi Hwang and Yi Eon-jeok over the enshrinement of the two in the Munmyo (文廟), he denounced Jeong In-hong while serving as a royal secretary.
On August 27, 1614 (the 6th year of Gwanghaegun), he was granted the rank of Second Class of the Wiseong Wonjong Merit Subjects (衛聖原從功臣二等).
From October 1617 to 1618, when the proposal to depose Queen Inmok (廢母論) was raised, he opposed the deposition.
Injo Restoration and the Manchu invasion of 1627
After the Injo Restoration in 1623, he was promoted to Left Vice Minister of Personnel and became leader of the Cheongseo faction (淸西派) of the Westerners. In 1624 (the 2nd year of Injo), when Yi Gwal's Rebellion broke out, he repeatedly submitted memorials to Injo, urging the breaking up of factions and cliques, the employment of talented people, and the broadening of channels for free speech. However, even after the Restoration, his uncompromising character led him to repeatedly criticize state affairs, and as this went against the wishes of the Restoration leaders, he returned to his hometown. He then passed through the posts of Director of the Office of Censors (대사간), Vice Minister of Personnel, Chief Royal Secretary (도승지), and Vice Director of the Hongmungwan (부제학), and in 1627, when the Manchu invasion of 1627 occurred, he went to the Ming dynasty as an envoy and requested reinforcements. On his return, he strongly argued that peace negotiations with Later Jin should be broken off and that the titles of Kang Hong-rip should not be restored.
When Injo attempted to posthumously elevate his father, Grand Internal Prince Jeongwon, from Daewongun to king, a dispute over the so-called posthumous honors (追崇論議) arose. He strongly opposed it on the grounds that it violated ritual propriety, and he clashed with Yi Gwi and other Restoration merit subjects who supported it, and he again withdrew to the countryside. Afterwards, he again served as minister of the Six Ministries and as head of the Yemun-gwan and the Seonggyungwan, among other posts. He also served as Minister of Works, Minister of Justice, Minister of Rites, and Minister of Personnel.
In 1633 he was appointed Director of the Office of the Inspector-General (사헌부 대사헌), and over the following two years he was appointed to this post five times. Because of his uncompromising criticism, he clashed with several high officials and repeatedly took and resigned office.
The Second Manchu invasion and the anti-appeasement position
In 1636, while serving as Minister of Rites, the Second Manchu invasion of Korea broke out, and he accompanied Injo to Namhansanseong. He rejected the peace faction and continued to advocate war until the end, but as the situation turned against them, the decision to surrender hardened, and when Injo surrendered, he tore up the surrender document drafted by Choe Myeong-gil and wept bitterly. After the surrender was decided, he refused food and water for six days and attempted suicide by hanging, but he was discovered by Na Man-gap's son and Kim Sang-heon's nephew Kim Gwang-hyeon, and the attempt failed. Choe Myeong-gil criticized this, saying that someone who truly intended to die would not attempt suicide in front of his whole family, and that it was a performance. When the Samjeon-do humiliation (the surrender at Samjeondo) occurred, he did not follow Injo, but submitted a memorial arguing that Korea must wipe away the humiliation by enduring hardship and preserve its loyalty to the Ming dynasty. In February 1637 he retired to Sosan in Pungsan, Andong.
In 1638 he received an impeachment from Yu Seok (柳碩) and other Senior Secretaries (장령) of the Office of the Inspector-General, stating that "Kim Sang-heon pretends to be clean by himself and sells the king to gain fame." However, Injo did not accept this and soon ordered him to return to court, but when he heard that the court would send troops to help the Qing attack the Ming, he firmly opposed it.
Life as a hostage
In 1639 he submitted a memorial opposing the troop dispatch that the Qing dynasty demanded in order to attack the Ming dynasty, and in December 1640, after repeated demands from the Qing, he was escorted to Shenyang.2 He spent four years in prison in Shenyang in Manchuria and two years in prison in Uiju, Pyeongan Province, and was not fully released until six years later.3 While held in Shenyang, the Jurchens repeatedly tried to win him over, but with his uncompromising character and spirit he refused the Qing's demands for compromise and never yielded in the least, so that the Qing people admired him and praised him, saying, "Kim Sang-heon cannot be called by name."1
In 1645 he returned home together with Crown Prince Sohyeon, but because his relationship with Injo, who did not favor him, was strained, he gave up on office and retired to Seoksil. When Hyojong ascended the throne and pursued the Northern Expedition, he was respected as the ideological symbol of it as Daero (大老), and in 1649, while being respected as a great scholar, he was appointed Left State Councillor of the State Council. However, he refused several times, expressed his intention to retire, and urged Hyojong to nurture talent and complete the great undertaking. He also strongly opposed, together with Kim Jip and others, the implementation of the Daedong law that Kim Yuk had been promoting.
Later life
Afterwards, he served as Chief of the Dongnyeongbu (영돈령부사), and on May 28, 1650, because he did not receive his salary, Hyojong sent his salary, but he said he had not performed his duties and therefore could not accept it, and had it carried back. In August of that year he again requested to retire (致仕), but Hyojong refused.
On May 28, 1651, he resigned from all his posts, including Chief of the Dongnyeongbu, but his request was refused. On November 13, when he fell ill, the royal physician was sent to examine him and medicine was bestowed. In April 1652 he again submitted a memorial requesting resignation, which was rejected, and he died while still serving as Chief of the Dongnyeongbu.4 In 1653, by special decree, he was posthumously appointed Chief State Councillor. He was also well known as a calligrapher, and his collected works, the Cheongeum Jeonjip (청음전집), consist of 40 volumes.
After death
After his death, in 1661 (the 2nd year of Hyeonjong), he was enshrined in the royal shrine of Hyojong. The Tomb of Kim Sang-heon is located at Seoksil, Deokso-ri, Wabu-eup, Namyangju, in the Andong Kim family graveyard. In front of the tomb are a tombstone, a stone table, and an incense burner stone, and on either side is a pair of stone statues of civil officials. The tombstone was erected in the 10th year of Hyeonjong (1669). To the right of the tomb is a sindobi (神道碑, a stele erected along the road near a tomb to commemorate the lifetime achievements of a king or high official) erected in the 12th year of Hyeonjong (1671). The inscription on the front was written by his grandson Kim Su-jeung (Gokun), and the inscription on the back was written by Song Jun-gil (Dongchundang). On February 12, 1987, it was designated as Monument No. 100 of Gyeonggi Provincial Monuments.
After he was taken to the Qing as a captive, the sijo (time-verse) he composed while looking back at the mountains and rivers of his homeland became widely recited.
Related cultural properties
Jocheon Sinjang (Daejeon Metropolitan City Tangible Cultural Property No. 15)
Seolgyo Sichim (Daejeon Metropolitan City Tangible Cultural Property No. 27)
Seoksil Galcho (Daejeon Metropolitan City Cultural Property Material No. 63)
Historic sites
In Sosan-ri, Pungsan-eup, Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, there are Yangsodang (養素堂), the house of Kim Yeong-su, great-grandfather of Kim Sang-heon and Senior Secretary of the Office of the Inspector-General, and the Samguljeong pavilion (三龜亭) built by Kim Yeong-su's brothers. There is also Cheongwonru (淸遠樓), which was first built by his great-grandfather Kim Beon and rebuilt newly by Kim Sang-heon. On the hill behind the village of Sosan-ri lies the Yeokdong tomb area, where the tomb of Kim Gye-gwon, Magistrate of Hanseong and the fifth-generation ancestor of Kim Sang-heon, is located along with several tombs of Kim Yeong-su and his brothers Kim Yeong-jeon and Kim Yeong-chu. In Seoksil, Deokso-ri, Wabu-eup, Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, there are tombs of his great-grandfather Kim Beon, Magistrate of Pyeongyang, followed by his grandfather Kim Saeng-hae, his fathers Kim Dae-hyo and Kim Geuk-hyo, Kim Sang-heon, Kim Sang-yong, and his son Kim Gwang-chan. His house was in the Jangdong area, now around Hyoja-dong, Gungjeong-dong, and Cheongwadae in present-day Jongno-gu, Seoul. The fact that his family, which was of the Andong Kim clan, lived there is the reason they were called the Jangdong Kim clan.
This article includes text based on the entry "<<Second Manchu invasion of Korea>>" from the Global World Encyclopedia, distributed by Daum Communications (now Kakao) under the GFDL or CC-SA license.
Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, entry of the 8th day of the 12th month of the 18th year of Injo: Kim Sang-heon comes to Seoul to bid farewell to the king ↩
Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, Injo 46th scroll, 23rd year (1645, Eulyu / 2nd year of Qing Shunzhi), 23rd day of the 2nd month (Byeongja), 2nd entry: Former Chief State Councillor Choe Myeong-gil, Chungchubu Chief Yi Gyeong-yeo, and former Minister Kim Sang-heon return from Shenyang ↩