YANGGANG-DO(양강도)

HAMGYEONGNAM-DO(함경남도)

PYEONGANBUK-DO(평안북도)

PYEONGANNAM-DO(평안남도)

GANGWON-DO(강원도)

GANGWON-DO(강원도)

Ulleungdo울릉도

East Sea

CHUNGCHEONGBUK-DO(충청북도)

GYEONGSANGBUK-DO(경상북도)

JEOLLABUK-DO(전라북도)

GYEONGSANGNAM-DO(경상남도)JEOLLANAM-DO

(전라남도)

CHUNGCHEONGNAM-DO(충청남도)

HWANGHAENAM-DO(황해남도)

JAGANG-DO(자강도)

GYEONGGI-DO(경기도)

Dokdo 독도

Great People of

Korea!

Friendly Korea _People

2. King Gwanggaeto the Great광개토태왕 374 – 413

4. Seo Hui서희 942 – 998 3. Lee Je-Ma

이제마 1838 – 1900

5. Dangun단군

1. Dae Jo-Young대조영 ?– 719, reign: 698 – 719

Pyeongyang평양

JEJU-DO(제주도)

Dumangang 두만강

Naseon나선

Hamheung함흥

7. Kim Jeong-Ho김정호 ? – 1866

HWANGHAEBUK-DO(황해북도)

Wonsan원산

6. Jeong Seon정선1676 – 1759

9. Heo Jun허준 1539-1615

Seoul서울

8. Heo Gyun & Heo Nanseolheon허균 1569 – 1618 & 허난설헌 1563 – 1589

13. Isabu이사부

12. Ahn Yong-Bok 안용복

14. Im Yunjidang 임윤지당 1721 – 1793

Suwon 수원

11. Kim Hong-Do김홍도 1745 - ?

15. Jang Young-Sil장영실

16. Yi Hwang이황 1501 – 1570

17. Park Yeon박연 1378 – 1458

18. Choi Mu-Seon최무선 1325 – 1395

20. Wonhyo원효 617 – 686

23. Yi Sun-Sin이순신 1545 – 1598

Jeonju 전주

19. Jeon Bong-Jun전봉준 1855 – 1895

21. Mun Ik-Jeom 문익점 1329 – 1398

22. Jeong Yak-Yong정약용 1762 – 1836

24. Jang Bo-Go장보고 ?– 846

25. Kim Man-Deok김만덕1739 – 1812

10. King Sejong the Great세종대왕 1397 – 1450

Cheongjin 청진

HAMGYEONGBUK-DO(함경북도)

Amnokgang 압

록강 Ganggye 강계

Hyesan 혜산

Sinuiju 신의주

Pyeongseong 평성

Nampo남포

Sariwon 사리원

Haeju 해주

◈

◈

Gaeseong개성 Chuncheon 춘천

Cheongju청주

Incheon인천

Daejeon 대전⊙

Daegu대구

⊙

Ulsan울산

Busan부산

Changwon 창원

Gwangju 광주⊙

Jeju 제주

Legend

■ Capital of do● Metropolitan City or Directly Governed City◈ National Capital⊙ Capital of do & Metropolitan City Ieodo 이어도

1. 대조영 Dae Jo-Young ?– 719, reign: 698 – 719

Dae Jo-Young was the founder of the Balhae kingdom.After the fall of Goguryeo kingdom, he gathered therefugees and some Malgal tribes and established Balhae.Upon its founding in 698, he proclaimed that it was the suc-cessor of Goguryeo, both domestically and internationally,and began to regain control over former Goguryeo territo-ries. His posthumous epithet King Go indicates that he suc-ceeded the Goguryo kingdom and became the founder ofa new kingdom.

2. 광개토태왕 KingGwanggaetotheGreat 374 – 413

King Gwanggaeto was Goguryeo kingdom’s nineteenthking, who achieved political supremacy in 5th century North-east Asia. He used the name of his own reign for the firsttime in Korean history, and established a great empire thatoccupied the present-day Liaodong peninsula and a part ofInner Mongolia. A tombstone was built in honor of his dis-tinguished achievements, and it still remains in Jian, China.

3. 이제마 Lee Je-Ma 1838 – 1900

Lee Je-Ma was a physician who created a unique Koreanmedical theory called “Sasang Uihak”. This theory is basedon Eastern philosophy, and its basic principle is that treatmentsshould vary, depending on patients’ particular constitutions.He spent his entire life studying medicine, and established hisown medical theory based on extensive clinical data.

4. 서희 Seo Hui 942 – 998

Seo Hui was a diplomat of the Goryeo dynasty. He is bestknown for his role in a negotiation in 993 where he per-suaded the invading Khitan army to retreat by arguing forthe legitimacy of Goryeo as the successor of the Goguryeokingdom. Through the negotiation, he also regained controlover the Pyeonganbukdo area. For this reason, his actionsare regarded as the most successful example of diplomacyin Korean history.

5. 단군 DangunDangun was the founder of the first Korean kingdom of Go-joseon in 2333 BC. Korea’s first history book about its an-cient kingdoms, Samguk Yusa, contains a story about hisfounding of the nation and his basic principle of HongikIngan. The principle means to promote the benefit of hu-manity, and it forms the basis of the strong Korean nationalidentity that has functioned to unite Koreans on occasionsof national crisis.

6. 정선 Jeong Seon 1676 – 1759

Jeong Seon was a painter who developed a unique Ko-rean style of landscape painting during the late Joseon dy-nasty. He portrayed Joseon’s scenery with his owncreative touches, breaking off from the strong influence ofChina. His major painting “Geumgang Jeondo” providedgreat inspiration for other painters in their drawings of Mt.Geumgangsan.

7. 김정호 Kim Jeong-Ho ? – 1866

Kim Jeong-Ho was a geographer who made many mapsduring the late Joseon dynasty. Daedongyeojido in partic-ular is a masterpiece that he created by integrating Easterncartographic traditions. The map is very accurate and pre-

cise, even compared to contemporary maps. He also com-piled geographic books that showed changes in adminis-tration, transportation and historical geography, andcontributed to a better understanding of maps.

8. 허균 Heo Gyun 1569 – 1618

허난설헌 Heo Nanseolheon 1563 – 1589

Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon were famous sibling writ-ers during the Joseon dynasty. Heo Gyun authored the firstKorean language novel, “The Tale of Hong Gildong.” Hissister Nanseolheon wrote many poems that were highlycommended by writers in Korea, China and Japan. Her ac-complishments as a poet are particularly noteworthy, con-sidering the social status of women during her time.

9. 허준 Heo Jun 1539-1615

Heo Jun was a royal physician who wrote “Donguibogam,”one of the best medical books of the East. Dongui refersto Korean medicine. To compile this book, he spent 14years reading over 240 medical books. The value of thebook is internationally recognized, and it has been trans-lated into many different languages, including Chinese,Japanese, German and English.

10. 세종대왕 King Sejong the Great 1397 – 1450

King Sejong was the fourth king of Joseon dynasty, who isbest known for the invention of the Korean alphabetHangeul. Hangeul is the only alphabet in the world in whichthe inventor, principles of invention and dates of promul-gation are known. During his reign, he made many impres-sive accomplishments in all areas, including politics,economics, culture and defense. The basis of his rule wasalways his love and sympathy for ordinary people.

11. 김홍도 Kim Hong-Do 1745 - ?

Kim Hong-Do was a famous court painter during theJoseon dynasty. He exhibited exceptional artistic talentsince his childhood. His drawings were quite varied, rang-ing from people, scenery, gods and Buddhist subjects. Hecreated many different kinds of artistic work, includingking’s portraits and folk paintings. His genre paintings inparticular are well known for their realistic depiction of or-dinary people’s lives, and are still loved by Koreans.

12. 안용복 Ahn Young-BokAhn Yong-Bok was a patriotic fisherman, who played acrucial role in protecting Ulleungdo and Dokdo. During thereign of King Sukjong (1661-1720) of the Joseon dynasty,Ahn witnessed Japanese fishermen trespassing onJoseon's territory and travelled to Japan to confront theJapanese government. His actions played an importantrole as Japan officially banned fishing activities in thoseareas in 1696 and recognized Ulleungdo and Dokdo as aterritory of Joseon. Dokdo, with its beautiful scenery, re-mains Korea's easternmost territory.

13. 이사부 IsabuIsabu was a renowned general of Silla kingdom, who iswidely known for his conquest and annexation of Usan-guk for Silla in 512. Usan-guk was a small kingdom thatoccupied the present-day Ulleungdo and Dokdo. He alsoadvised the king to compile history books, and made a

major contribution to Silla’s territorial expansion by winningbattles against Goguryeo kingdom and Gaya kingdom.

14. 임윤지당 Im Yunjidang 1721 – 1793

Im Yunjidang was a female scholar, who achieved a highlevel of knowledge in Neo-Confucianism during the Joseondynasty. Joseon put limitations on women’s rights to gainformal education and to work outside the home. For thisreason, she was unable to exhibit her academic talent inJoseon society, but she still pursued her scholarly interestsuntil her death.

15. 장영실 Jang Young-SilJang Young-Sil was a scientist who invented the world’sfirst rain gauge “Cheugugi” in 1441. He led a renaissancein Korean science by creating many notable inventions,such as the Jagyeongnu automatic water clock and theHoncheonui astronomical clock. His scientific achieve-ments are so highly regarded that Korean scientists namedan asteroid after him.

16. 이황 Yi Hwang 1501 – 1570

Yi Hwang was an eminent scholar, also known by his pen-name Toegye, who laid the foundation for the developmentof Neo-Confucianism in Joseon dynasty. He committed hisentire life to developing knowledge and educating stu-dents. Consequently, he was highly respected as a sage.His philosophy had a significant influence on scholars bothinside and outside of Korea, including China and Japan.Since the establishment of the International Toegyehak So-ciety in 1976, his work has been widely researched in manycountries across the world.

17. 박연 Park Yeon 1378 – 1458

Park Yeon is regarded as one of the three greatest musi-cians in Korea’s 5000 years of history, along with Goguryeokingdom’s Wang Sanak and Silla kingdom’s Ureuk. Underthe order of King Sejong the Great, he organized courtmusic, tuned musical instruments, and compiled music forroyal events. To commemorate his legacy, a music festivalis held every year in his hometown Yeongdong-gun.

18. 최무선 Choi Mu-Seon 1325 – 1395

Choi Mu-Seon was an inventor best known for the produc-tion of Korea’s first gunpowder and cannons. During theGoryeo dynasty, he had already recognized the importanceof gunpowder weapons, and suggested the establishmentof a state institution committed to producing them. His in-ventions played a crucial role in defeating Japanese raiders.His gunpowder production techniques were passed on tohis son, and later contributed to the strengthening of theJoseon dynasty’s defenses.

19. 전봉준 Jeon Bong-Jun 1855 – 1895

Jeon Bong-Jun was a leader of the Donghak PeasantMovement, which was a large-scale resistance movementagainst traditional feudalism and foreign invasions. Dong-hak was an indigenous Korean religion, which was foundedin 1860 and later became the Cheondogyo religion. His firstuprising was in 1894 against corrupt local bureaucrats. Healso led a nationwide protest against Japanese invasionsuntil his eventual arrest and execution.

20. 원효 Wonhyo 617 – 686

Wonhyo was a respected Buddhist monk of Silla kingdom,who made a great contribution to the development of Ko-rean Buddhism. Buddhism is a religion that has long influ-enced the life and thoughts of Koreans. He createdextensive written work about Buddhism, and committedhis life to disseminating the religion among the people. Histeachings were even introduced to China, and marked anepoch in the world’s history of Buddhism.

21. 문익점 Mun Ik-Jeom 1329 – 1398

Mun Ik-Jeom is recognized as “a person who improvedpeople’s lives” because he brought great benefits topeople by cultivating and distributing cotton. The intro-duction of cotton cloth made fabric production simplerand more efficient. The previous methods of fabric pro-duction were time-consuming and labor-intensive. Dueto its high production efficiency, cotton cloth becameKorea’s major export, and contributed to the nationaleconomy.

22. 정약용 Jeong Yak-Yong 1762 – 1836

Jeong Yak-Yong, also known by his pen-name Dasan, wasa prominent Confucian scholar and official during the lateJoseon dynasty. He is highly recognized for his contributionto compiling Silhak literature, which emphasized practicallearning and social reform. He spent many years living inexile, but he used the time to organize and develop his phi-losophy. He wrote over 500 books in broad areas, includingpolitics, economics and society. His line of work is calledDasanhak, and it has received considerable attention frommany scholars.

23. 이순신 Yi Sun-Sin 1545 – 1598

Yi Sun-Sin was an admiral and Korean national hero, whoprotected the country against Japanese invaders duringthe national crisis of the Imjin War. Throughout his career,he had to overcome extreme adversities in battles and per-sonal challenges, such as vicious slanders against him andsubsequent political ordeals. His life provides an endlesssource for Korean novels, dramas and movies, and he hasbecome immortal in the minds of Koreans.

24. 장보고 Jang Bo-Go ?– 846

Jang Bo-Go was a general of Silla kingdom, who estab-lished the Cheonghaejin naval base in today’s Wondo Is-land. Using Cheonghaejin, he was able to defeat pirates,gain control of the ocean, and secure safe trade routes thatconnected Silla with China and Japan. His reputation as aninternational trader was recorded in several historical doc-uments in Korea, China and Japan.

25. 김만덕 Kim Man-Deok 1739 – 1812

Kim Man-Deok was a successful and altruistic business-woman in Jejudo Island, who saved numerous people’slives during the Joseon dynasty. As a woman and a slave,she had to overcome many disadvantages before finallybecoming a great merchant. However, she decided tospend her entire fortune to save people from a faminecaused by an extreme drought in 1795. Her generositygreatly impressed the people of the period and still im-presses the people of today.

Great People of

Korea!

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Great People of

Korea!

Friendly Korea_People