Early life Hŏ Mok was born at Changseonbang (창선방,彰善坊), in
Hanseong. His father, Hŏ Kyo, was a member of the lower bureaucracy, while his great-grandfather, Hŏ Cha, once served as the
Vice Prime Minister of Joseon. Hŏ Mok's maternal grandfather, Im Che, was a student of
Sŏ Kyŏngdŏk. His father, Hŏ Kyo, was a student of Pak Chihwa. Sŏ Kyŏngdŏk and Pak Chihwa's more academic and ideologically-successful pupils were to join the political faction called
Easterners (or
Tongin; 동인, 東人) at the
Joseon Court. However, a schism divided court politics into two newly-formed factions:
Southerners (or
Namin; 남인, 南人) and
Northerners (or
Pukin; 북인, 北人), with the Easterners being assimilated into the Northerners. Hŏ's family were thus members of the Northerners faction. Hŏ Mok's early years were spent as a disciple to
Yi Sanhae and at Yi Wŏnik's distinct private scholarly institutions. In 1613, he married Lady Yi of the
Jeonju Yi clan, a granddaughter of Yi Wŏnik (
art name Ori). The marriage was initially met with opposition from his wife's family, but Yi Wŏnik's support made it successful.
Early career In 1615, Hŏ Mok and his cousin, Hŏ Hu, went to study at
Chŏng Ku's private educational institute, where they remained until 1620. In 1626, Hŏ Mok, as the head of management of the dormitory of educational institutions, imposed personal sanctions on scholar Pak Chigye, accusing him of joining
King Injo's attempt to destroy the
Li. In 1657, he was reappointed to
Kongjo chwarang, then appointed to
Sahŏnbu changryŏng (), and then to
Saboksi Chubu (). In 1658, he was reappointed to
Sahŏnbu changryŏng. In 1659,
King Hyojong appointed Hŏ Mok to
Puhogun (), and later that September, he became head of
Changakwŏn (). In December, he was appointed as leader of
Sanguiwŏn (). During
King Hyojong's funeral, he was in conflict with
Song Si-yŏl and
Song Chun-gil regarding the appropriate length of time for which
Queen Jangryeol (자의대비; at the time called "Grand Royal Queen Dowager Jaui"), the second wife of
King Injo, should mourn her step-son, based on
Confucian rules.
Yesong arguments First Yesong argument In May of 1659(by the lunar calendar used at the time), an ideological dispute over how long the
Queen Jangnyeol(also known as Grand Royal Queen Dowager Jaui) should wear her mourning clothes for the death of her stepson
Hyojong of Joseon known as the "Kihae Yesong(己亥禮訟,Yesong(The argument on morals) on the year of Kihae) also known as the
First of Yesong Ronjaeng (제1차 예송 논쟁, 第一次禮訟論爭,First Dispute over rituals). The dispute was sparked by a contradiction of ritual principles that can be applied because of the dubious nature of the position of
Hyojong of Joseon,because despite him being born as the second son of
Injo of Joseon, he can be considered the eldest son because of the rule that says "anyone who is the legitimate heir to the throne is treated as the eldest son".Regarding this matter two opposing political factions, the
Southerners faction and the
Westerners faction disagreed.
Song Si-yŏl and Song Chun-gil, two leaders of the
Westerners faction (or
Sŏin; 서인, 西人), argued that the Queen should mourn for
Hyojong for just a year, since he was only Injo's second son (despite being the legitimate heir to the throne), and thus was not fit to be mourned for three years, which was the normal period of mourning for eldest sons.
Song Si-yeol argued that
Queen Inseon, as the wife of Injo's second son, should be mourned for 9 months. But Hŏ Mok and
Yun Hyu maintained that Hyojong was the successor of
King Injo, which practically made Queen Inseon the first daughter-in-law and required one year of mourning.
King Hyeonjong was unpleasant by "King Hyojong's Second" title and wanted a cabinet reshuffle, in order to give the power to the
Southerners (at that time, the
westerners was the ruling party, headed by
Song Si-yŏl). This meant a victory for Hŏ Mok and
Yun Hyu, but Hyeonjong died soon after.
Acquisition of power Despite Hyeonjong's death, Hŏ Mok was still trusted. In November 1674, he was appointed to ''Ijo ch'amŭi
() and continuously served as Sahŏnbu Taesahŏn
(). In 1675 he was successively appointed for posts such as Ijo ch'ampan
(), Bibyŏngukdangsang
(), Chwach'amch'an
(), Ijo p'ansŏ
() and U ch'amch'an'' (). In 1676, Hŏ Mok was promoted to
Right State Councillor of Joseon. In 1679, Hŏ Kyŏn, a party member and
Chief State Councillor Hŏ Chuk's illegitimate son, abused his power and Hŏ Mok attacked Hŏ Chuk for it, but
King Sukjong and the
Southerners took Hŏ Kyŏn's side.
Death On June 2, 1682, he died in Gyeonggi Province, at the age of 86. The
Westerners continued to attack Hŏ Mok and
Yun Hyu, calling them
Samunanjŏk (). In 1689, he was rehabilitated. In 1692, he was posthumously conferred the honours of a
Chief State Councillor. Hŏ Mok was also awarded the posthumous title
Munjŏng (). == Books ==