history

Samyongdang (1544-1610) was a commander of a volunteer army of priest origin and prominent diplomat. 

At the age of 13, he became a disciple of Saint Sosan (1520-1604), whose Buddhist name was Hyujong, and after mastering the Buddhist doctrine, he was assigned to the Yujom Temple in Mt Kumgang. When Korea went to the Imjin Patriotic War (1592-1598) against Japanese invasion, he organized a volunteer army unit with about 700 monks in the Kwandong area in response to the call of Saint Sosan who was in Mt Myohyang.

He took part in the battle of the Walled City of Pyongyang leading monk soldiers. Afterwards, he pursued the fleeing enemies together with Kwon Ryul, a commander of the government forces, to win victories.

As he went to the enemy camp on several occasions, he met with the enemy commander, Kato, and turned down their impudent demand with his stately diplomatic activities to drive them into a tight corner.

He commanded many battles to victory to make a great contribution to the victorious Imjin Patriotic War.

In 1604, six years after the war, he went to Japan with the sovereign’s message to conduct peace negotiations with Tokugawa Ieyasu, the power holder of Japan, and returned home with thousands of Koreans who had been captured.