U Tak

U Tak (Korean: 우탁; Hanja: 禹倬, 1262-1342), also known as Woo Tak, was a Korean Neo-Confucian scholar and philosopher during Korea’s Goryeo dynasty. He was also commonly known as Yeokdong Seonsaeng (Korean: 역동선생; Hanja: 易東先生). His pen names were Baekun and Danam, his courtesy names were Cheonjang and Takbo, and his posthumous name was Moonhee. ^[1] U Tak helped spread Neo-Confucianism, which had come from the Yuan dynasty, in Korea.^[2][3] He was a disciple of the Neo-Confucian scholar, An Hyang. ^[4]

U Tak belonged to the Danyang Woo clan. He was the 7th generation descendant of the Danyang Woo clan's founding ancestor, U Hyeon. U had two sons, U Won-gwang (Korean: 우원광; Hanja: 禹元光) and U Won-myeong (Korean: 우원명; Hanja: 禹元明).^[5] U Tak is considered as the ancestor of the Moonheegong branch (Korean: 문희공파; Hanja: 文僖公派) of the Danyang Woo clan.

U Tak was a respected scholar and centuries after his death, a Joseon Confucian scholar, Yi Hwang, helped to establish the Yeokdong Seowon in honor of U Tak in 1570. ^[3][6]

See also

• An Hyang
• Danyang Woo clan

References

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