Wŏn Kyun
Korean general and admiral during the Joseon Dynasty (1540 -1597)
Wŏn Kyun (Korean: 원균; Hanja: 元均; 12 February 1540 – 27 August 1597) was a military commander during the Imjin War. At the time of the Japanese invasion, he was the Naval Commander of Gyeongsang Right Province and led the navy, defeating the Japanese fleet together with Yi Sun-sin (李舜臣), the Naval Commander of Jeolla Left Province, and Yi Eok-gi (李億祺), the Naval Commander of Jeolla Right Province. He later served as Commander of Chungcheong Province, Naval Commander of Jeolla Left Province, and during the second invasion (the Jeongyu War), replaced Yi Sun-sin as Commander-in-Chief of the Three Provinces Navy (삼도수군통제사, Samdo Sugun Tongjesa). However, he suffered a disastrous defeat and was killed in the Battle of Chilcheollyang.
Early life
Won Gyun (元均) was born on January 5, 1540 (the 35th year of King Jungjong's reign) in Pyeongtaek, the eldest son of Won Jun-ryang (원준량). His family origin (bon-gwan) was in Wonju, and his courtesy name was Pyeongjung (평중, 平仲). His brothers included Won Yeon (원연), who raised a righteous army during the Imjin War as a licentiate (jin-sa), and also Won Yong (원용), Won Jeon (원전), and Won Ji (원지). His son was Won Sa-ung (원사웅). His father, Won Jun-ryang, was a military official who rose through posts such as Seonjeongwan (Royal Guards officer), Naval Commander of Jeolla Right Province, Naval Commander of Gyeongsang Left Province, Commander of Gyeongsang Left Province, and Naval Commander of Jeolla Left Province. During his service he was impeached several times by the Office of Censors.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Wŏn Kyun” is korean general and admiral during the Joseon Dynasty (1540 -1597). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Kyun, Korean and general, not as a finished interpretation.
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Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q379659. VIAF identifies the subject as 55550669. The Library of Congress control number is n84105430. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1540 and 1597.
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This entry incorporates text from “Wŏn Kyun” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.