Byeon Seung-eop
卞承業Interpreter-OfficialMerchant1623~1709
Byeon Seung-eop (1623–1709) was a Japanese-language interpreter (yeokgwan) of the Sayeogwon, the official interpreters' bureau of late Joseon Korea; he passed the interpreter examination in 1645, placing second, and rose to the senior post of Dongji-jungchubusa. Working as an interpreter, he amassed an enormous fortune through foreign trade and was counted, alongside Jang Hyeon and Kim Geun-haeng, among the wealthiest interpreter-merchants of the late Joseon period. He appears as a great rich man in Park Jiwon's tale "Okgap yahwa," though the popular belief that he was the direct model for the wealthy Byeon of "The Story of Master Heo" is not accepted by scholars.
Key achievements
- Japanese-language interpreter and wealthiest man of the Injo–Sukjong era — the great merchant featured in Bak Ji-won's 'Okgap Night Tales' (the widely held belief that he was the direct model for the rich merchant 'Byeon' in 'The Story of Heo Saeng' is rejected by scholars)
Related places
Seoul