Mun Ikjeom

Mun Ik-jeom (1329–1398) was a scholar and civil official of the late Goryeo period who held a range of posts, including magistrate's officer in Gimhae and head of the Seonggyungwan academy. Returning from the Yuan dynasty, he brought back cotton seeds and opened the way for cotton cultivation in Korea, a development that greatly transformed how ordinary people clothed themselves. By enabling the widespread use of cotton cloth in an age dependent on costly silk or coarse hemp, his achievement left a lasting mark on everyday life.