Geugaji Haderui

Geugaji Haderui (嘔賀流; 4 Yuwol 1609 – 20 Siwol 1676) was a Basanreserian writer, explorer, and co-founder of the Colony of Charonam. One of the most notable figures of the Ssiabai period, he kickstarted the Basanreserian colonization of Wonju and the subsequent Buguwugu Wars.

Geugaji was born in Gauna, a small village near modern-day Siyebimoi. Little is known about his early life, although his family is presumed to have owned a large rice plantation (dating back to the Geugo period), which he was meant to inherit before the passing of the Nohwogyor Act. The Act centralized plantations throughout western Basanreseri under wealthy lords and their direct relatives, and with little compensation to their original owners. It was a highly controversial Act that caused Geugaji's family to emigrate to Waigayam when he was in his late teens. It is only then that Geugaji is first mentioned in imperial demographics records, where it is also specified he picked up the craft of.

In 1631, Geugaji is said to have heard of news of Nokdadohae (former name of Wonju) from a Jihwan-born apprentice, at a time when it was still assumed that Wonju consisted of multiple islands. He entertained the idea of traveling there and claiming an island for himself, later on citing the desire to carry out his ancestral, agrarian ways. In the next year, he secretly married Chīnida, daughter of the master-shipwright. Due to this connection, he was able to procure a small vessel and hire a skilled helmsman, in the process however using up most of his savings. In 1633, shortly before setting sail for Wonju, Chīnida entrusted her uncle, Gingdi, to accompany Geugaji on his travel and teach him. He arrived in modern-day Borūrwa, Chaereonam in 1636.