Gungnyeo
Encyclopedia
Gungnyeo is a Korea
n term referring to women waiting on the king and other royalty in traditional Korean society. It is short for "gungjung yeogwan", which translates as "a lady officer of the royal court". Gungnyeo includes sanggung
(palace matron) and nain
(assistant court ladies), both of which hold rank as officers. The term is also used more broadly to encompass women in a lower class without a rank such as musuri
(lowest maids in charge of odd chores), gaksimi, sonnim, uinyeo
(female physicians) as well as nain and sanggung.
Although the first record of gungnyeo appears in Goryeosa
, a compilation on the history of Goryeo
, a provision was first made in 1392 by King Taejo
per Jo Jun (趙浚) and other officers' suggestions after the establishment of the Joseon Dynasty
. In 1428 Sejong the Great set up a detailed system regulating gungnyeo, in which female officers were divided into naegwan (internal offices, concerned with the royal court) and gunggwan (palace officers), and defined their ranks, titles, and social status. He further institutionalized the system, with revisions, in the Gyeongguk daejeon
(Complete Code of Laws).
The gungnyeo were not clearly defined during the Goryeo period, and it is not known how they came to serve the court and what procedures applied to them. The use of the term during that period is therefore assumed to refer to all women in the king's service in the court. In documents related to Goryeo, the social status of gungnyeo was generally commoner or lower class, such as the daughters of slaves, concubines, or cheonmin
(the despised). In the 22nd year of King Uijong
gungnyeo roles were divided into sanggung (尙宮, managing the palace), sangchim (尙寢, managing bedding
), sangsik (尙食 managing food), and another type of sangchim (尙針, managing sewing). Female musicians called yeoak were also a part of the gungnyeo.
During the Joseon Dynasty, court life was centered on the King, so many court women were necessary. They were assigned to the Daejeon (大殿; the Great Hall), Naejeon (內殿, private inner royal hall), the Daebijeon (the Queen dowager
's quarter), or the Sejajeon (the crown prince's quarter) of the palace.
(common people in rank). However, if circumstances allowed, people around the king wanted to pick gungnyeo from commoners' children, using a custom of early marriage in households that had a daughter over ten years old. As a result, since King Gyeongjong
's reign, daughters from the lower class were prohibited to be appointed as gungnyeo. According to the Sokdaejeon (Supplement to the National Code), some female slaves of each government office were chosen to become gungnyeo since the reign of King Yeongjo
.
While this restriction on class applied to "common gungnyeo", the appointment of those in important roles, closely waiting on the king and queen, such as jimil nain, was different. The standard for choosing jimil nain was so high that sanggung
tended to go out recruiting candidates through personal connections and by family custom. There were many gungnyeo in service who recommended their relatives for the position. The social status of the gungnyeo who were assigned to jimil, chimbang (the sewing department), and subang (the embroidery
department) came from the jungin class (literally "middle class"); the others mostly came from "commoner's class". Common gungnyeo entered the palace at the age of twelve to thirteen, whereas jimil nain entered there at the age of four to eight, and nain for the sewing and embroidery departments began to serve the court at six to thirteen.
Such "trainee gungnyeo" received the necessary education to become gungnyeo, such as learning court language, required daily conducts and behaviors, and writing gungche (palace-style font). Some gungnyeo left refined calligraphy
works written in hangul
(the Korean alphabet) with the gungche or Gyechuk ilgi (Diary of the Year Gyechuk, 1613) and Inhyeon wanghujeon (Tales of Queen Inhyeon
), all of which are regarded as excellent examples of the "palace literature".
and nain
because the role and social status of the groups were greatly different. The latter groups can be divided into three types; trainee nain, nain, and sanggung. They were treated differently according experience and length of service at court and in affiliated departments. Even the sanggung group was divided by rank according to their experience, and sanggung with the same rank did not always have the same social standing. Trainee nain referred to young girls who had not yet passed the gwallye (冠禮, a coming-of-age ceremony) and they were divided into saenggaksi and gaksi. The term, saenggaksi derives from that fact that the girls had a hairstyle called saengmeori. Only three departments, jimil, chimbang, and subang had the saenggaksi. After fifteen years service in the palace the trainee nain became an official nain. Nain wore a jade
-colored dangui
(a variety of jeogori
, a short jacket) and a navy blue chima
(a bulky skirt) and decorated their head with a frog-shaped cheopji
(a hairpin).
(Story of Chunhyang). Musuri
refers to women in charge of miscellaneous jobs (such as drawing water, making a fire, etc.) at every residence at court.
Sonnim is a type of housemaid who took charge of housekeeping at the king's concubine's residence. They were generally related to the concubine's family, and their salary was paid from the concubine's living expenses. The term means a person from outside of the palace and is a courtesy title, unlike musuri and gaksimi.
Uinyeo
literally means "medicine women" and they usually treated gungnyeo with acupuncture
and acted as midwife
when the king's consort or concubine gave birth. Whenever a feast was held at court they transformed themselves into gisaeng (female entertainers). For such occasions, they wore wonsam
(a female ceremonial garment), hwagwan
(an elaborate coronet
) on their head and colorfully striped
hansam (fabric extensions on the sleeves of the costume) on their hands just like dancers, so they were also called yakbang gisaeng and consequently yakbang is another name for naeuiwon (royal health clinic). Although uinyeos affiliation was to the naeuiwon, their predecessors were gisaeng. The uinyeo system was originally established during King Taejong
's reign because sick consorts, concubines and gungnyeo preferred to die rather than to be seen by a male doctor, due to the strict naeoebeop (sex segregation
), based on Confucianism
, at that time. Young slave girls who belonged to storage or government offices were therefore chosen to train in medical practices such as pulse-checking, acupuncture and others. Because they were originally uneducated cheonmin (the despised), the uinyeo system was not very fruitful. During King Yeonsangun
's reign, whenever a feast was held at each government office, uinyeo were told to participate in it as gisaeng with makeup. The system lasted until the end of the dynasty and the number of uinyeo was about eighty during King Gojong's reign. The uinyeo system disappeared when western doctors entered the court.
department), subang (the embroidery department), two sojubang; naesojobang and oesojubang, one for preparing daily meals, another for preparing food for banquets, saenggwabang (the dessert department), and sedapbang (the laundry department).
In addition to those seven departments, four other departments existed: sesugan (洗手間, the department in charge of the king and queen's washing and bathing), toeseongan (退膳間; a food arrangement room), bogicheo (僕伊處, the department for making fires ), deungchokbang (燈燭房 the department for lantern
s and candlelight
).
In terms of a more common individual's household jimil nain, who had the highest standing in gungnyeo society, acted like a personal maid to the mistress. Nain (assistant court ladies) at chimbang, and subang were like seamstresses while nain at sojubang and saenggwabang were like kitchen-maids. Sedapbang managed the laundry; in common families, female slaves generally did the cleaning, while experienced housewives ironed and smoothed laundry by pounding. Jimil nain had the highest social status while nain at chimbang, and subang were next in status. They could wear a chima (a bulky skirt) in the way which yangban
women did, and were allowed as a privilege to let it down long without wearing an apron. Since they worked on a floor or in a room, these nain did not need to fold up their skirt, unlike nain at sojubang, and sedapbang. Nain at the other departments rolled up their skirt with an apron. Likewise, only the former three departments could have saenggaksi (생각시, young nain with a hairstyle called "saeng" or "sayang"), while young nain at the others could not bind their hair with saeng but had to let it down in long braids.
who received special treatment according to the importance of their job. Jejo sanggung (提調尙宮), also called Keunbang sanggung were senior among gungnyeo and received the king's orders and managed properties in the queen's quarter. They exercised political power at the time. Bujejo sanggung also called Arigo sanggung (阿里庫) took charge of items in stores attached to the queen's quarter. Jimil sanggung also called Daeryeong sanggung waited closely on the king. Bomo sanggung took charge of nursing princes or princesses, and among them those who served the crown prince had the highest standing among the group. Sinyeo sanggung were in charge of assisting the king, queen and queen dowager whenever a national ceremony or feast occurred. They also managed books and documents of the Jimil sanggung and did gokeup (mourning and crying loudly). Gamchal sanggung gave rewards or punishments to relevant gungnyeo, acting as a supervisors, and were held in awe by other gungnyeo. Some gungnyeo who were favoured by the king could take political power and improve their rank.
Palace ladies were subordinated to the queen, and were ranked below the Royal Noble Consort
s (ne-gwan 내관).
There were 5 ranks for palace ladies with two level each.
5a. Royal concubine (sang-gung 상궁) was a special palace lady who already had sexual relationship with the king. The appointment decree was issued by the queen.
5b. First Palace Lady (leading the Royal/Queen's Secretariat): Sang-bok (상복) and Sang-shik (상식)
6a. Chief Palace Lady (e.g. leading the royal kitchen): Sang-chim (상침) and Sang-kong (상공) 6b. Sang-chong (상정) and Sang-gi (상기)
7a. Leading Palace Lady (being charge of a specific activity): Chon-bin (전빈), Chon-ui (전의) and Chon-son (전선) 7b. Chon-sol (전설), Chon-che (전제) and Chon-on (전언)
8a. Chon-chan (전찬), Chon-shik (전식) and Chon-yak (전약) 8b. Chon-dung (전등), Chon-che (전채) and Chon-cong (전정)
9a. Chu-gung (주궁), Chu-sang (주상) and Chu-gak (주각) 9b. Chu-byon-chi (주변치), Chu-chi (주치), Chu-oo (주우) and Chu-byon-gung (주변궁)
The palace ladies were followed by lower rank ladies-in-waiting (e.g. palace lady candidates), servants and slaves.
The total number differed from time and was increased or decreased depending on circumstances at court. While the number of gungnyeo in the early period of the Joseon Dynasty was not great, it tended to increase as time went by. During King Seongjong
's reign (1469–1494), 105 gungnyeo in total served the palace, with 29 for the mother of the previous king, 27 for the queen dowager's quarter and 49 for the king's quarter. During the reign of King Gojong (1863–1907), the total number of gungnyeo reached 480; 100 for the king's quarter, 100 for the queen dowager's quarter, 100 for the queen, 60 for the crown prince, 40 for the consort of the heir apparent, 50 for the seson, the son of the prince successor, and 30 for the wife of the seson.
Gungnyeo received a graded monthly salary according to rank and living necessities as their payment, but the price was not fixed. It varied according to economic circumstances at that time. Service was assumed to be on a day-shift basis.
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n term referring to women waiting on the king and other royalty in traditional Korean society. It is short for "gungjung yeogwan", which translates as "a lady officer of the royal court". Gungnyeo includes sanggung
Sanggung
Sanggung was an official title of the senior 5th rank , the highest attainable for gungnyeo, a lady-in-waiting during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. Female officers with the title were assigned to govern the inner affairs of the palace. When a regular nain served for more than 15 years, she would be...
(palace matron) and nain
Nain
Nain may refer to:* Nain rug, name of a traditional pattern and design of Persian carpet* North American Interfaith Network* Nain, assistant court ladies of KoreaPlaces* Nain, Iran, a city in Iran* Nain County, an administrative subdivision of Iran...
(assistant court ladies), both of which hold rank as officers. The term is also used more broadly to encompass women in a lower class without a rank such as musuri
Musuri
Musuri is a Korean term referring to female slaves in charge of odd chores in the court during the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasty of Korea. Their main tasks were miscellaneous works such as drawing water from a well, making a fire in the fireplace or cleaning....
(lowest maids in charge of odd chores), gaksimi, sonnim, uinyeo
Uinyeo
Uinyeo were female physicians who specialized in the treatment of women during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. The uinyeo were established as a solution to social taboos against women receiving treatment from male physicians...
(female physicians) as well as nain and sanggung.
Establishment
Goryeosa
The Goryeosa or History of Goryeo is the principal surviving history of Korea's Goryeo Dynasty. It was composed nearly a century after the fall of Goryeo, during the reign of King Sejong...
, a compilation on the history of Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
, a provision was first made in 1392 by King Taejo
Taejo of Joseon
Taejo of Joseon , born Yi Seong-gye, whose changed name is Yi Dan, was the founder and the first king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, and the main figure in overthrowing the Goryeo Dynasty...
per Jo Jun (趙浚) and other officers' suggestions after the establishment of the Joseon Dynasty
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
. In 1428 Sejong the Great set up a detailed system regulating gungnyeo, in which female officers were divided into naegwan (internal offices, concerned with the royal court) and gunggwan (palace officers), and defined their ranks, titles, and social status. He further institutionalized the system, with revisions, in the Gyeongguk daejeon
Gyeongguk daejeon
Gyeongguk daejeon is a complete code of laws that comprises every law, acts, customs, ordinances to have been released since the late period of the Goryeo Dynasty to the early Joseon Dynasty. It had been a basis for the over 500 years-long Joseon Dynasty in politics...
(Complete Code of Laws).
The gungnyeo were not clearly defined during the Goryeo period, and it is not known how they came to serve the court and what procedures applied to them. The use of the term during that period is therefore assumed to refer to all women in the king's service in the court. In documents related to Goryeo, the social status of gungnyeo was generally commoner or lower class, such as the daughters of slaves, concubines, or cheonmin
Cheonmin
Cheonmin, or "vulgar commoners," were the lowest caste of commoners in dynastical Korea. They abounded during the Goryeo and Joseon periods of Korea's agrarian bureaucracy. Like the caste system in India, this social class was largely hereditary and based on certain professions considered...
(the despised). In the 22nd year of King Uijong
Uijong of Goryeo
Emperor Uijong of Goryeo was the 18th monarch of the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. He honored his advisors with many ceremonies but hated the warriors, often forcing them to participate in martial arts competitions for the entertainment of himself and the civil officials, as well as assigning them...
gungnyeo roles were divided into sanggung (尙宮, managing the palace), sangchim (尙寢, managing bedding
Bedding
Bedding refers to the materials laid above the mattress of a bed for hygiene, warmth, to protect the mattress, and for decorative effect. Bedding is the removable and washable portion of a human sleeping environment. It is more easily and economically replaced than the bed itself...
), sangsik (尙食 managing food), and another type of sangchim (尙針, managing sewing). Female musicians called yeoak were also a part of the gungnyeo.
During the Joseon Dynasty, court life was centered on the King, so many court women were necessary. They were assigned to the Daejeon (大殿; the Great Hall), Naejeon (內殿, private inner royal hall), the Daebijeon (the Queen dowager
Queen Dowager
A queen dowager or dowager queen is a title or status generally held by the widow of a deceased king. In the case of the widow of a deceased emperor, the title of empress dowager is used...
's quarter), or the Sejajeon (the crown prince's quarter) of the palace.
Election and education
The appointment of gungnyeo usually occurred one year in ten, but there were exceptions; the method of appointing gungnyeo and their social status differed from time to time, so the process was not systematized. In general, gungnyeo were chosen from among female slaves who belonged to the governing class rather than from daughters of the sangminSangmin
The sangmin were the common people of Joseon Korea. About 75% of all Koreans at that time were sangmin. The sangmin consisted of peasants, laborers, fishermen, some craftsmen and merchants. The sangmin were considered "clean workers" but had little social status. Generally they were poor. They...
(common people in rank). However, if circumstances allowed, people around the king wanted to pick gungnyeo from commoners' children, using a custom of early marriage in households that had a daughter over ten years old. As a result, since King Gyeongjong
Gyeongjong of Joseon
Gyeongjong was the 20th king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He was the son of Sukjong by Jang Hui-bin.In 1690, Gyeongjong's designation as heir to the throne precipitated a struggle between the Noron and the Soron faction, which supported Gyeongjong of Joseon...
's reign, daughters from the lower class were prohibited to be appointed as gungnyeo. According to the Sokdaejeon (Supplement to the National Code), some female slaves of each government office were chosen to become gungnyeo since the reign of King Yeongjo
Yeongjo of Joseon
Yeongjo was the twenty-first king of the Korean Joseon Dynasty. He was the second son of Sukjong by Lady Suk-bin of the Choi clan , succeeded his older brother Gyeongjong.-Reign:...
.
While this restriction on class applied to "common gungnyeo", the appointment of those in important roles, closely waiting on the king and queen, such as jimil nain, was different. The standard for choosing jimil nain was so high that sanggung
Sanggung
Sanggung was an official title of the senior 5th rank , the highest attainable for gungnyeo, a lady-in-waiting during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. Female officers with the title were assigned to govern the inner affairs of the palace. When a regular nain served for more than 15 years, she would be...
tended to go out recruiting candidates through personal connections and by family custom. There were many gungnyeo in service who recommended their relatives for the position. The social status of the gungnyeo who were assigned to jimil, chimbang (the sewing department), and subang (the embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
department) came from the jungin class (literally "middle class"); the others mostly came from "commoner's class". Common gungnyeo entered the palace at the age of twelve to thirteen, whereas jimil nain entered there at the age of four to eight, and nain for the sewing and embroidery departments began to serve the court at six to thirteen.
Such "trainee gungnyeo" received the necessary education to become gungnyeo, such as learning court language, required daily conducts and behaviors, and writing gungche (palace-style font). Some gungnyeo left refined calligraphy
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
works written in hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
(the Korean alphabet) with the gungche or Gyechuk ilgi (Diary of the Year Gyechuk, 1613) and Inhyeon wanghujeon (Tales of Queen Inhyeon
Queen Inhyeon
Queen Inhyeon was the second Queen consort of King Sukjong of Joseon and one of the best known Queens of the Joseon Dynasty...
), all of which are regarded as excellent examples of the "palace literature".
In the narrow meaning
Gungnyeo always distinguished themselves from the sanggungSanggung
Sanggung was an official title of the senior 5th rank , the highest attainable for gungnyeo, a lady-in-waiting during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. Female officers with the title were assigned to govern the inner affairs of the palace. When a regular nain served for more than 15 years, she would be...
and nain
Nain
Nain may refer to:* Nain rug, name of a traditional pattern and design of Persian carpet* North American Interfaith Network* Nain, assistant court ladies of KoreaPlaces* Nain, Iran, a city in Iran* Nain County, an administrative subdivision of Iran...
because the role and social status of the groups were greatly different. The latter groups can be divided into three types; trainee nain, nain, and sanggung. They were treated differently according experience and length of service at court and in affiliated departments. Even the sanggung group was divided by rank according to their experience, and sanggung with the same rank did not always have the same social standing. Trainee nain referred to young girls who had not yet passed the gwallye (冠禮, a coming-of-age ceremony) and they were divided into saenggaksi and gaksi. The term, saenggaksi derives from that fact that the girls had a hairstyle called saengmeori. Only three departments, jimil, chimbang, and subang had the saenggaksi. After fifteen years service in the palace the trainee nain became an official nain. Nain wore a jade
Jade
Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
-colored dangui
Dangui
Dang'ui is a type of upper garment for women in hanbok, Korean traditional clothing, which was worn for ceremonial occasions during the Joseon Dynasty. It was worn as a simple official outfit or for small national ceremonies while court ladies wore it as a daily garment...
(a variety of jeogori
Jeogori
The jeogori is a basic upper garment of hanbok, Korean traditional garment, which has been worn by both men and women. It covers the arms and upper part of the wearer's body.-Etymology:...
, a short jacket) and a navy blue chima
Chima (clothing)
Chima is a type of skirt worn together with jeogori, or a short jacket in hanbok, Korean traditional clothing. It is also referred to as sang or gun in hanja, Chinese characters adapted for Korean language....
(a bulky skirt) and decorated their head with a frog-shaped cheopji
Cheopji
Cheopji is a Korean hair accessory decorating the chignon of ladies when they wear a ceremonial dress. It is usually made of silver, and a frog-shape is its common form. The use of cheopji began after Baljaegaeheok proclaimed by Yeongjo of Joseon...
(a hairpin).
In the broad meaning
Gaksimi is a generic term collectively referring to a housemaid, kitchen-maid, seamstress or others working at a sanggung's private residence on sanggung's days off. Their monthly salary was paid by the state, so they were also called "bangja". The term bangja means a clerk working at a government office and is the same as the male character called bangja who appears in ChunhyangjeonChunhyangjeon
The Chunhyangjeon is one of the best known love stories and folk tales of Korea. It is based on the pansori Chunhyangga.Date of composition and author are unknown, and the present form took shape 1694~1834 from the most famous of the five surviving pansori tales, the Song of Chun Hyang.-Main...
(Story of Chunhyang). Musuri
Musuri
Musuri is a Korean term referring to female slaves in charge of odd chores in the court during the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasty of Korea. Their main tasks were miscellaneous works such as drawing water from a well, making a fire in the fireplace or cleaning....
refers to women in charge of miscellaneous jobs (such as drawing water, making a fire, etc.) at every residence at court.
Sonnim is a type of housemaid who took charge of housekeeping at the king's concubine's residence. They were generally related to the concubine's family, and their salary was paid from the concubine's living expenses. The term means a person from outside of the palace and is a courtesy title, unlike musuri and gaksimi.
Uinyeo
Uinyeo
Uinyeo were female physicians who specialized in the treatment of women during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. The uinyeo were established as a solution to social taboos against women receiving treatment from male physicians...
literally means "medicine women" and they usually treated gungnyeo with acupuncture
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....
and acted as midwife
Midwifery
Midwifery is a health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during pregnancy, labour and birth, and during the postpartum period. They also help care for the newborn and assist the mother with breastfeeding....
when the king's consort or concubine gave birth. Whenever a feast was held at court they transformed themselves into gisaeng (female entertainers). For such occasions, they wore wonsam
Wonsam
The wonsam is a female ceremonial topcoat in hanbok, Korean traditional clothing. It was worn by queens, high-ranking court ladies, and royalty during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea . It is also called daeui , daesu and jangsam...
(a female ceremonial garment), hwagwan
Hwagwan
Hwagwan is a type of Korean coronet worn by women, traditionally for ceremonial occasions such as weddings. It is similar to thejokduri in shape and function, but the hwagan is more elaborate....
(an elaborate coronet
Coronet
A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. Unlike a crown, a coronet never has arches.The word stems from the Old French coronete, a diminutive of coronne , itself from the Latin corona .Traditionally, such headgear is – as indicated by the German equivalent...
) on their head and colorfully striped
Saekdongot
The saekdongot is a type of hanbok, Korean traditional clothing, with colorful stripes by patchworking. It began to be used for hanbok since the Goryeo period . The name literally means "many colored clothes " in Korean. It was usually worn by children from the age of one to seven year old...
hansam (fabric extensions on the sleeves of the costume) on their hands just like dancers, so they were also called yakbang gisaeng and consequently yakbang is another name for naeuiwon (royal health clinic). Although uinyeos affiliation was to the naeuiwon, their predecessors were gisaeng. The uinyeo system was originally established during King Taejong
Taejong of Joseon
King Taejong was the third king of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea and the father of King Sejong the Great.-Founding of Joseon:...
's reign because sick consorts, concubines and gungnyeo preferred to die rather than to be seen by a male doctor, due to the strict naeoebeop (sex segregation
Sex segregation
Sex segregation is the separation of people according to their sex.The term gender apartheid also has been applied to segregation of people by gender, implying that it is sexual discrimination...
), based on Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
, at that time. Young slave girls who belonged to storage or government offices were therefore chosen to train in medical practices such as pulse-checking, acupuncture and others. Because they were originally uneducated cheonmin (the despised), the uinyeo system was not very fruitful. During King Yeonsangun
Yeonsangun of Joseon
Yeonsan-gun , born Yi Yung, was the 10th king of Korea's Joseon Dynasty. He was the eldest son of Seongjong by his second wife, Lady Yoon. He is often considered the worst tyrant in Joseon Dynasty, notorious for launching two bloody purges of the seonbi elite...
's reign, whenever a feast was held at each government office, uinyeo were told to participate in it as gisaeng with makeup. The system lasted until the end of the dynasty and the number of uinyeo was about eighty during King Gojong's reign. The uinyeo system disappeared when western doctors entered the court.
Gungnyeo's roles
Gungnyeo can be described as a type of luxurious slaves for royal private life, needed in departments in charge of clothing, cooking and housing among others. Such places were jimil ("the innermost quarter", waiting closely on royalty), chimbang (the sewingSewing
Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era...
department), subang (the embroidery department), two sojubang; naesojobang and oesojubang, one for preparing daily meals, another for preparing food for banquets, saenggwabang (the dessert department), and sedapbang (the laundry department).
In addition to those seven departments, four other departments existed: sesugan (洗手間, the department in charge of the king and queen's washing and bathing), toeseongan (退膳間; a food arrangement room), bogicheo (僕伊處, the department for making fires ), deungchokbang (燈燭房 the department for lantern
Lantern
A lantern is a portable lighting device or mounted light fixture used to illuminate broad areas. Lanterns may also be used for signaling, as 'torches', or as general light sources outdoors . Low light level varieties are used for decoration. The term "lantern" is also used more generically to...
s and candlelight
Candlelight
Candlelight or Candlelighting may refer to:*Light created by a candle*Candlelighting, the lighting of Shabbat candles*Candlelight Records*Candlelight , a song by Csézy*Candlelight , a song by the band six.byseven...
).
In terms of a more common individual's household jimil nain, who had the highest standing in gungnyeo society, acted like a personal maid to the mistress. Nain (assistant court ladies) at chimbang, and subang were like seamstresses while nain at sojubang and saenggwabang were like kitchen-maids. Sedapbang managed the laundry; in common families, female slaves generally did the cleaning, while experienced housewives ironed and smoothed laundry by pounding. Jimil nain had the highest social status while nain at chimbang, and subang were next in status. They could wear a chima (a bulky skirt) in the way which yangban
Yangban
The yangban were part of the traditional ruling class or nobles of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The yangban were either landed or unlanded aristocracy who comprised the Korean Confucian idea of a "scholarly official." In reality, they were basically administrators and bureaucrats who...
women did, and were allowed as a privilege to let it down long without wearing an apron. Since they worked on a floor or in a room, these nain did not need to fold up their skirt, unlike nain at sojubang, and sedapbang. Nain at the other departments rolled up their skirt with an apron. Likewise, only the former three departments could have saenggaksi (생각시, young nain with a hairstyle called "saeng" or "sayang"), while young nain at the others could not bind their hair with saeng but had to let it down in long braids.
Gungnyeo's rank
Gungnyeo society had supervisors who acted as the head of the gungnyeo group, and sanggungSanggung
Sanggung was an official title of the senior 5th rank , the highest attainable for gungnyeo, a lady-in-waiting during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. Female officers with the title were assigned to govern the inner affairs of the palace. When a regular nain served for more than 15 years, she would be...
who received special treatment according to the importance of their job. Jejo sanggung (提調尙宮), also called Keunbang sanggung were senior among gungnyeo and received the king's orders and managed properties in the queen's quarter. They exercised political power at the time. Bujejo sanggung also called Arigo sanggung (阿里庫) took charge of items in stores attached to the queen's quarter. Jimil sanggung also called Daeryeong sanggung waited closely on the king. Bomo sanggung took charge of nursing princes or princesses, and among them those who served the crown prince had the highest standing among the group. Sinyeo sanggung were in charge of assisting the king, queen and queen dowager whenever a national ceremony or feast occurred. They also managed books and documents of the Jimil sanggung and did gokeup (mourning and crying loudly). Gamchal sanggung gave rewards or punishments to relevant gungnyeo, acting as a supervisors, and were held in awe by other gungnyeo. Some gungnyeo who were favoured by the king could take political power and improve their rank.
Palace ladies were subordinated to the queen, and were ranked below the Royal Noble Consort
Royal Noble Consort
Royal Noble Consort was the title of royal concubines of Korean kings . During the Joseon Dynasty , they were part of the ne-goong and ranked beneath the queen, but above low-ranked concubines and court ladies...
s (ne-gwan 내관).
There were 5 ranks for palace ladies with two level each.
5a. Royal concubine (sang-gung 상궁) was a special palace lady who already had sexual relationship with the king. The appointment decree was issued by the queen.
5b. First Palace Lady (leading the Royal/Queen's Secretariat): Sang-bok (상복) and Sang-shik (상식)
6a. Chief Palace Lady (e.g. leading the royal kitchen): Sang-chim (상침) and Sang-kong (상공) 6b. Sang-chong (상정) and Sang-gi (상기)
7a. Leading Palace Lady (being charge of a specific activity): Chon-bin (전빈), Chon-ui (전의) and Chon-son (전선) 7b. Chon-sol (전설), Chon-che (전제) and Chon-on (전언)
8a. Chon-chan (전찬), Chon-shik (전식) and Chon-yak (전약) 8b. Chon-dung (전등), Chon-che (전채) and Chon-cong (전정)
9a. Chu-gung (주궁), Chu-sang (주상) and Chu-gak (주각) 9b. Chu-byon-chi (주변치), Chu-chi (주치), Chu-oo (주우) and Chu-byon-gung (주변궁)
The palace ladies were followed by lower rank ladies-in-waiting (e.g. palace lady candidates), servants and slaves.
The number of gungnyeo
The total number of gungnyeo included not only gungnyeo at the main palace where the king resided but also at Jesagung, palaces for jesa, (ancestor veneration) and Byeolgung, (annexed palaces). Gungnyeo who worked within the main palace despised those who worked in annexed palaces, calling them gunggeot (the one at the palace). In the main palace, the king's quarter was managed as an independent household, and all of the king, queen, queen dowager's quarters had the same number of gungnyeo. It has been suggested that gungnyeo numbered 90 in total. Each of these residences would have twenty to twenty seven jimil nain and the other places would have fifteen to twenty.The total number differed from time and was increased or decreased depending on circumstances at court. While the number of gungnyeo in the early period of the Joseon Dynasty was not great, it tended to increase as time went by. During King Seongjong
Seongjong of Joseon
Seongjong of Joseon was the ninth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He succeeded King Yejong in 1469 and ruled until 1494.-Reign:...
's reign (1469–1494), 105 gungnyeo in total served the palace, with 29 for the mother of the previous king, 27 for the queen dowager's quarter and 49 for the king's quarter. During the reign of King Gojong (1863–1907), the total number of gungnyeo reached 480; 100 for the king's quarter, 100 for the queen dowager's quarter, 100 for the queen, 60 for the crown prince, 40 for the consort of the heir apparent, 50 for the seson, the son of the prince successor, and 30 for the wife of the seson.
Lifetime employment and payment
All gungnyeo within the palace were basically tied for life, from their acceptance into the palace until the time at which they had to leave. Once they entered service they had to live inside the palace for their whole life, except for special occasions. Apart from the king and his immediate household nobody, even his concubine, could die in the royal court, so when gungnyeo became old or ill, they had to leave the palace. There were other reasons to release gungnyeo from the palace, such as when their superior or master was ill, or when a drought happened, a certain number of gungnyeo were released in appeasement of the natural calamity. In the latter case, such released gungnyeo were restricted in their actions, prohibited from marrying, and would be harshly punished if they violated these rules. Thus gungnyeo lived completely isolated from outside life, and were not allowed to contact men, or even other women, except by release from service. The life of gungnyeo is depicted in an ancient novel titled Unyeongjeon (雲英傳) written by an anonymous writer during the Joseon Dynasty.Gungnyeo received a graded monthly salary according to rank and living necessities as their payment, but the price was not fixed. It varied according to economic circumstances at that time. Service was assumed to be on a day-shift basis.
See also
- Lady-in-waitingLady-in-waitingA lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
- Related films: Dae Jang GeumDae Jang GeumDae Jang Geum is a 2003 epic South Korean television series directed by Lee Byung Hoon and produced by MBC. Starring Lee Young Ae, it tells the tale of an orphaned kitchen cook who went on to become the king's first female physician...
, Shadows in the PalaceShadows in the PalaceShadows in the Palace is a 2007 South Korean film directed by Kim Mee-jeung. This is Kim Mee-jeung's first feature film, but she has previously worked as part of the directing staff in The King and the Clown and Shadows in the Palace was filmed on the same set as The King and the Clown...
, Dong Yi - Joseon Dynasty politicsJoseon Dynasty politicsThe politics of the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910, were governed by the reigning ideology of Korean Confucianism, a form of Neo-Confucianism. Political struggles were common between different factions of the scholar-officials...
External links
TV clip for the program, Gungnyeo during the Joseon Dynasty were professionals at Women's History Knowledge System Titles of gungnye at MBCMunhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC (Hangul : 문화방송주식회사, Munhwa Bangsong Jushikoesa) is one of four major national South Korean television and radio networks. Munhwa is the Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television...