All concubines are evil girls like Jang Hee-bin? The entity of 175 concubines of Joseon

All concubines are evil girls like Jang Hee-bin? The entity of 175 concubines of Joseon

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Jang Noksu in the movie'The King's Man' [사진 시네마서비스]

Jang Noksu in the movie’The King’s Man’ [사진 시네마서비스]

In famous historical dramas such as’Dong-i’,’Jang Hee-bin’,’Woman Incheonha’, and’The King’s Man’, the concubine appears as a figure comparable to the king. They are depicted as beings sitting in the court and controlling Joseon politics. There are many concubines who are familiar with the public, such as Hee Binjang, Kyung Binbak, and Jang Noksu. They usually show a state-of-the-art progression of status that starts with a lowly status and rises to the center of power. Then, what was the actual Joseon concubine?

『The concubine of the Joseon Dynasty』, a total survey of concubines
“There are many concubines from high-ranking families.”
After Jang Hee-bin, concubine influence decreased

The recently published 『Concubine of the Joseon Dynasty』 is a book that solves these curiosities by conducting a total survey of 175 concubines in the Joseon Dynasty. Lee Mi-sun, a professor of Korean history at Hanshin University, said, “When I say a concubine in the Joseon Dynasty, I often think of the image of a yo-yeo-yeo (妖女) struggling in the court, but I wanted to get rid of the prejudice.” I tried to summarize it.

Lee Mi-sun Professor, Department of Korean History, Hanshin University [사진 지식산업사]

Lee Mi-sun Professor of Korean History, Hanshin University [사진 지식산업사]

As the images of Jang Hee-bin and Jang Nok-su are strong, there is a strong prejudice that the queen is a high-ranking family and the concubines are from Korea and America.
Not like that. The concubines are divided into’Gantaek concubine’, who entered through formal procedures, and’bigantaek concubine’, in which a court woman or an outsider (gisaeng, maidservant, etc.) wore a seungeun (a cousin with the king) and became a concubine. The concubine of Gantaek installed a selection mechanism and issued a golden spirit to formally select the queen or Sejabin. So, there were many cases that came from influential families of the time. Choi, who was selected as a concubine during the King Sejong period, was a high-ranking figure whose grandfather was a contributor to the founding of the country and a contributor to the original, and his father was a high-ranking figure named Cheongbaek-ri as he climbed up to the Pandon Command. Seongjong’s concubine, Sukuinam-si, was the great-granddaughter of Nam-ji, a famous reign. Meanwhile, in the early Joseon Dynasty, kings needed to establish a relationship with a famous family in order to establish kingship, and they used the concubine system.

A cosmetic vessel excavated from the tomb where the concubine of King Jeongjo, Wonbin Hong, was buried. Wonbin Hong is the younger sister of Hong Guk-young, a Sedo in the period of King Jeongjo. [사진 지식산업사]

A cosmetic vessel excavated from the tomb where the concubine of King Jeongjo, Wonbin Hong, was buried. Wonbin Hong is the younger sister of Hong Guk-young, a Sedo in the period of King Jeongjo. [사진 지식산업사]

In the case of Jang Hee-bin and Jang Nok-su, weren’t they Korean-American?
They are Vigantaek concubines. In the early days, female servants and gisaengs became concubines of Vigantaek, but in the latter half, the status of origin was raised as the daughters of the current family or yangban took the place. Heebin Jang is from a family who has produced an empathy from generation to generation. However, Jang Heebin’s uncle was a rich man who accumulated considerable wealth through trade, and with this economic power, he was able to collide with the family and other forces. Park, Kyungbin, who is famous for ‘The Woman’s World’, his father was a low-ranking soldier.

Concubines are often described as nonsense evil women.
It is because it is used only as a material that stimulates the interest of the public. During the reign of King Munjeong and King Sukjong during the reign of King Jungjong, Jang Heebin was a concubine and became a queen. All of them are depicted with political or wicked character. There is also the influence of a male-centered cadet (史觀). Heebin Jang is not a noble class, but this is the only case of becoming queen. Ironically, however, after Jang Heebin was abandoned, Sukjong changed the system so that concubines could not become queens. This was also the reason why Yeongjo was 66 and 51-year-old Queen Jeong-soon, who was younger. So after that, the concubines didn’t go well with famous people. This is because the possibility of becoming a queen disappeared.

SBS drama'Jang Hee-bin' [사진 SBS]

SBS drama’Jang Hee-bin’ [사진 SBS]

The concubines seem to have been involved in politics a lot.
Mainly known as Jang Nok-su, Kim Gae-si, and Heebin Jang, these are all concubines of Bigantaek. Also, in the 16th to 17th centuries, it was a period of major social and political changes in Joseon. The mid-stage ban, artificial ban, or large-scale prison or repatriation took place, and concubines were given the role of mediator between the king and political powers. That’s why after the rebellion broke out, the royal power replacement forces punished the concubines of Yeonsan-gun and Gwanghae-gun. However, the political influence almost disappeared as restrictions on concubines increased after Heebin Jang during the King Sukjong period.

'Sukui Family Affairs Office Registration', which records the contents of the rites held by Sukjong's concubine, Youngbin Kim, when she was chosen as a concubine.[사진 지식산업사]

‘Sukui Family Affairs Office Registration’, which records the contents of the rites held by Sukjong’s concubine, Youngbin Kim, when she was chosen as a concubine.[사진 지식산업사]

How was the concubine treated?
Gantaek concubines could be cut from Jeong 1pum (bin) to bell 2pum (Sookui), and Bigantaek concubines could be made from Jeong 1pum (bin) to Jong4pum (Sookwon). When they gave birth to a prince’s child, they were given a “je-taek” outside the palace and more than 200 jeonse (田地). It is a public trust or a high class treatment. In addition, there are court ladies from Jeong 5 Pum Sanggung to Jeong 9 Pum Surrounding Palace. These were concubine candidates, and they all received a certain salary. Yeongjo’s mother, Sookbin Choi, is an example of starting from the last court lady and going up to the first prize.

How many concubines did the king of Joseon usually have?
The 27 kings of Joseon received an average of 6.4 concubines, with 19 as Taejong. Following that, 14 concubines in Gwanghae-gun, 13 Seongjong, 12 Gojong, and Yeonsan-gun and Jungjong each had 11 concubines. On the other hand, there weren’t even one Hyeonjong, Gyeongjong, and Sunjong, but they were all known for their weak constitutions. Soonjo (1), Danjong and Heonjong (2), Race and Hyojong (3), and Injo, Yeongjo and Jeongjo (4) were also less than the average. Overall, the number of concubines decreased as it went to 7.5 in the early Joseon period, 6.8 in the middle period, and 3.5 in the latter period.

Reporter Yoo Seong-woon [email protected]


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