There are numerous occupations all over the world but there is a special job called "gisaeng" in Korea. Historically, we called woman "gisaeng" who are specially trained in music, dancing, and the art of conversation to entertain men . It was a little different from the modern concept of prostitute. They were treated as a lower level but officially admitted in the society at that time.
The Joseon Dynasty era(1392-1910) was one of ancient Korean historical countries. It is recorded the gisaeng has existed since this period. Although there are a lot of records at that time, the artworks by YoonBok Shin the most well-described about them.
Dano(19th century)
This is the most famous artwork of his. Also, this picture was designated as the 135th national treasure in Korea. It describes a holiday "Dano"(5th of May). People wash their body, prepare for upcoming summer, and wish for good harvest. As shown the picture above, gisaengs are washing their hair and riding a swing as a traditional custom.
Se Hoon, thank you for letting us know more about gosaengs. I remembered there was a kind of young lady in Japan called "Yi ji". I think they are similar to each other.
ReplyDeleteHi Jing. This is sehoon. Do you know his name who is same team member in social science class? Because, I didn't get powerpoint file from him...
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