Two poems by Korean icon, Shin Saimdang (1504-1551), provide examples of familial love and female talent in the Joseon Dynasty (1492-1897)
Who was Shin Saimdang?
Born in Gangneung, Gangwon Province (강원도 강릉시) in 1504, Shin Saimdang was one of five daughters of noble parents, Shin Myeonghwa and Lady Yi. At the time, it was custom for women to move to their husband's residence after marriage, but Lady Yi defied this social construct by remaining with her parents after she married. This allowed her more freedom and autonomy when raising and educating her daughters. In Saimdang's day, women were rarely afforded much education beyond basic hangul (vernacular Korean). However, because she had no brothers, and because of her wit and cleverness, young Saimdang was educated by her grandfather as if she were a boy. Shin Saimdang was able to learn to read and write Classical Chinese--which was considered the language of the elites and rarely taught to women--and also began painting and calligraphy at a young age.
Although Shin Saimdang functioned in a time when patriarchal Neo-Confucian ideals restricted women's freedoms, she defied all odds and led a life of great independence compared to the majority of women in her day. Like her mother, she remained at her parents' family home for years after marriage, and went on to become a skilled painter, poet, and calligrapher. Though she was unable to broadcast her skills publicly in the was a man would have been able to, she still managed to be remembered as a woman of extraordinary talent. Shin Saimdang continues to be an important Korean icon today, as she was the first woman to appear on Korean currency, and can still be found on the 50,000 won note.
From Daegwallyeong Pass
It is believed that the following poem was written by Shin Saimdang when she was on her way to her husband's home after giving birth to her son Yi Yulgok--who later became one of Korea's most influential scholars)--at her parents' home in Gangneung. The legend goes that as she crossed Daegwallyeong Pass (대관령), she looked back longingly on her parents home, and composed this poem:
From Daegwallyeong Pass
From Daegwallyeong Pass I gaze back at my parents’ home;
Leaving my silver-haired mother behind in Gangneung,
I head back to Hanyang with a lonesome heart.
From time to time, I turn my head to glance at the northern fields once more,
But all I see are blue mountains passing under white clouds.
(translated by McKenzie Johns)
대관령에서 친정을 바라보며, 신사임당:
蹂大關嶺望親庭 (유대관령망친정) 대관령에서 친정을 바라보며
慈親鶴髮在臨瀛 (자친학발재임영) 백발 되신 어머니 고향에 두고
身向長安獨居情 (신향장안독거정) 외로이 서울로 가는 이 마음
回首北坪時一望 (회수북평시일망) 고개 돌려 북쪽 들을 바라보니
白雲飛下暮山靑 (백운비하모산청) 흰 구름에 푸른 산만 보이네
Thoughts of Mother and Father
Shin Saimdang was very close with her parents, and particularly with her mother, Lady Yi. One of the main reasons why Saimdang was allowed to remain at her family home after she wed was because her father died in the same year she was married. Thus, she stayed behind at her parents' home to take care of her mother for many years. This poem expresses the love Shin Saimdang felt for her parents. Although the title of the poem, 사친 (思親), translates directly to "thoughts of parents" or "thoughts of mother and father," it would be probably be safe to say that this poem was more specifically directed at Shin Saimdang's mother.
Thoughts of Mother and Father
I climb the mountain, and my hometown is already thousands of miles away.
Day and night, even in dreams, my soul longs to go back.
Above the ridges of Hansongjeong’s paddies floats the lonely moon;
Over the roof of Gyeongpo Pavillion rushes a gust of wind.
Seagulls gather along the sandy fields and
Fishing boats come and go but
When will my feet once again tread the path to Gangneung?
Shall I put on a colourful dress and busy myself with needlework?
(translated by McKenzie Johns)
사친(思親), 신사임당:
千里家山 萬疊峯 (천리가산 만첩봉) 산 넘어 내 고향 천리이건만
歸心長存 夢魂中 (귀심장존 몽혼중) 자나 깨나 꿈에서도 돌아가고파
寒松亭畔 孤輪月 (한송정반 고륜월) 한송정 앞에는 외로이 뜬 달
鏡浦臺前 一陳風 (경포대전 일진풍) 경포대 앞에는 한 줄기 바람
沙上白鷺 恒聚山 (사상백로 항취산) 갈매기는 모래밭에 모이고
波頭漁船 各西東 (파두어선 각서동) 고기 배들은 바다를 오가는데
何時重踏 臨瀛路 (하시중답 임영로) 언제 강릉 길 다시 밟아서
彩舞斑衣 膝下縫 (채무반의 슬하봉) 색동옷 입고 앉아 바느질할까
References and Further Reading:
Jieun Kiaer and Anna Yates-Lu. 2019.Korean literature through the Korean wave. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=2141032
Hai-soon Lee, The Poetic World of Classic Korean Women Writers, Seoul: Ewha Women’s University Press, 2005.
Pae-yong Yi & Ted Chan, Women in Korean History, Seoul: Ewha Women’s University Press, 2008.
Young-Key Kim-Renaud, (ed.) Creative Women of Korea: The Fifteenth Through the Twentieth Centuries. Armonk & London: M.E. Sharpe, pp. 122–41.
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