December 30, 2007

  • Hwang Jin-yi

    동짓달 기나긴 밤을 한 허리를 버혀 내어

    춘풍 니불 아래 서리서리 넣었다가

    어론님 오신 날 밤이어든 굽이굽이 펴리라

    Oh that I might capture the essence of this deep midwinter night

    And fold it softly into the waft of a spring-moon quilt,

    Then fondly uncoil it the night my beloved returns.

    Hwang Jin-yi, 16th Century gisaeng

    Life for the gisaeng was hard. While they were trained in poetry,
    prose, the fine arts, music, needlecraft, cooking, and had some medical
    training, they were still scorned by the aristocrats of the Joseon
    Dynasty of Korea. Gisaeng were little more than slaves who had little
    or no chance of surviving under strict Confucian society. A woman had
    to have a husband or a son to take care of her. If she did not have
    either one to look after her, then she had few options.

    Of the gisaeng I have read about, Hwang Jin-yi is the most famous. It
    is believed that she lived from 1520 to 1560, so the life of a gisaeng
    was short. Books, television and movies have been made about this
    woman, believed to have been the most beautiful woman to have ever
    lived in Korea. Six of her poems still exist, which is extremely rare
    for a woman writer of her time. Most women writers adapted male pen
    names.



    Hwang Jin-yi (2006 television program) starring Ha Ji-won

    Since 2005, two tellings on the story of Hwang Jin-yi have been told.
    The first was a television series produced by KBS starring Ha Ji-won in
    the title role. It goes into detail about what life as a gisaeng was
    like, including the bitter rivalries among the women for the affections
    of their yangban lovers. (Yangban is the Korean word for the
    aristocracy, the ruling elite.) I have a copy of the television program
    on DVD, but there are no English subtitles.



    Hwang Jin-yi (2007 movie) starring Song Hye-Gyo

    The second is a movie starring Song Hye-gyo and is based on a North
    Korean novel, which is the only North Korean book to win a South Korean
    award in literature.

    Hwang Jin-yi tells the story of her betrayal by a childhood friend,
    resulting in her being expelled from the yangban family that adopted
    her and her turn to the life as a gisaeng to survive. Her friend
    betrayed her in the hopes that he could marry her. He pleads with her,
    begging her to never forgive her for his betrayal, for it cost her the
    life spent married to an aristocrat. Her mother, it was revealed by her
    adopted mother, was gisaeng, so Jin-yi will follow the same path.

    She asks her lover to become her bodyguard, to watch over her and
    protect her from aristocrats who put her physically in danger when they
    are too drunk to control themselves. It pains him to watch the woman he
    loves give into the yangban desires. A drunken yangban causes offense
    to Jin-yi, who slaps his face. He in turn slaps her so hard that she
    falls unconscious to the floor. Her protector comes in and takes her
    home. Later, the yangban is awakened from a his stupor and is painfully
    killed by her lover, who can take no more and runs away. In time he
    becomes a bandit leader, causing problems for the local magistrate who
    has attached his eye to the beautiful gisaeng who's reputation is being
    spread throughout the country.

    When I first began watching Korean period drama, I found the acting to
    be somewhat stiff. The more I understand how Confucianism worked in the
    past, I no longer saw the acting as stiff, but sometimes I feel like I
    am watching Vulcan opera and I'm waiting for Mr. Spock's cameo. One
    misstep in protocol during the Joseon Dynasty could result in very
    serious penalties, including death. This was evident to me in dramas
    like Damo, among others.

    Many historical locations associated with Hwang Jin-yi were used to
    film this movie, and the North Korean government opened its doors to
    allow the conclusion to be filmed in the Kumgang (Diamond) Mountains.

    music video from the 2007 movie

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMdt_zAlW94

    official movie trailer for 2007 movie

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxnkeReRgds

    opening theme for 2006 television program

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUvipYD6OIA

    music video from OST (not 100% sure, but it might be Ha Ji-won singing)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQL-eMshM1M&feature=related

Comments (3)

  • Interesting blog. Much for me to surf the net on.  My first reaction was the make-up is very modern indeed.

    Happy New Year.

  • This sounds like another movie I would like.  I have it on my list but it isn't readily available.  It sounds a bit like the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" or along that line.  I notice a wish for the New Year above.  We were out of town for Christmas and New Year.  I did send an email before the fact for the Season.  I also made a change for most mail to come into my gmail account and am wondering with all I was doing did I email you with the card I made.  I hope so but if not, I will wish for you now, the best of New Years.

    Becca

  • The poem above by the way is lovely.  It's a shame so many cultures put women into positions of lesser class existance when they have so much to offer.

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