Gisaeng: Historic Korean Women Known For Their Beauty And Talent
Some of the most beautiful women in Korean history were gisaeng. We hope to introduce you all to a few of these famous women, whose popularity can be compared to today's K-pop idols.
Source: Busan Ilbo (부산일보)
Just as there are beautiful actresses and K-pop idols today, there were certain beauties that dominated the Joseon dynasty.
Today we would like to introduce you all to some of the beautiful Korean women people would gather to see.
Who Were Gisaeng?
When speaking about beauty during the Joseon dynasty, it is impossible not to mention gisaeng (기생).
Although gisaeng were considered servants, these women were skilled in the arts and exceptionally beautiful. Because of their beauty, they were often used to pose in portraits.
Source: Naver Encyclopedia (네이버 지식백과)
Gisaeng were commoners (Cheonmin · 천민) that were trained to entertain the members of the upper class (aristocrats) during the Joseon dynasty.
They were skilled in literature (poetry, prose) and music (song, dance).
It was common for daughters of families that have gone bankrupt to become a gisaeng.
Despite being in a low social class, the gisaeng that proved to be skilled and well-educated in the arts such as poetry was given preferential treatment.
However, if a gisaeng acted in prostitution, then she would be treated horribly.
Pyongyang Gisaeng School
Source: Naver Encyclopedia (네이버 지식백과)
In historical dramas, gisaeng are often portrayed as the heroines. Once they capture the attention of a high-ranking official, they gained a certain level of power.
However, this is a very distorted image, since fundamentally, they were servants.
For the remainder of this blog, we will introduce some "modern-day" gisaeng that were active between 1910-1945.
Noteworthy Korean Gisaeng
Park On-Sil 박온실
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Source: Aladin (알라딘)
Park On-Sil was an active gisaeng during the 1940s.
She was enrolled at Pyongyang Gisaeng School and was the first woman to be called "Miss Korea."
During the time there was a beauty pageant held by Korea and Japan called Miss Joseon (미스 조선). The ranks were 진선미 (진 = first, 선 = second, 미 = third). In this pageant, Park On-Sil secured the 진 rank.
The Korean and Japanese judges unanimously selected Park On-Sil as the winner because of her beauty and poise.
Source: Daum Internet Community (인더넷커무니티)
People would wait in line to see Park On-Sil perform. It was said that she was a talented singer and dancer.
Not only was she beautiful, but also had a gentle personality. Everyone loved her generosity and kindness.
With a height of 163cm, Park On-Sil was considered very tall at the time.
Source: Busan Ilbo (부산일보), IG@jihyunilovee
For a while, people marveled about the resemblance between Park On-Sil and Son Ji-Hyun of 4Minute.
Oh San-Wol 오산월
Source: Dispatch (디스패치)
Oh San-Wol was an active gisaeng during the 1920s. This name was actually very common amongst gisaeng during this time.
She was also enrolled at Pyongyang Gisaeng School.
During this time, the number of photo postcards sold was a measure of gisaeng popularity.
Since high numbers of Oh San-Wol photo postcards were sold, we can conclude she was very popular amongst men.
Source: Internet Community (인터넷커뮤니티)
Because Oh San-Wol was so popular, her photo was often featured in the local newspaper.
Yoon Chae-Sun 윤채선
Another gisaeng from Pyongyang Gisaeng School. Yoon Chae-Sun did not have the same traditional beauty as other women during this time.
Since Yoon Chae-Sun had a more modern beauty, men found her to be more appealing.
She was also known to be a great dancer. She was also considered to be tall with a height of 168cm.
Jang Yeon-Hong 장연홍
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Source: Daum Internet Community (인터넷커무니티)
Jang Yeon-Hong was also educated at Pyongyang Gisaeng School and remained in the area. She was considered to be the most famous gisaeng in Pyongyang.
It was said that she became a gisaeng when her family went bankrupt.
In 1925, she was only 14 years old but her beauty could capture anyone's attention.
Photo postcard of Jang Yeon-Hong
Source: Kyunghyang Shinmun (경향신문)
Jang Yeon-Hong's beauty was enough to make men flock toward her. Some men would flaunt their wealth by buying her extravagant gifts.
After a brief time as a gisaeng, Jang Yeon-Hong went on to study abroad in Shanghai, China.
Lee Nan-Hyang 이난향
Lee Nan-Hyang was one of the most famous and beautiful people in Korean history.
Her beauty was known nation-wide and even performed for the King.
Not only was she beautiful, but she was also talented. She excelled at dancing (waltz), playing piano and a traditional Korean string instrument called a gayageum (가야금).
Lee Nan-Hyang pictured second from the right
Source: Naver Encyclopedia (네이버 지식백과)
Lee Nan-Hyang was extremely fair-skinned and was a height of 165cm. During this time, she was considered tall and dazzling.
She served as the director for the Joseon Gisaeng School until her mid-20s. When she retired, she married a journalist from Joongang Ilbo.
Source: NewsPim (뉴스핌)
Korean netizens even debated whether Lee Nan-Hyang reincarnated as f(x)'s Sulli.
Lee Ok-Ran 이옥란
Source: Naver Encyclopedia (네이버 지식백과)
Lee Ok-Ran attended Joseon Gisaeng School.
It was said that she was a very talented singer.
At the time, her songs such as "Flower-like Purity (꽃 갓흔 순정)", " Gisaeng Notebook (기생수첩)", and "Tears of Poetry (눈물의 시집)" were extremely popular because of their elegance.
Historically, the popularity of women mentioned above is comparable to today's K-pop idols.
Even during a time where the main media source was a newspaper, people all across the nation would gather to see these women perform. Imagine what their popularity would be like if they had access to present-day social media.