Cheonmin
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Class | Hangul | Hanja | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Yangban | 양반 | 兩班 | noble class |
Jungin | 중인 | 中人 | intermediate class |
Sangmin | 상민 | 常民 | common people |
Cheonmin | 천민 | 賤民 | lowborn people ( gisaeng , etc.)
|
Cheonmin | |
Hunminjeongeum | 천민 |
---|---|
Hanja | 賤民 |
Revised Romanization | cheonmin |
McCune–Reischauer | ch'ŏnmin |
IPA | [tɕʰʌnmin] |
Cheonmin (
Social class system
In the
Kisaeng, female entertainers for yangban, were in this class, educated but not respected by others in society. The hereditary nature of the caste system bred institutionalized discrimination and prejudice early on in Korea's history, as the cheonmin were barred from most forms of social advancement, including entry into government service or taking the gwageo civil service examinations.
The cheonmin, although a step above the traditional caste of untouchables or outcasts called the baekjeong, lived segregated lives, like the baekjeong, isolated from the rest of society and shunted away in ghettoes far away from the rest of society. While the cheonmin performed tasks that other Koreans considered unclean or undignified, they still had an essential function and role within dynastic Korean society. Their work as butchers, shoemakers, low-class entertainers, performing unclean jobs, provided services to the other classes that were unavailable from anyone else.
Legacy
While the class and caste system of dynastical Korea no longer exists and has largely disappeared in the modern era, remnants of such social discrimination based solely on one's occupation or a forebear's previous line of work continue to shape traditional Korean thinking and values today.[citation needed]
Exceptions
In all the history of the Joseon Dynasty there are only a few extraordinary examples of a cheonmin who overcame their class status.
See also
References
- ^ "Daejanggeum (Jewel in the Palace)". Korea Tourism Organization. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
...only woman to serve as head physician to the King in the rigidly hierarchical and male-dominated social structure of the Joseon Dynasty.
- ^ "Daejanggeum spurs continuing interest in royal court cuisine". HanCinema. 8 January 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
Janggeum was a real person, mentioned in Joseon Dynasty annals who lived in Korea some 500 years ago.
- ^ Shin, Myung-Ho (2008). "Annals of Joseon History Brought To Life by the Digital Era" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
When the producer Lee Byung Hoon was working on the historical drama "Heo Jun," he came across a noteworthy passage while searching the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty for information about Heo Jun (1539-1615), a Joseon court physician who attended the royal family. It was a statement by King Jungjong (r. 1506-1544) who declared: "No one knows my illnesses as well as Jang Geum."