[PW] Korean History

[Karen Lofstrom]

On Fri, May 9, 2008 at 11:30 AM, Mann, Richard <rjm4150 at sjvls.org> wrote:

> The patron is an author of children's books.  Her publisher is having her double check the work on her latest book dealing with Korea.  The editor wants a specific reference on the "Sanguiwon Master".  The Sanguiwon took care of the sewing and business needs of the royal palace.  My patron is trying to confirm that the Sanguiwon would go into the countryside looking for women who would sew "Pojagi".  A Pojagi are Korean wrapping cloths.  The time frame we are looking at is 1700s and 1800s.

> The second question deals with the royal Korean palace in the 1300s.  The palace in Seoul burned down but was not rebuilt for 600 years.  Where did the emperor live for those 600 years?

According to my graduate student roommate, Daegyu Yang:

1.
 I have no idea on the Sanguiwon. However, I conjecture that even in
the time of Joseon Dynasty, a royal institution would go into the
countryside in order to find a right worker. As far as I know, many
royal clothes needed high skill of sewing or emboidery. If someone
were really famous in their local community, that fame also could
reach to the royal institutions.

2.
The burnt royal palace during Korea-Japan war in the year of 1592 was
"Gyeong Bok Palace." It was rebuilt in late 1800s by a King's father
for the purpose of symbolizing the revival of Joseon Dynasty.

The answer is simply that there were several different palaces in
Joseon Dynasty. Gyeong Bok Palace was only the main palace and there
were also other palaces as well. After the loss of Gyeong Bok Palace,
the royal family had been using "Chang Deok Palace" as its alternate
main palace until Gyeong Bok Palace was rebuilt. The royal family
didn't want to waste national taxes to rebuild Gyeong  Bok Palace
because it would cost really a lot. So, when The King's father
(Heungseon Dae-won-gun) rebuilt the Gyeong Bok Palace, people's anger
were really raised up. Somehow, it can be thought that the rebuilding
of Gyeong Bok Palace could be a factor affecting the fall of Joseon
Dynasty.

Chang Deok Palace has been recently enrolled as an UNESCO's World Heritage.

All thanks to Daegyu.

--
Karen Lofstrom