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Letter to Yi Ŭngt'ae

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The letter

A letter written in 1586 by a pregnant widow for her deceased husband Yi Ŭngt'ae (Korean: 이응태; Hanja: 李應台; 1555–1586) was discovered in 1998 in Yi's tomb in Jeongsang-dong [ko], Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. In the letter, the widow mourns her husband's early death.

The letter was written during the Joseon period (1392–1897). It was discovered during an excavation performed while moving the tomb and body elsewhere. It is written in colloquial Korean using the Hangul script. It and other materials from the tomb are also considered to be valuable historical pieces for understanding the language and customs of this era. It is considered to reflect the relatively equal status of wives to husbands around this period in Korean history. The letter has since become widely known in South Korea, with a number of works of historical fiction produced about the couple.

Background

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Yi Ŭngt'ae lived from 1555 to 1586. He was a local nobleman of the Goseong Lee clan, and was the second son of his father, Yi Yosin (이요신; 李堯臣).[1][2] He died at the age of 31, possibly from an epidemic, based on letters from Yi Yosin.[3][4] At the time of his death, he had a young son – possibly around 5–6 years old[5] – and a pregnant wife.[4] Little is known about Ŭngt'ae's wife, the author of the letter.[6][1] Her name is unknown; it is not listed in family records.[7] Since name of one of the two children is given as "Wŏn" (원) on the letter – although it is unclear which child the name belonged to[6] – she is often referred to as "Wŏn's mother" (원이 어머니).[1]

Discovery

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In April 1998, an urban renewal project was being conducted on the south bank of the Nakdong River in Andong. In preparation for this, an archaeological team from Andong National University was sent to excavate and move several earthen mound tombs on the top of a slope, in accordance with the wishes of some living descendents.[8][4] On April 24, the team excavated Yi's grave.[9]

Initially, the only known information about the occupant of the grave was Yi's name. His body had been naturally mummified – likely due to the properties of his tomb[10] – and was then still in good condition, although it was reburied elsewhere on the same day, in accordance with the family's wishes.[11] Records from the Goseong Lee clan and documents from within a pouch in the grave were cross-referenced to piece together information about who Yi was.[12][13]

Materials in tomb

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A range of materials were gathered from the tomb; they are now stored in the university's museum.[1][14][4] Documents in the tomb were written by a number of different people, with one of them being Yi's wife. The texts were often written affectionately towards Yi, which gave the archaeologists the impression that he was beloved by the family.[12][15]

A pair of mituri

Wŏn's mother also wrote two other texts in addition to her letter. One was written on hanji (Korean paper) wrapped around a lock of hair. The legible text on the paper reads "Please bury this beside... do not discard this...".[6] Another was written on paper wrapped around a pair of mituri (woven shoes) that were woven using a mix of hemp and hair.[4][16] The historian Hwisang Cho described the shoes as "love tokens".[17] It reads "Using my hair, made these shoes... died before they could be worn".[18][4][16] Handwriting analysis matched the writing on these papers to that on her letter.[6] It is believed that she ritually wove the shoes using her hair in order to pray for her husband's health; a practice that has been attested to in other instances during the Joseon period.[4][1]

The tomb also contained around forty[4] to fifty[1] articles of clothing. The clothing included a mix from Yi, the infant child, and Wŏn's mother. Examples included jeogori, baji, danryeong, jikryeong, aekjureum (액주름; men's upperwear), and women's clothing such as jang-ot and dongja (동자; women's upperwear).[19][20] Leaving clothes of the family inside a tomb was a common practice during this part of the Joseon period.[19] The clothes left behind revealed physical characteristics about the family; Yi was around 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) tall,[21] and his wife was around 160 cm (5 ft 3 in).[22]

Description

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The letter is written vertically and right-to-left, using a brush, and on a piece of hanji that measures 58.5 by 34 cm (23.0 by 13.4 in).[23][4][1] After writing until the left end of the page, Wŏn's mother wrote more on the top margin of the page, until she ran out of space for further writing.[4][6] One line of text, the third from the right, was written upside down.[24] The letter had been placed on Yi's chest.[19]

Text

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Legacy

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The letter is seen as having historical value, although Cho argues that it mostly offers insights into the lives of the elite at the time.[26] The text was written in vernacular Korean.[26] The word choice Wŏn's mother employs has been described as fairly equitable; for example, the use of the term janae (자내) to refer to Yi, which was a term used to refer to equals.[27][4][1] This reflects the relatively equal social status of wives during this part of the Joseon period, which gradually declined by the 17th century.[1][28] Yi is also believed to have been living with his wife's family at the time, which was then common practice. This later became uncommon and frowned upon, as wives were expected to move in with their husbands.[4][1][29] Strong expressions of emotion were frowned upon by the elite due to their Korean Confucian values. The letter was almost certainly meant to be private.[30]

The letter is now widely known in South Korea.[16] Information about the letter was published in the November 2007 issue of National Geographic, and was printed in the March 2009 edition of the archaeology journal Antiquity.[4] A statue of Wŏn's mother was constructed and placed at the former site of the tomb. The story of the couple has been fictionalized in various media,[19] including a 2009 opera entitled "Won's Mother" (원이 엄마),[31] a 2012 musical entitled "Won's Mother",[32] and a 2014 4D animated film entitled Mituri.[33] In 2009, it was reported that many visitors to the Andong National University museum were members of the Goseong Lee clan who wanted to see the letter.[4]

Notes

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  1. ^ Per the lunisolar Korean calendar. The year is given as byeongsul; a year in the sexagenary cycle.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "이응태 부인의 한글 편지" [Yi Ŭngt'ae's wife's Hangul letter]. contents.history.go.kr (in Korean). National Institute of Korean History. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  2. ^ Lee et al. (2009), p. 152.
  3. ^ Lee et al. (2009), p. 155.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 이, 병학 (2009-10-09). "420년 만에 환생한 애절한 '사랑과 영혼' 생생" [The heartbreaking "love and soul" reincarnated after 420 years]. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  5. ^ KBS 1998, 24:15.
  6. ^ a b c d e Lee et al. (2009), p. 153.
  7. ^ KBS 1998, 16:44.
  8. ^ Lee et al. (2009), p. 146.
  9. ^ KBS 1998, 0:25.
  10. ^ Bae, Young-Dong (November 2023). "1586년 원이 엄마 제작 '머리카락 미투리'의 문화적 의미 해석" [Cultural interpretation of the 'Mituri made of Hair' by Woni's Mom in Korea]. Korean Journal of Folk Studies (in Korean) (53): 125. ISSN 1229-8662 – via DBpia.
  11. ^ Lee et al. (2009), p. 147.
  12. ^ a b Lee et al. (2009), p. 149.
  13. ^ KBS 1998, 12:34.
  14. ^ "상설전시" [Permanent exhibition]. Andong National University Museum (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  15. ^ KBS 1998, 26:53.
  16. ^ a b c Lee et al. (2009), pp. 153–154.
  17. ^ Cho 2020, p. 39.
  18. ^ KBS 1998, 7:35.
  19. ^ a b c d 하, 명은. "이응태 묘 출토 복식" [Clothing excavated from Yi Ŭngt'ae's tomb]. Encyclopedia of Korean Local Culture. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  20. ^ KBS 1998, 10:50.
  21. ^ KBS 1998, 24:40.
  22. ^ KBS 1998, 24:05.
  23. ^ Lee et al. (2009), p. 151.
  24. ^ Cho 2020, p. 40.
  25. ^ 장, 영길 (December 1999). "이응태공 부인의 언간'에 대한 음운사적 고찰" [A phonetic study on the letter from the wife of Yi Ŭngt'ae]. 동악어문학 (in Korean). 35: 53–55. ISSN 1229-4306.
  26. ^ a b Cho 2020, pp. 39–40.
  27. ^ KBS 1998, 36:50.
  28. ^ KBS 1998, 44:00.
  29. ^ KBS 1998, 33:36.
  30. ^ Lee et al. (2009), p. 154.
  31. ^ 김, 진호 (2018-05-13). "조선판 사랑과 영혼 '원이엄마' 오페라로 재탄생" [Joseon version of the film "Ghost": "Won's Mother" reborn as an opera]. Newsis (in Korean). Retrieved 2015-04-27.
  32. ^ 김, 효중 (2019-10-24). "시공 초월한 사랑…안동서 뮤지컬 '원이엄마' 공연" [Love that transcends time and space... Andong musical "Won's Mother" performance]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  33. ^ 이, 덕기 (2014-01-23). "'원이 엄마 사랑이야기' 4D 영상물로 탄생" ["Love story of Won's mother" born as a 4D film]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 2025-04-27.

Sources

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Further reading

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