Nongae

Nongae or Joo Nongae (Hangul: 주논개, Hanja: 朱論介) (3 September 1574 – 1593) [1][2][3] was a gisaeng of Jinju in the late 16th century, born in Jangsu, Jeolla province.[4] She has been taught and celebrated as one of the examples of personal contributions made by Korean women.[5]

Nongae
Hangul
논개
Hanja
論介
Revised RomanizationNon-gae
McCune–ReischauerNon'gae
In this Korean name, the family name is Joo.

Life
Choseokru pavilion and Nam River

Joo Nongae was born into the Sinan Joo clan to Joo Dal-mun (Hangul: 주달문, Hanja: 朱達文), who seems to have been a learned scholar, and Lady Park of the Miryang Park clan.[6] Nongae was a late-born child to the couple, whose son, Joo Dae-ryeong (Hangul: 주대룡), died young at the age of 15. She was just 4, when her father died in 1578 and was entrusted to Joo Dal-mu (Hangul: 주달무), where her uncle plotted to take her, and tried to have her married to Kim Bu-ho (Hangul: 김부호, Hanja: 金富豪) for 50 sacks of rice. Her mother soon found out, stole her away, and both fled from the House of Ahn-hyeon, her uncle’s home, in Gyeongsang but was caught in 1579 and was prosecuted by her uncle. Her mother’s trial was overseen by province official Choi Gyeong-hwi of the Haeju Choi clan (Hangul: 최경회, Hanja: 崔慶會), who ruled on behalf of her innocence. Lady Park and Joo Nongae were later released and permitted to live at a residence in Hyeongam. When Nongae became 17, she was accepted to become his third wife in which she was given the title of “Lady Uiam of the Sinan Joo clan” (Hangul: 의암부인 신안 주씨, Hanja: 義巖夫人 新安 朱氏), and lived in his house where she birthed a son.[4][5]

When the Imjin War broke out in 1592, Choi started to recruit and train soldiers in Udo, Jeolla, in which Nongae helped and supplemented him.

In 1593, Japanese forces invaded the Korean peninsula in the Imjin war, during which Official Choi, Nongae's husband, was assassinated in June. Afterwards, the Japanese eventually succeeded in their invasion of Suyeong Fortress (now near Jinju area). To celebrate the victory, soldiers forced all the kisaeng, female entertainers, to serve them at the Choseokru Pavilion on a cliff that overlooked the Nam River.[7] Nongae was called to entertain the victorious Japanese generals alongside the other kisaeng. Nongae stood on the steep rock under Choseokru which caused all Japanese soldiers not daring to cross until the general came forward to her challenge. When the general met to her face to face, she smiled when he tried to lure her down from the rock, and eventually led the general Keyamura Rokusuke (毛谷村六助) to the cliffside, where she embraced him, clasped her fingers with rings that locked her around him, and cast herself along with the general into the river, killing them both.[8] She died at the age of 20. It is said that she sacrificed herself not only in revenge for her husband's murder but also out of love for her country.[9] However this story is highly dubious and it is most likely to have originated from Park Jonghwa‘s (Hangul: 박중화, Hanja: 朴鍾和) Nongae and Gyewolhyang (1962).[10]

After death

In 1625, 32 years after Nongae died, during King Injo’s 3rd year of reign, stories of her spread to the people of Jinju in which “Uiam” was carved on the rock in which she died on. During King Hyojong’s 2nd year of reign, a court official had come from the court to look for the disaster that happened in Gyeongsang-Udo, stopped by Jinju and saw the words “Uiam” engraved on the rock. In 1721 of King Gyeongjong’s first year of reign, a Gyeongsangwoo soldier, Choi Jin-han (Hangul: 최진한, Hanja: 崔鎭漢), built the Uiamsajeok monument right above the Uiam carving to honor Joo Nongae. In 1739, during the 16th year of King Yeongjo, another Gyeongsangwoo soldier, Nam Deok-ha (Hangul: 남덕하, Hanja: 南德夏), built Uigisa, a shrine dedicated to the patriotism of Nongae, next to Chokseokru in Jinju.

In 1846, Jong Joo-seok (Hangul: 중주석) of Jangsu Hyeongam built a memorial to honor the integrity of Nongae. It was designated as Local Monument No. 46 in 1955, and the birthplace of Nongae has been restored in Juchon Village, Daegok-ri, Janggye-myeon, Jangsu-gun, where Nongae was born.

The rock from which she leapt has come to be known as Uiam (Hangul: 의암, Hanja: 義巖), "the Rock of Righteousness."[11]

During the mid 20th century, it was rumored that Nongae was a daughter and heir from a fallen yangban family, not known as a Gwangi, and was eventually promoted to be the Jeongsil (정실 부인), wife, of Choi after he died.

Family
  • Father
    • Joo Dal-mun (주달문, 朱達文) (d. 1578)
      • Uncle: Joo Dal-mu (주달무)
  • Mother
    • Lady Park of the Miryang Park clan (본관: 밀양 박씨, 密陽 朴氏)
  • Brother
    • Older brother: Joo Dae-ryeong (주대룡)
  • Husband
    • Choi Gyeong-hwi of the Haeju Choi clan (최경회, 崔慶會) (본관: 해주 최씨, 海州 崔氏) (1532 – June 1593)
  • Son
    • Choi Hong-nam (최홍남)

Memorial
Uiam

Memorials for Nongae seem to have started in 1868, during King Gojong’s 5th year of reign, on evidence for which is found in the record Gyobang Gayo written by a local official, Jeong Hyun-Seok (Hangul: 정현석, 鄭顯奭). It is said the festival called Uiam Byeolje took place every June to pay respects to her spirit.[12] Currently, there is a shrine to the memory of Nongae near Chokseokru, in central Jinju.[13] Around the fortress, the Nongae festival has been celebrated since 2002 every May to honor and preserve the memory of her patriotic spirit.[11]

The portrait of Nongae painted by Kim Eun-ho had been kept in Jinju fortress, whereas his drawing was forcibly removed by a local civil group that argued Painter Kim was one of the renowned pro-Japanese artists during the Colonial Period.[14] Following on the regional government's support, a newly executed painting was adopted in 2008.[15]

See also

References
  1. Birth year of her is doubtful; references indicate it could be before 1574
  2. Kim, Jinwoo (2014). 한국인 성씨의 역사. 춘추필법. pp. 1622 .
  3. Korean culture content
  4. Nongae Shrine
  5. Elaine H., Kim; Chungmoo Choi (1998). Dangerous Women: Gender and Korean Nationalism. Psychology Press, 1998. p. 172. ISBN 0415915066.
  6. Hyejae, Jang; Lee, Seonyoung (2014). 기녀의 순정 논개("Nongae, the heart of kisaeng"). ebookshub. pp. 115 . ISBN 9791155191378.
  7. Yongyi, Pae (2008). Women in Korean History (한국 역사 속의 여성들). Ewha Womans University Press, 2009. pp. 115 . ISBN 978-8973007844.
  8. Hongsuk, Oh (2005). Traditional Korean Villages 25권/The spirit of Korean cultural roots Traditional Korean Villages. Ewha Womans University Press, 2009. pp. 123 . ISBN 897300784X.
  9. Mount Jirisan area reveals rich heritage and culture Korea Herald, 2014-05-23
  10. Choi, Gwan 崔官 (1994). Bunroku Keichō no eki [Jinshin-Teiyū Waran] 文禄・慶長の役 [壬辰・丁酉倭乱] (in Japanese).
  11. Jinju Nongae festival
  12. 진주 논개제와 함께하는 진주 봄 축제(Jinju Nongae festival together with Spring festival) Newsis, 2013-05-18
  13. The old name of Jinju fortress is Chokseok, and Chokseongnu is a pavilion located inside the fortress.
  14. "친일파가 그렸다" 논개영정 뜯어내 Chosun Ilbo, 2018-04-11
  15. '논개 표준영정' 만들어졌다 Gyeongsang Provincial newspaper, 2018-04-11
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