조선후기 기녀제도의 변화와 京妓

Abstract

Once every 3 years, a certain number of women were selected as female entertainers, collectively called 'kinyeo', from women slaves who belonged to local public authorities. The selected women were then referred to Jangakwon in Seoul, where they learned music and dance and, later, mobilized to entertain the loyal family and noble men at banquets. But the regular selection system was abolished after the Korea-Japan war, that is, Imjinwaeran broke out in 1592. As a result, mobilizing kinyeo by the state and the royal court became less frequent than before. Since then, kinyeo was selected irregularly. Some of the selected opened so-called 'kibang' in Seoul, which was a facility for entertainment business. Those women who opened kibang in the capital city were collectively called 'Seoul kisaeng' who started selling entertaining products like music, dance and even sex. Initially, kinyeos' entertaining talents were only for noble man, that is, the ruling class. But such talents could become enjoyed also by urban people of the middle class as kibangs were opened. This brought dramatic changes in entertainment and music cultures in the late Joseon period.