Shin Saim-dang：A Woman Before Her Time

Shin Saim-dang: A Woman Before Her Time

Five hundred years ago, a woman of extraordinary abilities earned respect for her talent as a painter and poet. She lived in the tradition-bound society of ancient Korea, and her family cherished her as a devoted daughter, mother, and wife. Today, we recognize her as a woman who pioneered independence and individuality for women. Shin Saim-dang was born in Korea in 1504 during the Chosun Dynasty. The second of five daughters, she was named In-sun at birth.

At a young age, she chose the pen name Saim-dang, which means “ loving mother of the king. ” Her inspiration was the mother of King Wen, a ruler in the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. During the Chosun Dynasty, most Koreans abided by Confucian teachings, which held that a son must look after his parents. For this reason, after a man was married, his wife would leave her family to go and live with her husband’s family.

Although Saim-dang’s family honored Confucian teachings, they did not always follow tradition. Saim-dang’s mother was an only child, so Saim-dang’s grandparents had no son to take care of them. With the consent of her husband, Saim-dang’s mother continued to live at home even after she married. Thus, Saim-dang was born in her mother’s childhood home, called Ojukheon, in the city of Gangneung.

Saim-dang’s father worked in Seoul, 150 kilometers away, so she did not see him very often. Her mother and grandfather took on the responsibility of raising her and her sisters. The five girls all learned to read and write, even though most girls at the time received little education. In this atmosphere of learning, Saim-dang developed an appreciation for the arts. She enjoyed practicing calligraphy and composing poetry.

At the age of seven, she studied the works of Ahn Gyeun, a famous painter who lived during King Sejong’s rule, one hundred years earlier. Saim-dang imitated Ahn Gyeun’s brushstrokes as she developed her own style of painting. Her favorite subjects were the things she saw every day in the backyard of Ojukheon: flowers, clusters of grapes, bamboo trees, butterflies, and insects. It is said that Saim-dang’s drawings were so lifelike they deceived even animals.