Sexuality in Joseon

Sexuality in Joseon
Jung Sung-hee; Garam: 312 pp., 13,000 won

The Joseon Kingdom (1310-1910) can be considered the Korean equivalent of the Victorian Age, when strict moral codes dictated society. ``Sexuality in Joseon’’ by historian Jung Sung-hee explores the hushed sexuality of the era.

The book details the prevalent Joseon (and thus Confucian) attitudes, customs and laws concerning marriage, chastity, virginity, adultery and prostitution, among other topics.

Yet interestingly, such a big sex scandal as that of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, would have been nothing. Had Clinton been a Joseon man, he could have had Lewinsky as a concubine in a society where male polygamy was not only accepted but also omnipresent. This sharply contrasts with Korea today, where extramarital affairs are outlawed.

It is a well-known fact that Joseon women were subject to harsh rules of chastity and conduct, both before and after marriage. The author points out that in pre-Joseon times, daughters inherited equally as their brothers. But in the Joseon era, as women lost economic power, they also lost rights regarding marriage and other aspects of life.

Jung argues that sexuality was a means of political control. While she does not reveal anything groundbreaking in suggesting the all-too familiar correlation between sex and power, the book is nevertheless an interesting and well-organized account of Joseon sexuality.