Dong Yi, Court Lady Rankings, part 2
The concubines and court ladies in the Joseon palace were collectively called the ne-myeong-bu (내명부 內命婦) but they were divided into two groups:
ne-gwan (내관 were concubines
kung-gwan 궁관 were court ladies
There were 9 ranks altogether. The top 4 ranks were held by the concubines (see the concubine ranking system here) and the remainder by the court ladies. This post looks at the ranking system for the court ladies who were ranked below concubines.
In episode 12 of historical drama Dong Yi, Dong Yi moves into the kung-gwan inner court and becomes a court lady 궁녀 kung-nyo working in the investigations bureau. We are not told what her rank is but she has to speak plain Korean down to the palace slaves as she is now above them. She finds this difficult!
The other court ladies in the investigation bureau don’t want to accept her though, because originally she comes from the slave class.
episode 12 Dong Yi becomes a court lady, (MBC 2010)
The obvious difference between the concubines and court ladies is that the concubines are there to entertain the king and provide backup heirs – just in case the Queen doesn’t have any sons. The court ladies are there to work around the palace. Below the ne-myeong-bu, are girls and ladies working in the palace who hold no rank at all.
So the court ladies have various jobs and hold a rank from 5 down to 9. They can’t move up to concubine level (1 to 4) unless they are ‘noticed’ by the king…
Court Lady ranking system
Here’s the ranking system for the 궁관 kung-gwan court ladies that I found here. For each rank there were two, three or four titles. (there was a separate system for the concubines and court ladies of the Crown Prince)
rank |
romanization |
hangul |
hanja |
Rank 5A 정5품 |
Sang-gung Sang-ui |
상궁 상의 |
尙宮 尙儀 |
Rank 5B 종5품 |
Sang-bok Sang-shik |
상복 상식 |
尙服 尙食 |
Rank 6A 정6품 |
Sang-chim Sang-kong |
상침 상공 |
尙寢 尙功 |
Rank 6B 종6품 |
Sang-chong Sang-gi |
상정 상기 |
尙正 尙記 |
Rank 7A 정7품 |
Chon-bin Chon-ui Chon-son |
전빈 전의 전선 |
典賓 典依 典膳 |
Rank 7B 종7품 |
Chon-sol Chon-che Chon-on |
전설 전제 전언 |
典設 典製 典言 |
Rank 8A 정8품 |
Chon-chan Chon-shik Chon-yak |
전찬 전식 전약 |
典贊 典飾 典藥 |
Rank 8B 종8품 |
Chon-dung Chon-che Chon-cong |
전등 전채 전정 |
典燈 典彩 典正 |
Rank 9A 정9품 |
Chu-gung Chu-sang Chu-gak |
주궁 주상 주각 |
奏宮 奏商 奏角 |
Rank 9B 종9품 |
Chu-byon-chi Chu-chi Chu-oo Chu-byon-gung |
주변치 주치 주우 주변궁
|
奏變徵 奏羽 奏變宮 |
Read more about Dong Yi and the Joseon period
What do the titles mean in the historical drama Horse Doctor?
How did people tell the time in the Joseon period?
What can we learn about the status of women in the Joseon palace watching Jewel in the Palace?
What were the social classes in the Joseon period?
What can we learn about Joseon society through the paintings of Shin Yun Bok?
What was the Concubine Ranking System in the Joseon Palace?
Was there really a Court Lady Investigation Bureau in the Joseon Palace?
Hanja for the rank 종9품 is 奏徵 if I’m not mistaken… 🙂
OMG thank you so much for doing this and the concubine ranks as i was getting really confused while watching !. i tried to find out my self but couldnt get any where.
any chance you could translate what the tiles mean eg do they have a name in english ex with the Bin title u did their new name then bin.
if i dont make sense sorry.
How about the clothes they wear (hanbok)? Are the colors really significant? Does the series Dong Yi really follow the correct hanbok for their concubine positions?
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