Painting of friendship in Joseon Kingdom

‘Imosamabanghoedo' shows the friendship of scholars and officials in Joseon Kingdom. / The Academy of Korean Studies

By Kim Hak-su

Among many Korean words related to friends is a word dongnyeon, which literally means people of the same age. However, dongnyeon was used to convey something beyond its literal meaning.

The ancients called a cohort of people who passed the gwageo in the same year dongnyeon or dongbang, and the roster of this cohort dongnyeonrok or bangmok.

As the ancients regarded highly of the gwageo exam, it was natural that they shared a special friendship and a sense of solidarity among cohorts. They treated cohort members' parents with respect as their own. The deep connection among them sometimes continued for generations.

No matter how intimate their friendship was, it was still important to observe proper manners among the cohort. For example, if they ran into a jangwon (a person who received the highest score in the gwageo exam) on a road, they treated him with respect and courtesy by dismounting from the horse and greeting him formally.

Such an ethos of respect towards "the top of the class" was not only a manifestation of the way of Confucian gentleman, but also a way of maintaining the strong friendship among the cohort and reinforcing the presence of group identity.

Dongbang was not just a sort of connection that existed only on the pages of the bangmok (a roster of people who passed the gwageo exam). Although candidates came from diverse regions and social ranks, their shared solidarity reflected the sense of elitism that they were united by such a fierce scholarly ability test called gwageo.

Not all cohort members shared the same degree of connection and closeness. The bond was much stronger among the saengwon (classics licentiate) and jinsa (literary licentiate) candidates who passed the sogwa (lower exam) than among the mungwa candidates who passed the daegwa exam (higher exam). Saengwon-si and jinsa-si, both of which were the preliminary exams for the mungwa (the higher literary examination), each selected 100 successful candidates. It was a large cohort of 200 people, but there was a good reason why they were able to form such meaningful friendships.

We often observe that the sense of solidarity is much stronger and the personal bond much tighter among high school alumni than among college alumni today. It is because the younger the group members are and the lower stakes they have, their interpersonal relationships tend to be more genuine and simple.

On the contrary, as one gets older and has more worldly experiences, there tend to be less genuineness and more rival in interpersonal relationships. As the saengsa-si and jinsa-si were only the preliminary exam, these candidates considered each other a companion and developed a sense of companionship.

How did the Joseon sadaebu (scholar-officials) share and express friendship among the cohorts? Imosamabanghoedo, in the collection of the Jangseogak Archives at the Academy of Korean Studies, seems to give a noteworthy answer to this question.

This painting album depicts in detail the scenes from a get-together in 1630 (the 8th year of the reign of King Injo) for the fellow candidates who passed the preliminary gwageo exam in 1582 (the 15th year of the reign of King Seonjo). The affectionate mood it conveys with minute details makes viewers feel as if they are witnessing the event unfold right in front of them.

Like the cohorts of any other years, the cohort of successful candidates in the year of Imo (1582) consisted of 200 people. However, the half-century passage of time brought a lot of changes.

Many of these young scholars of yesteryear with great aspirations went to their last resting place one by one; the surviving members were now old men with grey-speckled hair.

In the spring of 1630, King Injo appointed an official named Yi Jun (1560-1635) to the position of Samcheokbusa (local governor of Samcheok). Located about 273 km east of Seoul, Samcheok, as is today, was considered backwoods back then. The news of transfer of Yi Jun, who passed the sama-si (the preliminary sogwa exam that selected saengwon and jinsa) in the year of Imo, spread quickly among his cohorts.

This painting depicts the gathering of a group of friends who passed the preliminary gwageo exam together in the year of Imo (1582). The painting is by Yi Hongju, while the accompanying text is written by Kim Samyong.

Knowing too well it was the undeniable king's command, his friends still felt concerned about their 70-year-old friend leaving for the remote destination. The thought that they could not let him go without properly saying goodbye and that they might not see him again swept them over.

Sure enough, Yi Bae-jeok, who was well-known to be impetuous among the group, took the initiative. One day, Yi came to see the then Minister of the Interior Jeong Kyeong-se and pressed him for a get-together for the group. Jeong Kyeongse in turn relayed the wish to the then Chief State Councilor Oh Yung-yeom, who, having a heart of gold, gladly took up the request.

On the spot, they picked a date for the gathering; the main building of the Chunghunbu (Office of Merit Awards) was chosen as the meeting place. Once the details were worked out, Yi Baejeok hurriedly dispatched the notice to the cohorts.

One day in April 1630, old men with grey-dusted hair gathered together at the Chunghunbu's main building. Though hunched over due to old age, all of them were clad in official robes and carried the air of dignity and gentility. There they were: twelve old friends who convened upon receiving the notice from Yi Baejeok.

Fifty years have brought a lot of changes, but not even the passage of time could fade their unfailing friendship, which brought these men together to send off a friend to a long journey. As it so happened, all these twelve men were senior statesmen respected as the doyens of the nation.

Of these twelve, two, including the Chief State Councilor Oh Yungyeom, rose to the rank of councilor, while six held the minister positions and three vice minister positions. It was quite an illustrious group of friends; but they showed genuine and sincere affection towards each other. Notwithstanding their high status, the banquet was rather simple. They even brought their own liquor bottles strapped at the waist, for the fear that they might incur any unnecessary expenses on the national treasury.

The official ranks among friends varied, but it did not matter that day. They were busy catching caught up with old friends, enjoying friendly conversations, and comforting a friend who was about to leave for a journey over drinks. Drinks and music evoked a poetic turn of mind. After 3-4 rounds of drinks, all the participants showed off their poetic talent. Poems shared on that day were written down on a scroll and became a piece of history preserving the memories.

The writer is head of the Division of Korean Classical Materials Research at The Academy of Korean Studies.

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