Jang Gye-hyang - Joseon's poetess, first cookbook author and philanthropist

Portrait of Jang Gye-hyang (1598-1680) who is author of "Eumsik dimibang," the first cookbook written in Korean alphabet Hangeul, which dates back to 1670. / Courtesy of Eumsik dimibang

By Choi Yearn-hong

Shown above is the cover of "Eumsik dimibang." It is also
called "Gyugon siuibang," as written in the cover added
later by her descendants.

During my most recent trip to Korea, I discovered a great woman of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) in a mountain village named Seokgye ― which means "stone creek" in Korean ― in North Gyeongsang Province, which is most famous for being novelist Yi Mun-yol's hometown.

Jang Gye-hyang (1598-1680) is another great woman of the Joseon era next to Shin Saimdang (1503-1551), mother of famed Confucian scholar Yi Yul-gok, and Heo Nanseolheon (1563-1589), sister of Heo Gyun, author of "Hong Gil-dong," the first novel written in Hangeul.

Different light should be shed on Jang, because she was a young poetess, artist, calligrapher and philanthropist in her early years, and a great mother who raised and educated seven sons into seven wise men. One became a king's minister at the Royal Court.

One more special note: she was the first cookbook author in Korea in her later life in the 17th century. Her book must be the first of its kind in Korean history. About 330 years ago, she wrote, "All men and women eat and drink, but a few know the sense of taste," in the preface of her cookbook "Eumsik dimibang."

As a great philanthropist who saved the lives of many poor village people after the Imjin War (1592-1598) and the Second Manchu Invasion of Korea in 1636, her beautiful humanitarian words must be remembered: "It is the order of the universe to live together; the highest order of moral law is sharing his or her own wealth with less fortunate people."

I guessed that Yi Mun-yol was a genius. In the village, I found the genius gene of his creative writing, inherited from his great, great … grandmother Jang.

Modern Korea discovered her life story some time ago, but I did not know her until I visited Seokgye. I thank my tour guide, Ambassador Chung Wha-tae, for the mountain journey from Andong to Yeongyang. That mountain area has produced several well-known modern poets and writers such as poet Cho Ji-hun, novelist Kim Joo-young and Yi.

I stayed at Lee Don's house, which Jang and her husband Yi Si-myeong had built and lived in. I was fortunate to stay at the historical house in which Jang raised her children, one later serving as the king's cabinet-level minister at the Royal Court. She was the one and only daughter to Jang Heung-hyo, a scholar who succeeded Yi Hwang, also known by the pen name Toegye, and his students, Hakbong Kim Sung-il and Soeae Ryu Seong-ryong.

She wrote her first poem, "Ode to the Saint," when she was only nine, comparable to famous poets of China's Tang dynasty such as Li Bai and Du Fu. In the poem, she laments that she could not meet the saint-scholars of yesterday, but she still could listen to them and see their great minds.

Another poem, "Sound of Rain," reflected her mature vision of life and nature in the rain. One year later, Jang wrote another poem, "Crane White Hair," describing the sorrow of a family in the village ― the young man serving his military duty at the northern border and his old mother dying in her hometown. She visited the old woman, bringing her hot food. In the poem, she reflects on the sorrow of the family separation and poverty-stricken life. Jang painted a tiger in her youth. Only a few art works are now available as family treasures.

Her poetry impressed and rather surprised her father, who did not teach her as one of his students in Seodang or Korean academia. She learned from her father's teaching of his students. Later, her father was the matchmaker between his daughter and his top student, Yi Si-myeong, who lost his first wife at a young age.

Jang provided the best education to her children, including a son and daughter from Yi Si-myeong's previous marriage. She also provided philanthropic service to the poor in the mountain village. She asked the Yi family members to plant acorn trees for an alternative food supply, starch curds to rescue the poor, starving people.

The more I know her, the more respect and admiration I have for her wise ideas and pragmatic, realistic help to the poor after the massive wars in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. She treated the household servants as fellow decent human beings. She lived in the 17th century, but her ideas and thoughts were those of someone from the 19th and 20th centuries. She also cultivated mountain land to provide more crops to supply the poor.

At 72, she started writing her cookbook. As a matter of fact, she wrote her cookbook encompasses 140 foods, knowledge of which she inherited from her own Jang family and from the Yi family into which she married. Her Hangeul calligraphy about different cooking methods itself must be a historical document. Now the Seokgye village has a restaurant serving recipes from Jang's cookbook, which only opens for a limited number of tourists once a week.

During my visit of the village, I could not taste her food, because the restaurant was not open, which was a pity. However, I visited the museum related to her cookbook, showing the 140 kinds of food. Seafood, beef and poultry, homegrown vegetables, mushrooms, with homemade liquor and drinks, are impressive. The diversity in the seafood was unbelievable. She was from the inner area of Andong, Gyeongsang Province, but she knew how to cook sea cucumber, abalone and dried fish, for example. After she married, she first lived in Yeonghae, near the East Sea.

She was the first Korean who discovered the value of food for human health and nutrition, balanced meals for a good life and wellbeing. She emphasized the harmony of all ingredients for good food. Moderation was the philosophy in her basic reasoning.

The then-Joseon intellectuals were engrossed in the rhetorical side of Confucianism, not in the pragmatic approach toward life.

Jang was truly a genius, creative thinker and doer of good deeds. She was a saint of moderation.

The writer is a poet and scholar based in the Washington area.