Shin Saimdang

1504 – 1551

Shin Saimdang (1504-1551) was a Korean painter, calligrapher, and poet of the Joseon dynasty, renowned for her delicate paintings of plants, grasses, and insects. She was also the mother of the philosopher Yi I (Yulgok) and became idealized in Korean tradition as a model of learning and motherhood. Her portrait appears on the South Korean 50,000-won banknote.

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Life events

Born at Ojukheon in Gangneung, Gangwon Province
1504

Shin Saimdang was born in 1504 at her maternal family's home, Ojukheon, and was raised and educated there without brothers.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Educated in classics, calligraphy, and painting from childhood
c. 1511

Unusually for a woman of her era, she received a thorough education from her family and showed early talent in painting, embroidery, and literature.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Yi Won-su
1522

In 1522 she married the government official Yi Won-su, but continued to spend much of her time at her parents' home in Gangneung.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Remained at Gangneung after her father's death
c. 1524

Following her father's death around 1524, she stayed at Ojukheon to observe mourning and care for her mother rather than immediately joining her husband's household.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Personal ✓
Produced celebrated paintings of grasses, insects, and flowers
c. 1530 – c. 1551

Throughout her adult life she created the ink-and-color studies of plants and insects (chochungdo) for which she is best known, along with poetry and calligraphy.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Gave birth to her son Yi I (Yulgok) at Ojukheon
26 December 1536

In 1536 she bore her third son Yi I, who became one of the two most prominent Confucian scholars of Joseon Korea.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Moved with her family to the capital region
c. 1541

Around 1541 she relocated to Hanseong (Seoul) and later to Paju to live with her husband's household while raising her seven children.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Died in Hanseong (Seoul)
1551

Shin Saimdang died in 1551 at the age of about 47, while her husband was serving in government office.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓