[Kim Heeyoon's Bookshelf] How Much of What We Know About Joseon Is Actually True?

Noh Sihuyn’s ‘Joseon You'd Never Expect — Did This Really Happen in Joseon?’
From the Girl Traveler in Disguise to Maternity Leave... 38 Questions Challenging Familiar Notions of Joseon
Unexpected Episodes from the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty — Rethinking the Joseon We Thought We Knew

"Did you live in the Joseon Dynasty or something?" — That's not a compliment. It means you are old-fashioned, conservative, and out of touch with the times. These days, Joseon is remembered by just a handful of keywords: male privilege, rigid social hierarchy, the four-class system, partisan struggles, and an absolutist monarchy. Noh Sihuyn's book, ‘Joseon You'd Never Expect,’ continually challenges these familiar assumptions.

The Joseon Dynasty emphasized legitimate firstborn sons as royal successors. Yet, according to the author's research, out of the 26 kings who succeeded after Taejo, only 7 were actually firstborn sons. In 1830, when women's movements were severely restricted, a fourteen-year-old girl named Kim Geum-won disguised herself as a man to travel to Mount Geumgang. King Jeongjo, known as a benevolent ruler, was not shy about using harsh language with his officials. During the reign of King Sejong, records show that female court slaves who gave birth were granted maternity leave, and their husbands were also exempted from duties for a period. With every turn of the page, episodes that defy expectations burst into view — just as the book’s title suggests, these are scenes you’d never believe could have happened.

What's interesting is not the conclusion that Joseon was, surprisingly, a "progressive nation." Reading it this way would be yet another oversimplification. Just because there were women travelers doesn’t mean society was free for women; and just because slave mothers were cared for doesn’t mean Joseon was a welfare state. Instead, the book demonstrates how decades — nearly five centuries — of history get distilled into a few keywords, erasing countless exceptions and individuals. When we focus only on systems and ideologies, all we see is "Joseon." But if we look more closely at historical records, we see people — people who cursed, loved, rebelled, and stood stubbornly by their beliefs.

Books like this risk falling into the trap of chasing only the thrill of "surprise twists" — the idea that "Joseon was actually like this!" One exceptional case may even be consumed as proof of the era as a whole. Noh Sihuyn avoids this pitfall by using official chronicles such as the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty as a starting point, repeatedly cross-checking historical records. The goal: to present interesting stories without straying into mere gossip. As a result, readers don't just encounter urban legends or stories you "may or may not believe" — instead, they are encouraged to peer into gaps in their own historical understanding.

The author explores those gaps through 38 narratives organized within four themes: the royal family, notable figures, culture, and foreign affairs. The book adds question marks to familiar historical facts — from Hwang Hee’s reputation as an incorruptible official, to the reality behind the policy of suppressing Buddhism in favor of Confucianism, and even to what the Independence Gate was really meant to symbolize. With a background in journalism and mass communications, and over a decade of travel to historic and cultural sites, the author is skilled at turning dry documents into compelling stories. Rigid records are transformed by modern phrasing and witty narration, making them read like contemporary tales.

The book is hefty, at 728 pages. However, since each of the 38 episodes stands alone, there is no need to read from start to finish. If you open to any section that piques your curiosity, you’ll find historical figures who were otherwise little more than names and events come to life. This, more than anything, is the book’s greatest strength: rather than forcing readers to memorize new facts, it makes them question what they thought they already knew.

Does studying history simply mean cramming in one more "right answer"? ‘Joseon You'd Never Expect’ does the opposite — you may end up losing one of your previously held answers. You might find yourself saying to someone, "You're just like a Joseon person." But before you say that, you may want to pause and ask: Which Joseon period are we even talking about?

Joseon You'd Never Expect — Did this really happen in Joseon? | Written by Noh Sihuyn | Eomunhaksa | 728 pages

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.