As @lollypip mentioned in her comments on episodes 21-22, life in Joseon was brutal, and HAECHI pulls some punches. One institution that is usually glossed over in Kdramas is the use of eunuchs in the palace, a practice adopted from China. In the film MASQUERADE, Ha Sun had a brief conversation about the subject, which I had hoped would be addressed in CROWNED CLOWN. Alas, it was not. I think it could have been done in a manner suitable for 15-year-old TV audiences. If anything would drive home just how difficult life was for the people on the lowest rungs of society during Joseon and earlier dynasties, that would be it.
It’s all too easy to use the term “eunuch” without considering how a certain segment of the population became that way. Maybe it was such an integral part of Korean culture for so long that no one thinks twice about it nowadays — unless they are international viewers from lands that did not have this practice.
For all the horrors awaiting Korean females sent as tribute to China, an even more grisly fate lay in store for all too many Korean males.
There was one kdrama that focused on eunuchs. It was called, “King and I” (or, “The Eunuch”). I watched it on tv many years ago and didn’t get to see the first few episodes. The protagonist becomes a eunuch both to be near and to protect the woman he loves, who has been married to the King). It is true that most dramas do not focus on this group of people. It was surely a traumatizing event to go through the process of complete castration (I believe that was how it was done in East Asia, at least in China). I also know that people became eunuchs for a variety of reasons, but what choice was there for children sent to the palace? In Italy, there were the Castrati, young boys castrated (but only partially) in order to preserve their voices. They were used by the Catholic Church. Parents would chose this path for their boys for the usual reasons. The ironic thing was that, while this procedure was done to maintain a certain quality of voice, that desired quality was not guaranteed. The last living castrato, for example, did not have a particularly exceptional voice. Throughout history, these kinds of things happened all too frequently. Men/boys could be castrated in times of war or in order to safeguard a living.
THE KING AND I with Oh Man-seok in the title role has been on my to-watch list for quite a while. One of these days…
East Asia certainly doesn’t have a corner on the eunuch market. The Ottoman Empire institutionalized it to an immense degree as well.
The ironically sad thing about castrati was they were maimed so they could sing the parts that naturally lay in women’s vocal ranges — thanks to institutional misogyny within the Church. (Why couldn’t they have had nuns sing at Mass?!?) Back then in medieval Europe, as in Joseon, male actors played female roles in the theatre as well because the profession was considered to be scandalous for decent women. Or the good ole boys were keeping all the fun to themselves.
Re: “Why couldn’t they have had nuns sing at Mass?!?”
I read somewhere that St. Paul’s dictum that women not open their mouths in church was the basis for their not being allowed to sing. I’ve long had a bone to pick with his misogyny.
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PakalanaPikake
March 24, 2019 at 11:51 AM
HAECHI – Historical background – Eunuchs
The Death of the Last [Chinese] Emperor’s Last Eunuch (1996)
https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/20/world/the-death-of-the-last-emperor-s-last-eunuch.html
MORE
PakalanaPikake
March 24, 2019 at 12:06 PM
(MORE)
As @lollypip mentioned in her comments on episodes 21-22, life in Joseon was brutal, and HAECHI pulls some punches. One institution that is usually glossed over in Kdramas is the use of eunuchs in the palace, a practice adopted from China. In the film MASQUERADE, Ha Sun had a brief conversation about the subject, which I had hoped would be addressed in CROWNED CLOWN. Alas, it was not. I think it could have been done in a manner suitable for 15-year-old TV audiences. If anything would drive home just how difficult life was for the people on the lowest rungs of society during Joseon and earlier dynasties, that would be it.
It’s all too easy to use the term “eunuch” without considering how a certain segment of the population became that way. Maybe it was such an integral part of Korean culture for so long that no one thinks twice about it nowadays — unless they are international viewers from lands that did not have this practice.
For all the horrors awaiting Korean females sent as tribute to China, an even more grisly fate lay in store for all too many Korean males.
Peridot
March 24, 2019 at 1:04 PM
There was one kdrama that focused on eunuchs. It was called, “King and I” (or, “The Eunuch”). I watched it on tv many years ago and didn’t get to see the first few episodes. The protagonist becomes a eunuch both to be near and to protect the woman he loves, who has been married to the King). It is true that most dramas do not focus on this group of people. It was surely a traumatizing event to go through the process of complete castration (I believe that was how it was done in East Asia, at least in China). I also know that people became eunuchs for a variety of reasons, but what choice was there for children sent to the palace? In Italy, there were the Castrati, young boys castrated (but only partially) in order to preserve their voices. They were used by the Catholic Church. Parents would chose this path for their boys for the usual reasons. The ironic thing was that, while this procedure was done to maintain a certain quality of voice, that desired quality was not guaranteed. The last living castrato, for example, did not have a particularly exceptional voice. Throughout history, these kinds of things happened all too frequently. Men/boys could be castrated in times of war or in order to safeguard a living.
PakalanaPikake
March 24, 2019 at 1:53 PM
@peridot,
THE KING AND I with Oh Man-seok in the title role has been on my to-watch list for quite a while. One of these days…
East Asia certainly doesn’t have a corner on the eunuch market. The Ottoman Empire institutionalized it to an immense degree as well.
The ironically sad thing about castrati was they were maimed so they could sing the parts that naturally lay in women’s vocal ranges — thanks to institutional misogyny within the Church. (Why couldn’t they have had nuns sing at Mass?!?) Back then in medieval Europe, as in Joseon, male actors played female roles in the theatre as well because the profession was considered to be scandalous for decent women. Or the good ole boys were keeping all the fun to themselves.
Peridot
March 25, 2019 at 3:26 PM
“East Asia certainly doesn’t have a corner on the eunuch market.”
Very true!
PakalanaPikake
March 25, 2019 at 6:05 PM
@peridot,
Re: “Why couldn’t they have had nuns sing at Mass?!?”
I read somewhere that St. Paul’s dictum that women not open their mouths in church was the basis for their not being allowed to sing. I’ve long had a bone to pick with his misogyny.