Lastly, as for the part on social stratification : This is also important, I feel, for « My Dearest ». Mimi gives a wonderful overview on that as well (her blogsite talkingcupboard). What I found interesting and relevant from Professor Kallender’s introduction is the remark about lesser and nobler yangban … Gil Chae, now Lady Yoo, is certainly a lesser yanban (as is her husband). I suspect Jang Hyeon also to be in this category (originally), now a merchant. That’s clear to me when he “teases” the court official who asks him for advice in personam outside the Manchu war camp … (the name escapes me right now, he is now Prime Minister I believe, in the Realist camp on the court…)
Interest! Here is my take.
Gil Chae and the nobles in Neunggun-ri would be considered lesser than the Hanyang nobles who held high government posts or related to the royals etc. If you are from the village, you are basically discriminated against as a country bumpkin, unsophisticated, ill-mannered, etc. It does matter where you are from. That’s why she wanted to learn about the people in the capital. She thinks that’s where she belongs.
Officer Yu is from a military family. You can tell their ranks from their job. Military families were the lesser nobles. The higher nobles were exempt from any military duties unless one was chosen to be the minister of war and related posts in the capital, which is a high position in the branch of the government.
Jang Hyeon is a merchant/interpreter, so he is middle class. Since he has money, he can buy/register as a lesser noble.
When he first appeared in the village, there was a rumor that he bought his noble status. His past is still a mystery, so who knows if he was a fallen noble or a government slave like Ryang-eun.
From the brief flashback we saw in Episode 12, I speculate that JH belonged either to a noble or merchant family. The flashback showed him as a child carried by a servant.
angelshadows50
October 16, 2023 at 7:06 AM
Lastly, as for the part on social stratification : This is also important, I feel, for « My Dearest ». Mimi gives a wonderful overview on that as well (her blogsite talkingcupboard). What I found interesting and relevant from Professor Kallender’s introduction is the remark about lesser and nobler yangban … Gil Chae, now Lady Yoo, is certainly a lesser yanban (as is her husband). I suspect Jang Hyeon also to be in this category (originally), now a merchant. That’s clear to me when he “teases” the court official who asks him for advice in personam outside the Manchu war camp … (the name escapes me right now, he is now Prime Minister I believe, in the Realist camp on the court…)
kiara
October 16, 2023 at 9:36 PM
Interest! Here is my take.
Gil Chae and the nobles in Neunggun-ri would be considered lesser than the Hanyang nobles who held high government posts or related to the royals etc. If you are from the village, you are basically discriminated against as a country bumpkin, unsophisticated, ill-mannered, etc. It does matter where you are from. That’s why she wanted to learn about the people in the capital. She thinks that’s where she belongs.
Officer Yu is from a military family. You can tell their ranks from their job. Military families were the lesser nobles. The higher nobles were exempt from any military duties unless one was chosen to be the minister of war and related posts in the capital, which is a high position in the branch of the government.
Jang Hyeon is a merchant/interpreter, so he is middle class. Since he has money, he can buy/register as a lesser noble.
When he first appeared in the village, there was a rumor that he bought his noble status. His past is still a mystery, so who knows if he was a fallen noble or a government slave like Ryang-eun.
Snow Flower
October 17, 2023 at 11:46 AM
From the brief flashback we saw in Episode 12, I speculate that JH belonged either to a noble or merchant family. The flashback showed him as a child carried by a servant.
angelshadows50
October 17, 2023 at 11:54 AM
Yes, absolutely, I got the same impression. I suspect as I said above noble, but the woods and fields variety (a German expression) 🙂
kiara
October 17, 2023 at 12:14 PM
We still have a lot of history to unload in these two episodes. I’m not as speedy as I used to be. I’ll post some on the recaps.