[KS] Pansu Follies
Frank M. Tedesco
tedesco at uriel.net
Tue Jul 7 09:32:52 EDT 1998
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> Click Into the Hermit Kingdom (23) [Image] [Ima=
ge]
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> 07/06(=BF=F9) 16:14
> =
> By Yang Sung-jin
> =
> Staff Reporter
> =
> Summer vacation once meant empty seats in college librari=
es.
> Not anymore. Many students are now spending a lot of thei=
r
> time in their campus library, preparing for job interview=
s.
> However, there is one crucial disadvantage to sticking ar=
ound
> campus: female students are becoming bolder than ever in
> expressing themselves _ sometimes through revealing cloth=
es.
> Not infrequently, groups of male students (who say they a=
re
> distracted by such fashions) post warnings on the doors t=
o
> the libraries which read ``No Miniskirts, No Tank Tops,
> Please.''
> =
> In 1708, a similar incident occurred at Sungkyunkwan (the=
> National Confucian Academy), the highest educational
> institution in the Choson Dynasty. A high-ranking officia=
l
> named Yun Sung-jun filed an appeal to King Sukjong: ``The=
> restaurant for Sungkyunkwan students should be governed b=
y
> strict rules and principles, but these days women are set=
ting
> the tables, causing great distractions. These makeshift
> measures go against the old principles. Therefore, male
> servants should wait on tables instead.''
> =
> Of course, the king accepted Yun's desperate suggestion a=
imed
> at putting Sunkyunkwan students back on track.
> =
> Sungkyunkwan was not only the cradle of Confucianism-insp=
ired
> students but also the symbolic center of Confucianism its=
elf.
> With students studying Confucian ideology day and night, =
the
> institution was in charge of preserving the ``munmyo,'' o=
r
> shrine of Confucius, which in turn perpetuated a view of =
the
> school as a sanctified entity.
> =
> In the Annals of the Choson Dynasty, the sacredness of
> Sungkyunkwan is suggested by its frequent associations wi=
th
> the word ``pan-kung'' and ``pan-su.'' The former term mea=
ns a
> national university, the status of which is one step lowe=
r
> than a school in China; the latter indicates a watercours=
e
> surrounding the compound of the national university.
> =
> In 1432, an official named Kim Pan of Sungkyunkwan implor=
ed
> the king to restore the pan-su: ``In the past, the pan-su=
> prevented onlookers from entering Sungkyunkwan as a flowi=
ng
> stream protected it on three sides. Now, there is no wate=
r,
> which allows people to freely use the road connected to t=
he
> shrine of Confucius. In order to restrict onlookers from =
this
> holy site, the speedy construction of a pan-su is in orde=
r.''
> =
> Guardian Stream
> =
> In 1469, a Sungkyunkwan student named Kwon Cha-hu called =
for
> the restoration of the damaged pan-su. ``More than anythi=
ng
> else, we have to restore the pan-su
> =
> When our nation was founded, the first thing we did was t=
o
> set up a national university and maintain the pan-su syst=
em.
> But the construction of a new palace building diverted th=
e
> watercourse of pan-su.''
> =
> Yet Kwon's appeal went unanswered. It was on March 12, 14=
74
> that King Songjong discussed the restoration of the pan-s=
u
> with government officials. Upon finishing an academic
> lecture, the king said, ``The other day, I consulted with=
> official Kim Jil on the matter of restoring the pan-su. B=
ut
> in hindsight, I now think the construction will place an
> unnecessary burden on the public. Moreover, changing what=
the =
previous king did is not right.''
> =
> Said Kim Jil to the king: ``Sungkyunkwan once looked
> beautiful. But since the latest construction project, the=
> pan-su has been irreparably changed. Now, the western par=
t of
> the pan-su is located inside the royal palace, which goes=
> against the rules.''
> =
> Kim also argued that if a Chinese diplomat paid a customa=
ry
> visit to the shrine of Confucius at Sungkyunkwan, he woul=
d be
> offended by the altered appearance of the pan-su.
> =
> Official Chong Kwal supported Kim's logic: ``A nation rul=
ed
> by an emperor has a university called a `pyok-ong' and a
> nation governed by a king has a `pan-kung.' And a pan-kun=
g is
> meaningless without a pan-su, the significance of which i=
s
> preserved only inside Sungkyunkwan.''
> =
> Though the pan-su's philosophical functions have yet to
> identified, scholars agree that the pan-su played the rol=
e of
> reinforcing the sacredness of the educational function of=
> Sungkyunkwan and the shrine of Confucius.
> =
> As a result, not only ordinary people but also military
> personnel were banned from crossing the pan-su. In 1545, =
a
> soldier violated the rules by entering Sungkyunkwan, whic=
h
> prompted a scuffle with a student. One of the students fi=
led
> an appeal to the king saying ``The pan-su is designed to =
keep
> people from entering the sacred compound. That is why no
> military personnel have been allowed to set foot inside
> Sungkyunkwan since its establishment. But on this occasio=
n, a
> disrespectful soldier humiliated Confucian scholars and
> sacred spirits by entering the school gate.''
> =
> Scandal in Sacred Water
> =
> While most Sungkyunkwan students reacted angrily to the
> intrusion of the soldier and to the damage which had been=
> done to the pan-su, some of them welcomed other intruders=
=2E
> =
> According to an article dated Aug. 1, 1437, students Choi=
> Han-kyong and Chong Shin-sok were bathing in the pan-su
> before holding a regular ceremony at the shrine of Confuc=
ius. =
At that time a young lady accompanied by two female =
> servants was walking on the road near the stream. Suddenl=
y,
> Choi burst out of the water, entirely naked, and proceede=
d to
> flirt with the lady, going so far as to take her hands by=
> force.
> =
> In desperation, the lady resisted and her servants scream=
ed
> at Choi. Chong then joined in the fray, fended off the tw=
o
> servants and helped his companion sexually assault the la=
dy.
> Later, the pair finally ran off and returned to their =
> dormitory, retaining the woman's hat, perhaps as a remind=
er
> of their escapade.
> =
> The servants who had been driven off by Chong reported to=
> their master, who sent a male servant to look for the lad=
y.
> He found out that the lady had been released, but that he=
r
> hat was gone.
> =
> Since it was now very late and the two Sungkyunkwan stude=
nts
> in question were gone, the servant ran to the Sungkyunkwa=
n
> office, where an official of the college was on duty.
> =
> ``I'm a servant of Hong Yo-kang. And our lady, who is not=
yet
> married, was accosted by two students of Sungkyunkwan whi=
le
> passing by the pan-su on her
> =
> way to get a treatment for her illness. The two students
> disrobed our lady and tried to violate her by force. And =
her
> two female servants were beaten by the pair and they repo=
rted
> to me what had happened.''
> =
> The official on duty was Chong Rok. He immediately inquir=
ed
> into the incident among students and received explanation=
s
> from Choi Han-kyong and Chong Shin-sok, both of whom clai=
med
> it was a just benign flirtation.
> =
> Chong Rok called one of the servants to confirm what had
> happened. In giving her testimony, the servant made sever=
al
> mistakes and attempted to falsify the real identity of th=
e
> lady. Initially, the servant argued that the lady was the=
> daughter of his master but subsequently changed his story=
,
> calling her the``daughter of nursemaid.'' Yet this was a =
lie.
> The truth was that the lady was the servant-concubine of =
the
> master's son.
> =
> Shortly thereafter, the lady filed suit with the Office o=
f
> the Inspector-General. Although initially she charged the=
two
> students with attempted rape, she later toned down her
> charges, calling their actions a mere flirtation.
> =
> Even though speculation about the lewd behavior of Choi a=
nd
> Chong mushroomed, a hush-hush atmosphere prevailed, large=
ly
> due to the fact that the scandal involved members of the
> ``yangban'' (upper) class.
> =
> A turning point came only when the Office of the
> Inspector-General reported details of its investigation t=
o
> the king: ``Chong Shin-sok, who is in charge of carrying =
out
> the shrine ceremony, stole the hat of the lady and humili=
ated
> her, an offense which is punishable by 40 strokes with a
> cudgel. Choi Han-kyong, on the other hand, tried to rape =
her,
> which calls for 80 heavy cudgel-strokes.'' The king wrapp=
ed
> put the scandal to rest by accepting the suggested
> punishments.
> =
> ------------------------------------------------------------=
--------
> (C) COPYRIGHT 1998 THE HANKOOKILBO
http://www.korealink.co.kr/14_6/9807/t4651229.htm
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