[KS] Science meets Art

[Kwang On Yoo]

 <http://inside.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/07/02/2011070200384.html>

Hello All,

Professor Lee Tae-hyung of the Astronomy Department at Chungnam University
in Daejon made a very fascinating discovery a few months ago.

According to Professor Lee, the scene depicted in Sin Yun-bok's masterpiece,
*Wolhajeongin *(월하정인,
月下情人,*Lovers Under The Moon*) occurred at 11:50pm on August 21, 1793 under a
partial lunar eclipse.

The discovery was based on the following scientific facts:

   - *The Lunar Eclipse*: In *Wolhajeongin, *most of moon was obscured by
   the shadow of earth and the remaining part of the moon is protruding upward,
   which is only possible during a lunar eclipse.


   - *Midnight in the Summer*: In *Wolhajeongin, *the moon is located next
   to the tiled roof and is resting on top of the trees, which means it is very
   low. This is the location of the moon at around Midnight on summer evenings.



   - *Partial Lunar Eclipse:* In *Wolhajeongin, *the moon is covered from
   the bottom-up, which only happens during a partial lunar eclipse. During a
   Penumbra Eclipse, the moon is covered from the left to right.


   - *August 21, 1793*: Professor Lee searched a hundred years worth of
   records on Partial Eclipses in *Seungjeongwon ilji *(*Diary of the Royal*
   *Secreta**riat, *승정원일기, 承政院日記). The records spanned from the middle of
   the 18th Century to middle of the 19th Century and he found that there were
   two partial lunar eclipses, one on August 30, 1784 and the other on August
   21, 1793. The *ilji *recorded that they were unable to observe the
   eclipse on August 30, 1784 due to three straight days of rain. Thus,
   Professor Lee was able to establish that the scene depicted in *Wolhajeongin
   *occurred on August 21, 1793.

This is a very interesting case of the merger between Science and Art, with
the help of meticulous recordkeeping.

If you are in Seoul you can view *Wolhajeongin,* which is a part of Master
Sin's drawing book 혜원전신첩 (Haewpnjeonsinchop), Korean National Treasure No.
135, at the *간송미술관 *(Kansong Museum).


Thank You and Enjoy.

Kwang-On Yoo
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