Kisaeng
enslaved women who worked to entertain others, such as yangbans and kings, during the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties
Kisaeng (Korean: 기생; Hanja: 妓生), also called ginyeo (기녀; 妓女), were enslaved women from outcast or enslaved families who were trained to be courtesans, providing artistic entertainment and conversation to men of upper class. First emerging in the Goryeo dynasty, kisaeng were officially sanctioned by the state and employed in various public functions. While many worked in royal courts, others were stationed throughout the provinces.
Trained in music, dance, poetry, and prose, kisaeng were often highly educated and skilled in the fine arts. Despite their low social status, they were respected as cultured artists. In addition to entertainment, some were assigned duties in medicine and needlework.
Kisaeng hold an important place in the traditional cultural memory of the Joseon dynasty. Although most individual kisaeng have faded from history, a few are remembered for their talents, intelligence, or loyalty. The most renowned among them is Hwang Jini, a celebrated 16th-century kisaeng known for her poetry and wit.
Social position
Throughout the Goryeo and Joseon periods, kisaeng held the status of cheonmin, the lowest in society.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Kisaeng” as enslaved women who worked to entertain others, such as yangbans and kings, during the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q696948. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Kisaeng” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.