Jokbo epiphany
Recently working with two organizations that are analyzing and indexing Chinese and Korean "jokbo," I had an epiphany — actually two epiphanies. The first is that Chinese "jiapu" and Korean jokbo are very different. They serve different purposes and have very different content. I and everyone else on these two teams assumed from looking at the two styles of documents and seeing the generational…
Recently, while collaborating with two organizations that are studying and cataloging Chinese and Korean jokbo, a surprising realization dawned upon me - and it was quite significant. Two realizations, actually. The first pertains to the stark contrast between Chinese jiapu and Korean jokbo. They share a similar structure, evident from the generational lines, Chinese characters, and the eye of the beholder.
However, the content of these documents is worlds apart. The second revelation came when I examined the treatment of wives in these two types of documents. In Chinese jiapu, women are referenced solely by their surname, with minimal additional details. Often, the document mentions their hometown and sometimes their father, yet there's not enough information to delve deeper into their lives.
Most crucially, the Chinese do not have a bongwan, which is a vital piece of information in Korean culture. For Koreans, the bongwan is the ancestral home of the clan's founder. It is incredibly important in jokbo as it serves as the key to uncovering records of the wife.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 1 other outlet
- Jokbo epiphany koreatimes.co.kr
