ABSTRACT
Admonishment for Women (Naehun), was written by the mother of King Sŏngchong (1457–1494), Queen Sohye, who is also called Queen Mother Insu. This was the first book written directly to women in han’gŭl. It was written in 1475. The Queen Mother lived as a widow after her husband, the Crown Prince, died, and she subsequently had to leave the royal palace. However, because the Crown Prince had been the eldest son, her sons were in line to become king. Her second son became the king. Even though she couldn’t live at the palace, she enabled her second son to become King Sŏngjong. The Queen Mother was a very active woman, even though she lived as a widow, and she was very actively involved in royal affairs. She was very much an intellectual person, and we can see that clearly because of her publication of Naehun. She published this book because there were many great works of literature at the time, but they were difficult for women, who had less education than men, to digest. The Queen, therefore, thoroughly studied those books, tried to find the main messages of these books, and condensed them into seven chapters for the women of the Chosŏn dynasty. The main reason she wrote this book was that she realised that the women of the dynasty were accustomed to Buddhism, which she also promoted, but that Neo-Confucianism was likely to become the most influential ideology of the time, and she wanted women to be equipped with it. In the preface, she said that she was troubled by the lack of Confucian knowledge of the women of the time and wanted to equip them with this new ideology. In this way, she was very forward thinking, and wanted women to take a major role in the changing society.
