"Copying Books for His Son"... A Joseon Father's Educational Diary from 440 Years Ago

Korea Studies Advancement Center Releases “Seongjae Diary” for Children’s Day
16th-Century Records of Care and Education for Children

Seongjae Diary Left by Geumnan-su

On June 4, 1585, Geum Nansu (1530–1604), a mid-Joseon Dynasty scholar, began personally transcribing the “Gangmok (綱目)” for his youngest son, Geum Gak, to read. Despite his busy schedule with official duties, ancestral rites, and entertaining guests, he managed to write more than seven pages every day. His son, in turn, would read and memorize more than fifteen pages each day. Through this steady transcription, Geum Nansu completed up to the seventh book in just over two months.

This account is recorded in the “Seongjae Diary (Seongjae Ilgi)” left by Geum Nansu. On April 27, the Korea Studies Advancement Center announced that, in celebration of Children’s Day, it would introduce the ways children were educated and cared for during the Joseon era through this diary. “Seongjae Diary” contains daily records of his four sons—Gyeong, Eop, Gae, and Gak—detailing their reading, participation in civil service examinations, and the process of seeking out teachers to learn from.

The entry dated January 15, 1576, notes that the third son, Geum Gae, borrowed the complete works of “Gomunseon (古文選)” from Lee Ando, the grandson of Yi Hwang. On August 15 that same year, the eldest son Geum Gyeong and the second son Geum Eop set out for Seoul to participate in a special civil service exam. On January 12 of the following year, the youngest son Geum Gak began reading the “Analects” for the first time. Then, on April 24 of that year, the second son Geum Eop, while staying in Bonghwa-hyeon, asked Jo Mok about the contents of the latter part of “Gomunjinbo (古文眞寶).”

On September 29, 1580, Geum Nansu set out on a journey with his youngest son, Geum Gak. However, a few days later, Geum Gak fell ill with malaria and had to stay at Yong-an Station. Beginning on October 23, Geum Gak started memorizing ten pages of the first volume of “Saryak (史略)” each day, finishing it by October 29 and moving on to the second volume.

On March 17, 1586, Geum Gak began receiving instruction from Heo Jeonhan. At that time, Heo Jeonhan was staying in Seongsan to visit his parents, and Geum Gak studied there for almost a month before returning home on April 11.

An official from the Korea Studies Advancement Center stated, “The ‘Seongjae Diary’ is a record that vividly shows how children in the Joseon Dynasty read books, prepared for the civil service exam, and learned from teachers. It serves as a reminder that, even in traditional society, a child’s learning was an important concern in daily life.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.