Documents of dreams being sold during Joseon Dynasty unveiled

Records of the purchase and sale of dreams during the Joseon Dynasty were unveiled to the public.

On Tuesday, the Korean Studies Institute announced that it had discovered two ‘dream sale documents’ from materials deposited by the Chungcheonggong faction of the Park clan in Suncheon and the Beopjeon clan of the Jinju Kang clan.

According to a document released by KSI, in February 1814, Park Ki-sang, who lived in Daegu, had a dream of blue and yellow dragons rising to the sky, showing off their majestic appearances. He described this dream to his younger relative, Park Yong-hyuk, who was leaving for Hanyang to take the national civil service exam on the 3rd of the following month and purchased the dream. In the document (photo), it was written that ‘maemongju (the person who purchased the dream)’ Park Yong-hyuk would give 1,000 nyang to ‘mongju (the dream owner)’ Park Ki-sang if he was appointed to a government position after passing the state exam. The two people signed an agreement, with two relatives attending as witnesses.

In February 1840, Shin, a female servant of the Jinju Kang family living in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province, had a dream in which blue and yellow dragons were entangled. She sold the dream to Kang Man, the master's younger relative, in exchange for blue, red, and white thread. The document contains the agreement between ‘Banbi Shin,’ the dreamer, and her husband, Park Chung-geum, who appeared as a witness.

“Buying and selling lucky dreams is a common custom seen in everyday life, even today. These documents are scarce, though, given that most transactions are arranged verbally,” said Jeong Jong-seop, director of KSI.


Jong-Yeob JO jjj@donga.com