Late-Joseon female poet, author of the Yeongsuhapgo, wife of Hong In-mo
| Life | 1753 ~ 1823 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 달성 서씨 |
Seo Yeong-su-hap (徐令壽閤, 1753-1823) was a late-Joseon woman writer of the Dalseong Seo clan. No personal name is recorded; she is known by her studio name Yeongsuhap and left the collected works Yeongsuhapgo. According to English Wikipedia her father was Seo Hyeong-su, Governor of Gangwon Province, and her mother was of the Andong Kim clan; her family was highly ranked, and through her mother she descended from Princess Jeongmyeong and Hong Ju-won.
She married Hong In-mo (1755-1812) of the Pungsan Hong clan and had three sons, Hong Seok-ju (1774-1842), Hong Gil-ju (1786-1841) and Hong Hyeon-ju, and daughters. Wikipedia says all of her children became poets; Hong Seok-ju rose to Minister of Personnel and Left State Councillor and tutored King Heonjong. Hong Gil-ju, at his mother's urging, did not take office and devoted himself to learning and prose, and under her influence became skilled at mathematics; the youngest, Hong Hyeon-ju, married King Jeongjo's daughter Princess Sukseon. Lady Seo herself is said to have been talented in mathematics.
She left a collection of hundreds of poems and added an appendix to her husband's posthumous writings, so she counts among the few women of her time whose works survive. Wikipedia mentions her together with Lady Bingheogak Yi as one of two women who made a name within practical learning. Both the Korean and English Wikipedia classify her as Dalseong Seo, though since Seo families of this period used the Dalseong and Daegu seat names interchangeably, sources may differ. The collection's detailed contents and her tomb could not be confirmed here.
English Wikipedia also says her daughter Hong Won-ju (pen name Yuhandang) was a poet, though the number and names of daughters differ between sources. Much of her own life is known through the records of her husband and children, so the details need to be read alongside the Yeongsuhapgo and the Hong family's collected works.
Her father is given as Seo Hyeong-su and her mother as of the Andong Kim clan. English Wikipedia describes her as a descendant, on her mother's side, of Princess Jeongmyeong and Hong Ju-won, and as a third cousin of the future Queen Sunwon. This comes from a foreign-language encyclopedia and should be checked against genealogies.
She was the wife of Hong In-mo of the Pungsan Hong clan and mother of Hong Seok-ju, Hong Gil-ju and Hong Hyeon-ju. See also the Pungsan Hong page.
Her collection Yeongsuhapgo gathers hundreds of poems, and she is said to have had a talent for mathematics. It is presented as a significant case in Joseon, when women's collected works were rare.
The location of her tomb could not be confirmed here.
Mother of Hong Seok-ju, Hong Gil-ju and Hong Hyeon-ju of the Pungsan Hong clan.