---

Please join the upcoming virtual talk by Dr. Lee Sangmin, who will discuss the finger-severing practice in Early Chosŏn Korea.

The event will take place on April 24, 5:00 - 6:30pm (LA Time) / 8:00 - 09:30pm (New York Time) / April 25, 09:00 - 10:30am (Seoul Time).

Abstract

In early Chosŏn Korea, finger severing (danji 斷指) appeared as a distinctive form of filial piety, shaped by the ethical and emotional values of Confucian society. The practice first appeared during the reign of King T'aejong and gradually spread throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. The early Chosŏn government, aiming to cultivate a Confucian ethical order, actively incorporated certain customs into its vision of social reform—including finger severing, which was framed as an act of exemplary filial devotion.

However, the meanings attached to this practice were not uniform. While the ruling elite promoted it as a noble expression of Confucian values, many people in the wider society understood and practiced finger severing in a very different way. In particular, there is evidence that, among ordinary households, severed fingers were used as a kind of folk medicine—believed to serve as an actual remedy to cure sick family members. In such cases, finger severing was not performed to express ethical ideals, but to produce a material substance for medicinal treatment. This divergence highlights the gap between official intentions and everyday interpretations.

The story of finger severing in early Chosŏn Korea offers a window into the complex relationship between state policy, cultural values, and lived practice. It illustrates how efforts to promote Confucian norms often intersected with, and were reshaped by, local understandings and pragmatic concerns.

About the Speaker

Lee Sangmin is a lecturer in the Department of History & Culture at Daejeon University. He earned his Ph.D. from Yonsei University with a dissertation titled “Reconciling Enlightenment and Punishment: Institutionalizing Confucian Ideas in Late Koryŏ and Early Chosŏn.” His primary research interests lie in the history of social thought and cultural history from the Koryŏ dynasty to early Chosŏn. By examining customs, ideas, and patterns of cultural transformation, his research aims to understand how the relationship between the state and society shaped the processes of historical change.