Gim Man-deok
Kim ManDeok (金萬德, 1739 – 1812) is a female merchant of Joseon. When a major famine hit Jeju Island, all of the rice she had bought on land was freed and donated to save the dying people of Jeju Island. After her death, many people wrote a literary work about her.
The historical background
A lot of social discrimination existed in 1739, during King YeongJo’s reign of Joseon, when Kim ManDeok was born. Women couldn’t achieve a high social status and also were limited in education. They were also restricted from going outside their homes, so women in Joseon could only do housework. Also the people lived on the frontier treated unfairly about taxation, specially Jeju Island residents were forbidden to move outside the Jeju Island. Meanwhile, in 18 century Joseon the farming techniques improved as the rice planting appeared, the commerce improved together, it affected positively after this to Kim ManDeok grew commercially.
Life
Kim ManDeok was born at a poor home. Her father was Kim Eung Yeol who was a merchant. When she was 12 years old her parents all died so she became a slave of a gisaeng then the gisaeng made her a daughter. She learned Gamu at Jeju island and once lived as most famous gisaeng at Jeju island and lived like that for a while. After a few year she gets to know that gisaeng is a job that gets looked down so she appealed to Jeju minister that she was not originally the lowest class of people, and became a commoner.
After she became a commoner she decided to become a merchant and started a business of distribution industry. She did intermediate trading between merchants from land and merchant from Jeju. She was good at management of property so she established a commission agency and sold horsehair, seaweed, ear shell, ox bezoar, pearl to land and also sold cloth, accessory, cosmetic for aristocrats. Also she bought grain from land and sold them to Jeju people. She made a lot of money by these commercial activity.
At that time, Kim ManDeok's worth was about 70 billion won, or $ 60 million dollars
Kim ManDeok's Business Principles: Cheap, but sells a lot. Buy and sell at a reasonable price. Sell honest faith.( noblesse oblige )
A severe famine in Jeju Island in the early 1790s caused by bad harvests and typhoons killed a third of Jeju's residents. Kim ManDeok donated 90 % of her assets to relief activities, such as the relief aid program.
After the donation
The word that ManDeok donated a huge amount of money spread and the king(Jeong Jo) complimented ManDeok and said that he will accomplish the wish that ManDeok wants. ManDeok’s wish was to see the palace at Hanyang and wanted to see Mt. Geumgang. During that time there was a law that people from Jeju island could not leave the island, but Jeong Jo broke the law and let her out the island. He also gave ManDeok a high government position
After Kim ManDeok's death
In 1812, at the age of 73, Kim ManDeok died. Since her death, many people had expressed her story in writing, and Chae Je-gong, a minister, wrote ManDeok Jun. Also, Jeong Yak-Yong, Kim Jeong-Hee left poem and literary work that admired her relief work. And today Jeju Island also honors Kim ManDeok by building a memorial hall and carrying out the annual ManDeok Festival, and had also show documentaries and dramas about him on several TV networks.
Kim ManDeok in medias
Musical ‘ManDeok’
Musical ‘ManDeok’ is a musical which was first performed in Jeju Art Center from January 26th to January 28th (product Kim DeokNam script writer Han Areum composition Jang SoYeong). This musical was ambitiously prepared by Jeju City, which wants to build up a representative culture brand. This musical is the story about Kim ManDeok’s life.
Drama ‘The Great Merchant’
Drama, ‘the great merchant’ is a 2010 South Korean historical drama starring Lee Mi-yeon, Han Jae-suk, Park Sol-mi, Ha Seok-jin, and Go Doo-shim. It aired on KBS1 from March 6 to June 13, 2010 on Saturdays and Sundays at 20:40 for 30 episodes. The drama features Kim's life and achievements, along with her ongoing rivalry with fellow merchants during the Joseon Dynasty.
Kim ManDeok Memorial Hall
The Kim ManDeok Memorial Hall is a place to voluntarily practice sharing and giving, as well as pay tribute to and emulate Kim ManDeok’s life and spread a spirit that has become the symbol of representative righteous people in our country. Its admission fee is free.
The hall is divided into several places. Permanent exhibition hall, Sharing meditation center, Sharing practice center, and Sharing culture center are those. Permanent exhibition hall is the saving light of Jeju, a gallery in the theme of Kim ManDeok’s spirit. Sharing meditation center is the center which is holding Kim ManDeok’s spirit. Sharing practice center is the center which we can receive Kim ManDeok’s spirit and discover sharing to change the world. Sharing culture center is an open space of sharing where a giving culture spreads.