Kim Man-deok and the 1795 Jeju Famine Relief ============================================ Kim Man-deok used her own wealth to help residents during the Jeju famine. This article distinguishes the state relief figures in the Annals of King Jeongjo from her individual contributions. It also explains the permission she received to travel to the capital and tour Mount Geumgang, and examines questions about how to interpret her life. - The number of people and the amount of grain recorded in the 1795 report on completed relief in Jeju are not totals for Kim Man-deok's own relief work. - A 1796 entry in the Annals of King Jeongjo records that the Jeju magistrate reported Kim Man-deok's contributions to famine relief. - King Jeongjo allowed Kim Man-deok to travel to the capital and tour Mount Geumgang, and ordered towns along her route to provide her with provisions. - The report on completed relief also records the burden of repayment after food assistance and the issue of debt forgiveness. - How Kim Man-deok built her wealth and how her social status changed are research questions that should be examined separately from her relief work. Kim Man-deok used her wealth to help people during the 1795 famine in Jeju. She bought grain on the mainland and helped hungry residents. Her contribution was recorded in the Annals of King Jeongjo and is remembered to this day. This article was checked in September 2026, primarily against the Annals of King Jeongjo published by the National Institute of Korean History. Kim Man-deok’s Life and Relief Timeline Kim Man-deok was born in 1739 and died in 1812. She was from Jeju. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture describes her as a merchant of the late Joseon period. It also recounts that she lost her parents as a child and worked as a female entertainer. Researchers differ, however, on how she acquired her wealth and how her social status changed. The month and day given for each annals entry below are the lunar dates in the record. The date of an entry must be distinguished from the date an activity took place. In particular, the 1796 entry does not give the date when the relief effort began. Year or date Event and what the record says Source 1739 Born in Jeju Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, “Kim Man-deok” 1794 Wind and seawater damaged crops in Jeju Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, “Kim Man-deok” 1795 Used her wealth to obtain grain from the mainland and help residents Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, “Kim Man-deok” 11th day of the 5th lunar month, 1795 A report that famine relief in the Jeju region had been completed appears in the annals Annals of King Jeongjo, volume 42 25th day of the 11th lunar month, 1796 Man-deok’s contribution and permission for her to travel to the capital and go sightseeing appear in the annals Annals of King Jeongjo, volume 45 1797 Returned to Jeju after touring Mount Geumgang Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, “Kim Man-deok” 1812 Died Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, “Kim Man-deok” The dates of her birth and death and the account of her travels follow the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture entry “Kim Man-deok”. Background to the Jeju Famine Jeju’s difficulties arose from the combination of crop damage and the risks of sea transport. The encyclopedia describes a succession of poor harvests beginning in 1790 as the background. It notes that damage from wind and seawater was severe in 1794. Even when grain was obtained on the mainland, it still had to be shipped to Jeju. The encyclopedia also mentions the wreck of a ship carrying relief grain. This shows that securing food and getting it to Jeju were separate problems. Jinhyul, the famine relief carried out at the time, involved providing grain and other aid to hungry people. Guhyul also means helping people in need. In this case, state efforts and individual support can be considered separately. That does not mean the two terms always divide into state and private relief. How Extensive Was State Famine Relief? The entry for the 11th day of the 5th lunar month in 1795 reports the completion of famine relief in the Jeju region. It records that the effort began in the 1st lunar month of that year. The areas covered were Jeju, Daejeong, and Jeongui as they were then constituted. Item What the annals say Caution when interpreting it Relief period From the 1st lunar month of 1795 until the completion report Not the period of Kim Man-deok’s individual activity Count of people receiving relief 725,329 people in the Korean translation This entry alone cannot establish whether the figure is a count of distinct people with duplicates removed Grain used 25,905 seok in the Korean translation Not the amount Kim Man-deok donated or an amount consisting only of rice Person reporting Jeju magistrate Yi U-hyeon A local administrator reporting to the royal court The way the number of people was counted must also be checked. It cannot be assumed to represent either Jeju’s population at the time or the number of distinct recipients. A seok is a unit of grain volume. It should not be converted into kilograms today without separate evidence. The entry also records grain supplied by people from other regions. Go Han-rok contributed 300 seok. Hong Sam-pil and Yang Seong-beom each gave 100 seok. This passage shows that state support and individual contributions existed side by side. The figures and report can be checked in the Annals of King Jeongjo entry for the 11th day of the 5th month of Jeongjo’s 19th year. The Turning Point Was Using Personal Wealth for Relief Kim Man-deok’s relief effort involved putting her own wealth toward helping residents. The encyclopedia says she bought grain on the mainland. It also says she sent grain for relief to the local government office. The key point in the official record is the Jeju magistrate’s report. The Annals of King Jeongjo state that Man-deok used her wealth to save residents. This means her individual actions led the royal court to consider rewarding her. The entry does not, however, give the amount she donated or the number of people she helped. Nor does it say what share of her wealth she gave. The earlier statistics for state famine relief therefore cannot be attributed to her individual effort. Distinction Entry on the completion of state famine relief Entry on Man-deok’s contribution Date of record 11th day of the 5th lunar month, 1795 25th day of the 11th lunar month, 1796 Main subject Scale and administration of regional famine relief An individual’s relief contribution and reward Quantities Gives numbers of people and an amount of grain Does not give an individual donation amount or number of recipients What the entry establishes Public aid was provided in Jeju Man-deok’s use of personal wealth to help residents was reported to the royal court The source for her individual contribution is the Annals of King Jeongjo entry for the 25th day of the 11th month of Jeongjo’s 20th year. The Outcome of Her Journey to the Capital and Mount Geumgang Jeongjo permitted Man-deok to travel to the capital and tour Mount Geumgang. The annals say she declined a reward and wished to travel. He also ordered towns along her route to provide her with provisions. This passage is not a transcript of a conversation between the king and Man-deok. Her wishes were conveyed through the Jeju magistrate’s report. It provides no basis for inventing her words or her feelings at the time as dialogue. The annals entry confirms the permission and the order to provide support. The course of the journey itself must be examined alongside other records and research. The encyclopedia places her trip to the capital in 1796 and her tour of Mount Geumgang in the following year. The date on which permission was recorded must not be presented as her departure date. Repayment Obligations That Remained After Famine Relief The 1795 entry also shows the burden that remained after food aid was provided. Yi U-hyeon reported on the issue of repaying grain with seaweed instead. Citing residents’ circumstances, he asked for collection to be postponed until the following spring. The royal court considered how to handle grain given free of charge and grain that had to be repaid. The Famine Relief Office questioned the free distribution of grain even to people covered by the hwangok system. Hwangok was a system of lending grain and collecting it later. Conditions of distribution thus differed even within the same relief effort. Jeongjo reaffirmed the cancellation of repayment for grain specially supplied by the Jeongniso. He ordered that residents be informed as well. This must not be read as a blanket cancellation of repayment for all grain brought into Jeju. This passage allows for a broader understanding of what relief involved. After grain was distributed, the question of repayment terms remained. The completion of famine relief did not necessarily mean residents’ lives had fully recovered. This interpretation is based on the 1795 entry reporting the completion of famine relief. Records and Interpretation The evidence for Man-deok’s relief contribution and for how she acquired her wealth differs in certainty. The facts stated directly in the annals need to be distinguished first. Later accounts and research hypotheses belong to another level. What the Annals State Directly The annals record Man-deok’s use of her own wealth and the royal court’s response. The magistrate submitted a report, and Jeongjo permitted her to travel. They do not provide the total amount she donated or any transaction records. The 1795 entry gives the scale of famine relief in the Jeju region. The 1796 entry records Man-deok’s relief contribution. The two entries cannot be combined to calculate how many people she personally saved. A Common Account of Her Life The encyclopedia says she worked as a female entertainer and then built wealth through trade. It also describes grain trading between the mainland and Jeju. The account that she used all her wealth for relief appears there as well. Not all the details of this account, however, appear in the two annals entries. The specifics of her commercial activities must be checked against other historical sources. A short entry about her contribution cannot establish the whole course of her life. Questions That Remain in Research Researchers hold differing views on how she acquired her wealth and whether she was freed from lowborn status. Such a change of status meant leaving the class of lowborn people. Yang Jeong-pil’s 2017 paper reexamined the prevailing view that she became a wealthy merchant through trade. The study proposed that she may have accumulated wealth through her work as a female entertainer. The author also made clear that this was a hypothesis based on the conditions of the time rather than direct historical evidence. It should therefore not be presented as a settled conclusion. The argument and its limitations can be checked in the abstract of “Reconsidering Kim Man-deok’s Economic Activities in the Late 18th Century”. Why She Is Remembered Today This case shows that multiple parties took part in disaster response. State food aid and a resident’s contribution of personal wealth were recorded during the same period. The administrative records also preserve both the results of relief and problems in carrying it out. Efforts to remember Kim Man-deok continue in exhibitions today. Visit Jeju, run by the Jeju Tourism Organization, introduces the Kim Man-deok Memorial Hall. The hall is a place devoted to her life and charitable activities. Its purpose can be checked in Visit Jeju’s guide to the Kim Man-deok Memorial Hall. Frequently Asked Questions How many people did Kim Man-deok save? The two annals entries alone cannot establish how many people she personally helped. The number of people in the 1795 entry is a regional famine relief statistic. It would be wrong to cite it as the number she saved single-handedly. Did she really give away all her wealth? The encyclopedia says she used all her wealth for relief. The 1796 annals entry states that she used her wealth to save residents. It does not, however, provide figures from which her total wealth or the proportion she donated can be calculated. Did she save Jeju alone, without state support? The state also supplied grain to Jeju and carried out famine relief. The 1795 entry records grain provided by other individuals as well. Kim Man-deok’s activity was an individual contribution recorded separately within this wider response. Did Kim Man-deok tell Jeongjo her wish directly? The 1796 annals entry conveys her wish through the magistrate’s report. It is not written as a record of a direct conversation with the king. The entry provides no basis for creating dialogue between them. FAQ Q. Who was Kim Man-deok? A. She was born in 1739 and died in 1812. She was from Jeju and is known as a merchant of the late Joseon period. Her contribution to famine relief in Jeju, where she used her own wealth to help residents, is recorded in the Annals of King Jeongjo. Q. Did she provide famine relief in 1795 or 1796? A. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture describes her famine relief efforts in 1795. The Annals of King Jeongjo records her contribution and reward in an entry dated the 25th day of the 11th lunar month of 1796. The date of the record should not be taken as the date her efforts began. Q. How many people did Kim Man-deok save? A. Neither of the two entries in the Annals gives a number of people who benefited from her individual efforts. The 725,329 people listed in the 1795 entry are part of a famine relief tally for Jeju, Daejeong, and Jeongui. That figure cannot be cited as the number of people Kim Man-deok personally saved. Q. Was the 25,905 seok of grain donated by Kim Man-deok? A. No. The 25,905 seok is the amount of grain used for regional famine relief given in the Korean translation of the 1795 entry on the completion of relief efforts. The 1796 entry does not give a figure for Kim Man-deok's personal donation. Q. Did Kim Man-deok donate all her wealth? A. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture says she used all her wealth for famine relief. The 1796 entry in the Annals of King Jeongjo reports that she used her wealth to save residents. However, it gives no figures from which to calculate the amount she donated or the proportion of her wealth it represented. Q. What reward did Jeongjo grant her? A. The Annals of King Jeongjo says Man-deok declined a reward and asked to visit the capital and tour Mount Geumgang. Jeongjo granted her request. He instructed the towns along her route to provide her with provisions. Q. Did she actually tour Mount Geumgang? A. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture says she visited the capital in 1796 and toured Mount Geumgang the following year. It states that she later returned to Jeju. The entry in the Annals granting permission should be distinguished from the account of her actual travels. Q. Is there a record of Kim Man-deok telling Jeongjo her wishes directly? A. The 1796 entry in the Annals conveys Man-deok's wishes through a report from the governor of Jeju. It is not a record of a direct conversation between the king and Man-deok. Dialogue that does not appear in the entry should not be invented and quoted. Q. Was all the famine relief grain provided free of charge? A. The 1795 entry discusses both grain provided free of charge and how to handle grain that had to be repaid. Jeongjo reaffirmed the cancellation of repayment specifically for grain provided by Jeongniso. Not all the grain should be treated as having been provided on the same terms. Q. Which parts of Kim Man-deok's life remain debated? A. How she amassed her wealth and how her social status changed remain subjects of research. Yang Jeong-pil's 2017 paper reexamined the prevailing view that she became a wealthy merchant through trade. The alternative proposed in the paper is also a hypothesis limited by a lack of direct historical sources. Sources - National Institute of Korean History, Annals of King Jeongjo, Volume 42, May 11, 19th year of King Jeongjo's reign, Relief work in Jeju concludes: https://sillok.history.go.kr/id/kva_11905011_001 - National Institute of Korean History, Annals of King Jeongjo, Volume 45, November 25, 20th year of King Jeongjo's reign, A report is received that Mandeok, a gisaeng from Jeju, saved starving people: https://sillok.history.go.kr/id/kva_12011025_001 - Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, Kim Mandeok, last updated September 23, 2024: https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0076304 - Yang Jeong-pil, A Reexamination of Kim Mandeok's Economic Activities in the Late 18th Century, Historical Studies, No. 125, 2017, pp. 229-270, KCI abstract: https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART002210897 - Jeju Tourism Organization Visit Jeju, Kim Mandeok Memorial Hall: https://visitjeju.net/kr/detail/view?contentsid=CNTS_000000000018332&menuId=DOM_000001718000000000 Images - Workers carry grain sacks from a boat to a storehouse at a stone-walled Jeju harbor.: https://injoys.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6MjMwODgsInB1ciI6ImJsb2JfaWQifX0=--02309c5041d3e258dd53057b6d3596b189508ee2/ai-8865b16e.webp - A traveler receives provisions beside a storehouse as others walk toward misty mountains.: https://injoys.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6MjMwOTQsInB1ciI6ImJsb2JfaWQifX0=--d1c452087a8c7b2833772c9de1343fd6d41771ef/ai-f000db90.webp --- Category: Case Study Source: https://injoys.com/en/articles/kim-mandeok-1795-jeju-famine-relief-records License: cc_by Translation-Status: reviewed