중학교 영어 3 (동아출판 윤정미) 연계 글

Kim Hong-do was a Joseon painter who is famous for his pictures of ordinary people. He was born in 1745 and is often called by his pen name, Danwon. One of his best-known works is Ssireum, which belongs to an album of twenty-five paintings at the National Museum of Korea. The Korean government has named this album a Treasure.

The painting is small, only about 27 centimeters tall, yet it feels lively. The watchers sit in two groups, one at the top and one at the bottom, and form a circle. In the open center, two wrestlers grab hold of each other. Because the crowd forms a ring, it is natural for our eyes to go to the middle.

I looked at the wrestlers first. Their clothes are made of plain cotton, and rough, simple lines match the feel of the cloth. Neither man seems ready to give up, so I cannot tell who will win. If I could hear the crowd, I would probably hear shouts for both of them.

Next, I studied the watchers. Like many people in Kim's other paintings, they have round, wide faces and round eyes. With a few simple strokes, it was possible for the painter to give each face a lively expression. The watchers keep their eyes fixed on the two men, and the air feels tense. If I were sitting among them, I would lean forward and hold my breath, too.

Only one person near the wrestlers is not watching. A young seller of yeot, a Korean sweet, stands on the left, facing away from them. Because this figure looks so calm, it is easier for me to notice how excited everyone else is. The seller also helps to close the circle on the left side. On the right side, shoes that someone has taken off make the empty space smaller. If I were that seller, I would stop selling for a while and turn around.

At first, I thought Ssireum showed only a wrestling match. Now I see a small piece of a day in Joseon: an excited crowd, a calm seller, and two wrestlers. If there were no paintings like this, it would be hard for us to imagine how ordinary people spent their days.