Han Hui-sun

Han Hui-sun (hangul: 한희순, hanja: 韓熙順; 1889 to January 5, 1972) was the last kitchen court lady in the Joseon Dynasty. She played an important role in reviving Korean royal court cuisine, which had been dying out and which she also modernized. She was designated as Important Intangible Cultural Asset No.38: Korean Royal Court Cuisine First Artisan by the government of Korea in 1971.

Life

Han Hui-sun was born in Seoul in 1889 (also referred to as the 26th year of Gojong of the Korean Empire). She became Gungnyeo of Deoksugung kitchen at the age of 13. After that, she held positions at the palaces Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, and as a kitchen court lady, she was in charge of cuisine of Gojong and Sunjong. She held that position until 1965, serving Sunjong's Empress Sunjeong.

In 1957, she published the House of Yi Court Cuisine Notice (hangul: 이조궁정요리통고, hanja: 李朝宮廷料理通攷, romanization: Ijo gungjeongyori tonggo), a joint work written with Hwang Hye-seong. She gave lectures for teaching how to cook at Sookmyung Women's University from 1955 to 1967. Hwang Hye-seong and Yeom Cho-ae were her disciples.

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