Non Gae

Who was Non Gae?

Nongae was a gisaeng of Jinju in the late 16th century. She was born in Jangsu, Jeolla province.

Born in 1574 to Ju Dal-moon and Mil Yang-bak, she was the late child to the couple whose son died at a young age of fifteen. When she was just 4, her father died and her extended family plotted to take her, wanting to make her the wife of a male heir. Her mother soon found out and stole her away but was caught and jailed. Her trial was overseen by province official Cho Kyong Hwe who ruled on behalf of her innocence but Nongae, seeing that she had no place to go and no family to trust, at the age of 17 became his concubine and lived in his house.

In 1593, the Japanese were finally successful in their invasion of Suyeong fortress after the failure of their first that launched the Japanese invasion of Korea. To celebrate the victory, soldiers forced all kisaengs, female entertainers, to join them at the Chokseongnu Pavilion on a cliff which overlooked the Nam River. Nongae was called to entertain the victorious Japanese generals alongside other kisaengs. She led the general, Keyamura Rokusuke to the cliff where she embraced him, held fast her fingers with rings that locked her around him and cast herself along with the general into the river, killing them both.