In the late fifteenth century, King Sŏngjong's (r. 1469–94; 成宗) interest for hunting worried officials at the Korean court over questions of morality, conservation and safety. On one occasion in the second lunar month of 1472, he donned a military uniform and travelled to T’owŏn, roughly fifteen kilometres (10 mi.) northeast of the palace to meet the Three Great Queens – the grandmother of King Sŏngjong, Queen Chŏnghŭi wanghu (1418–83; 貞熹王后); the mother of King Sŏngjong, Queen Dowager Insu Sohye wanghu (1437–1504; 昭惠王后); and the wife of the former king, Queen Ansu wanghu (1445–99; 安順王后). While travelling, the king encountered an old man by the side of the road who had a quail hanging from his clothes. The king was so impressed by this sign of the man's skills that he bestowed on him a new set of clothes. The king and the queens subsequently proceeded to Somangol mountain pass, where King Sŏngjong and Queen Dowager Insu participated in a ring hunt, a type of group chase where soldiers and other ‘beaters’ encircled an area, beat gongs, and generated other noises as they walked inward to flush out game for the hunting party to catch on the other side. It was a particularly bountiful day as the group killed eight deer as well as fox and hare. The king and Queen Dowager Insu also observed falconry. The commander of the inner palace guards, Ch’oe Han’mang (?–?; 崔漢望), shot one deer with an arrow and presented it to the king, who rewarded him with a bow. The king told him, ‘The ring hunt today was for the Queen Dowager [Insu]. I will offer her this freshly killed game. I am very happy that you were able to kill some deer.’

I begin with this expedition, one of many recorded in the various sources, to demonstrate some of the political and social meanings of the hunt. By the late fifteenth century, hunting was an activity that cut across social status and reinforced social hierarchies, as kings and commoners, such as the elderly quail hunter, travelled to the mountains in search of game.