Nanseolheon Cup

The Nanseolheon Cup is a tournament for female Korean professionals.

Table of contents Name Tournament summary Winners and Runners-up Links Pictures

Name

It is named after Lady Heo Nanseolheon (허난설헌, 1563–1589), the pen name of Heo Cho-hee (허초희), a famous female poet, painter, writer, and court lady of mid-Joseon dynasty. The pen name Nanseolheon means “Orchid snow pavilion”, evoking notions of beauty, grace, purity, and dignified status.

Nanseolheon died tragically young, aged only 27, either by disease or suicide, after losing her two young children and suffering a miscarriage, as well as an abusive mother-in-law and a philandering husband she had been forced to marry when she was 15. But in her short life, she was prolific, starting as a prodigy poet aged 8, and admired even in China and Japan. She might have risen even further apart from anti-female discrimination. According to her wishes, most of her work was burned after her death, so only only 213 of her works survive today.

Tournament summary

Some of Nanseolheon’s poems were about Baduk, so this tournament was founded to commemorate her. It is played in her hometown, Gangneung, Gangwon Province. Because she lived so long ago, the players all dress in the traditional Korean dress (hanbok).

In the first and second editions, the winner received 15 million won (US$11,000) and the runner-up 7 million won (US$5,000). In the third edition, the winner received 20 million won (US$15,000) and the runner-up 8 million won (US$6,000).

The 4th edition has 50 million won (US$37,000) for the winner and 20 million won (US$15,000) for the runner-up, the highest for a Korean women’s tournament. The quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals of the professional division were moved to the Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon Memorial Hall.

The time limit is 20 minutes for each player and 20 seconds of additional time are given in the time accumulation method (Fischer timing).

Winners and Runners-up

Cho Seunga was promoted a rank to 5p for winning the 1st edition. Kim Eunji was promoted a rank each time by winning the 2nd and 3rd editions, to 5p and 8p respectively.

In the 4th edition, the field was expanded to 16. For the first time, Choi Jung 9p participated, but she lost in the semifinal to Heo Suhhyun 4p. Kim Eunji 9p beat the first winner Cho Seunga in the other semifinal. For the first time, the finals were best-of-3. Kim Eunji 9p beat Heo Suhhyun 2–0, to win the title for the third time in a row.

Links

• Nanseolheon Cup National Women's Baduk Tournament, NamuWiki

Pictures

Commemorative photo of runner-up Heo Suhhyun 4p & winner Kim Eunji 9p (right), in front of Heo Nanseolheon statue. (Image credit: m.baduk.or.kr)