Musuri

Musuri is a Korean term referring to female slaves in charge of odd chores in the court during the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasty of Korea. Their main tasks were miscellaneous works such as drawing water from a well, making a fire in the fireplace or cleaning.

==Etymology== Every palace had wells, and drawing water and delivering it as needed were an important part of a tomusuri's duty. For this reason, musuri were also called susa (水賜, literally "giving water") or susai (水賜伊, a female in charge of giving water) and their residence was called a susagan (水賜間, a place for those drawing water). On the other hand, male slaves were called paji (巴只). Although the terms, susai and paji do not appear in Goryeosa, a book compiled about the "History of Goryeo", the Annals of King Taejong (Taejong sillok) mention the class. From this record the Joseon royal court followed the system of the former state; Goryeo, young boys designated as male slaves were called paji, in charge of cleaning in the court, while female slaves were called susai. The record indicates that the system of susai and paji existed since the Goryeo Dynasty.