Yeolnyeo

[3] The 1485 revision of Gyeongguk Daejeon, a Joseon code of law included a "prohibition of remarriage of widows",[4][5] and specified penalties for widows who remarried, prohibiting the sons and grandsons of such a marriage from participating in the civil service exams, effectively banning them from holding public or governmental posts.

The saying 'A loyal subject does not serve two kings and a virtuous woman does not serve two husbands' dates back to at least China's Warring States Period (c 475-221 BC),[6] and is interpreted to mean that a virtuous woman maintained her chastity not only during her marriage, but after the death of her husband.

[6] A woman's chastity and loyalty to her spouse were considered so important that the government gave awards called yeolnyeo to those who led an exemplary life by remaining loyal to their late husbands.

Originally intended to set a good example, the award created a situation which got worse in late Joseon, where widows would kill themselves in order to be acknowledged as 'virtuous women', a title that brought honour to both sides of the family.

It reached a point where a betrothed woman would commit suicide if her husband-to-be died before the wedding ceremony.