This paper examines the genre of fisherman painting of the Chos?n dynasty. The fisherman paintings originated in China where a fisherman represented a scholar in reclusion, living in harmony with nature and isolated from a complicated society. From the beginning, the Chinese developed this subject in two different modes: a fisherman symbolizing a scholar in reclusion and a genuine fisherman in everyday life.*br* To understand the development and importance of this subject in the Chos?n dynasty, one must explore Chinese literary and artistic works on the fisherman. There are two major types of reclusive scholars embodied as fishermen. First, Jiang Taigong 姜太公, who, while cultivating his mind through fishing. encountered King Wen of Zhou Dynasty (770~221 B.C.) and helped him pacify the world. Second, fishermen in the writings of Zhang Zhi 莊子 and a story of Yuan Kuang 嚴光 recorded in the Annals of the Late Han Dynasty are examples of scholars living in harmony with nature but completely isolated from a society. Whereas the literary scholars chose to depict the lifestyle of reclusive scholars as fishermen in writing. Chinese artists transformed the literary figures on the canvas.*br* These stories and paintings greatly influenced the development of fisherman paintings in the Chos?n dynasty. In the early period of the Chos?n dynasty, literati gentlemen not only wrote about the subject matter of fisherman but also genuinely practiced the philosophy of a recluse who retired from politics. But only a few literati painters existed in the early to mid-Chos?n dynasty, due to the predominant trend that cautioned against literati participating in painting activities, and in the latter part of the Chos?n dynasty the number increased in a modest scale. This phenomenon was due to the expansion of literati culture. primarily influenced by the literati-style painting of the Southern School of China. The newly expanded literary culture identified the fisherman paintings with the personal feeling of the middle class. As a result. the iconography and symbolism of fisherman painting continued throughout the latter part of the Chos?n dynasty.*br* This paper classifies the fisherman painting of the Chos?n dynasty into four categories on the basis of the types of the fisherman's action. The first category is a reclusive fisherman sitting by a riverbank. The second category is a fisherman on a boat enjoying elegant scenery that coincides with the philosopher's poetic sentiment. This type was painted continually throughout the Chos?n dynasty. In the mid-Chos?n dynasty, following both internal strife and foreign invasions, a third category emerged, a fisherman wearing shabby clothes returning from a fishing trip. Although it reflected the society's chaotic condition following political upheaval, this new type exemplified yearning for simplicity and peace. The fourth category, also introduced in the mid-Chos?n dynasty, depicts a fisherman conversing with a woodsman. It shows a fisherman and a woodsman discussing the political realities through satire.*br* Although it had many similarities with its Chinese examples, the fisherman painting of the Chos?n dynasty differed from the Chinese ones in many ways. The Chinese examples impressed the viewer with a gigantic nature scene in the background. which emphasizes the importance of nature in relation to humans. In the Chos?n works, more attention is directed to a fisherman due to a smaller scale of the nature in the background. This accentuated the image of a fisherman standing aloof from the society. In short, the fisherman painting of the Chos?n dynasty differed from Chinese examples in composition style and brushwork and reflected the literati culture of the Chosen dynasty. Thus it reveals the social and political consciousness of the literati gentlemen. A drawback for this was that the genuine lifestyle of fisherman was not depicted properly, unlike the Chinese examples.