Choyong's distinctive features are portrayed in this ancient mask.

Choyong seemed at times to be desperately lonesome.  His loneliness seemed even more pronounced than when he had lived by himself.  Why he felt so unhappy, even in the middle of sweet and sweaty cuddles, he himself did not know.  But witnesses recount that even in the middle of a presumably happy married life, he lapsed occasionally into solitary brooding or wandered aimlessly through the streets.  On such occasions, quite a few overheard him muttering to himself.  His comments were largely unintelligible, but some claimed to have overheard him asking himself, “What is love? What is family?”

The five Ch'oyong dancers perform before the governor of Pyongan during the Yi dynasty, as portrayed in this eighteenth-century Korean painting.

We do not know whether Choyong’s rather peculiar behavior had anything to do with his subsequent marital trouble. Nor do we know exactly when the couple’s conjugal relationship began to sour.  But it began to be rumored that Choyong’s married life was in deep trouble because of a third party.  His wife had taken a lover.

Some claim that Choyong’s wife was continuing an illicit relationship established before her marriage (not an uncommon practice at that time); others say that she took a new lover after the marriage.  Nevertheless, Choyong was visibly pained.  His agony was sometimes unbearable to those who were near him.  This noble and powerful man was suffering from profound inner conflicts.