Black Corporation: Joseon

The scale of the event had become larger than expected, which made Hyang swear, but he had to accept the reality.

Reviving memories of the lessons and assignments from the 21st century, Hyang stared at the papers with the things he thought were important and soon nodded his head.

“Great! Now, let me show the people the taste of… no, capitalism and modern administrative organization!”

The next day, as soon as the sun rose, Hyang moved busily. He went to the Painting Bureau to order the production of hanging banner, and to the Military Arsenal to order the production of loudspeakers. The blueprint presented by Hyang made the head blacksmith scratch his head.

“It looks just like a funnel.”

“It’s similar. Will it take a long time to complete?”

“I’ll have it ready by evening.”

“Thank you.”

After completing the physical preparations for the presentation, Hyang diligently searched through classics and Western books.

“To reshape the systems of the 21st century into the 14th and 15th-century Eastern and Western world, and launder the origin through the classics of Confucianism…”

As he was organizing how to structure the presentation, Hyang circled the word ‘small government.

“If there’s a Q&A session, controversy will arise here, and if there’s no Q&A, this is the part where they will bombard with memorials. To be honest…” Hyang trailed off, leaning against the chair back and stretching. “Ugh!”

“Your Highness! What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

After inadvertently letting out a strange sound while stretching, Hyang sent the frightened inner servants away and muttered under his breath, “Damn! Being a prince is great on everything else, but this is the problem. There’s no privacy, no privacy…”

Grumbling, Hyang tapped the circled ‘small government’ with his finger and continued speaking, “In the 21st century, the so-called classic ‘small government’ would be seen as a ‘terrifyingly large government’ by these nobles.”

As Hyang pondered while tapping the problematic word with his finger, he made a decision. “I have no choice but to point out this issue and move on. Otherwise, nothing will change, and it will go back to the messed-up Joseon I knew.” With determination, Hyang began organizing the structure. “Let’s put off the military-related issues for now. It’s certain that if I talk about it all at once, it’ll be buried…”

As he put off the military issue, Hyang looked at the map hanging in the study. “Anyway, there’s going to be a huge event next year…”

◈◈◈

Five days later, the officials from the Six Ministries rushed in and delivered King Sejong’s order.

“Everyone above the rank of Senior Councilor (3rd rank) must attend?”

“Yes.”

“Huh~. Just…” the Chief State Councilor barely held back the words ‘just a nine-year-old’ and nodded, “I see. Let’s do that.”

“His Majesty also said that since it seems to take quite a long time, everyone except the Senior Councilors should bring their own chairs.”

“Bring our own chairs?”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

As the inner servant who had received the order withdrew, the Chief State Councilor clicked his tongue in annoyance, “Tsk! What is the world coming to?” and bit his tongue.

Nevertheless, His Majesty’s command was still the royal command. It was a command that could only be issued in such a situation, and it was understandable.

Chairs were provided in the side chamber to prepare for lengthy discussions with the king. However, the number of chairs was only enough for the high-ranking officials. As a result, the lower-ranking officials had to bring their own chairs. But that was not the reason the Chief State Councilor Minister bit his tongue.

“What on earth is he trying to do with a nine-year-old… Instead of making the child do it, the king should do it himself… Ah!” abruptly halting his words, as the royal secretaries were busy delivering King Sejong’s orders along the corridor of the government office building. It wasn’t good for him if the secretaries to hear such words.

◈◈◈

Gyeongbokgung Palace

In accordance with King Sejong’s summon, officials of the rank of councilor and above gathered at the main audience hall.

“Oh, Brother Cha! Long time no see!”

“Brother Park, isn’t it? It’s been a while! When did you come back from the provinces?”

Although they passed the state examination at the same time, they worked in different government offices or were dispatched to local administrations, so their meetings were infrequent. They greeted each other warmly and asked about each other’s well-being.

On the other hand, those who had been working continuously in the six ministries and had built close relationships sat quietly in their chairs, sharing stories.

“Is it the Crown Prince’s policy announcement?”

“Yes, it is. What a waste of time…”

“Shh! There are many people listening.”

“Let them listen. Eight or nine out of ten here probably share the same opinion as me.”

“Shh! Quiet!”

“Hmm! Ahem! Cough!” As the person next to him continued to warn, the official who made the problematic remark expressed his discomfort with a series of fake coughs.

A moment later, an announcement signaled King Sejong’s entrance.

“His Majesty the King~. Entering~.”

At the shout of the announcer, all the seated officials stood up and bowed their heads. Receiving the respect of the officials, King Sejong entered and sat on the throne on the dais[1].

“Everyone, please be seated.”

“We shall receive your command.”

All the officials sat down and looked at King Sejong.

“You all know that the Crown Prince has put forth many opinions. You should also be aware of their originality and outstanding effectiveness. However, these opinions are like branches that extend from a single root. It goes without saying that without knowing the root, one cannot make proper judgments. Therefore, I have instructed the Crown Prince to present his policy ideas today. The reason I ordered your attendance is that the Crown Prince is still young. While his exceptional abilities are well-known, he is still young and could be led astray. Thus, I ask all of you gathered here to listen carefully and guide him so that he does not go down the wrong path.”

“We shall receive your command.”

At King Sejong’s words, all the officials bowed their heads and responded in unison. A moment later, the Crown Prince entered the hall. The royal secretaries accompanying him hung the scroll on a temporary stand and fixed the microphone to a metal rod. Once all the preparations were complete and the Crown Prince ascended the platform, he deeply bowed to King Sejong, who was sitting on the throne.

“Father, it is a great honor to have this opportunity granted with your grace.”

“Yes, do your best.”

“Yes.”

King Sejong’s words made Hyang nod once more, and he rose to his feet to look at the gathered officials in Geunjeongjeon Hall.

After taking a light breath, Hyang bowed slightly and brought his mouth close to the microphone. “Thanks to His Majesty for giving me this golden opportunity, I have had the chance to meet many distinguished officials. Nice to meet you all.”

“We greet the Crown Prince!”

After exchanging greetings with the officials, Hyang finally began the announcement.

“Firstly, to state my conclusion, my opinion is ‘Hongik Ingan’ (benefiting all mankind)’. Yes, as you all may know, this was the national policy established by Hwanwoong when founding the old Joseon. And this ‘Hongik Ingan’ is also connected to the ‘Way of King’ and ‘Minbon (People’s Foundation)’ that the sages advocated.”

Upon hearing Hyang’s words, the officials from the Office of Censors and the Ministry of Personnel, led by the Chief State Councilor, nodded their heads with an uncomfortable expression. The beginning did not have much to criticize.

However, the smooth beginning soon led to a series of radical proposals.

– To embody ‘Hongik Ingan’ and ‘Way of King,’ first and foremost, the people’s peace and stability must be achieved. For the people to be at peace, their ‘permanent livelihood’ must be secured.

– However, the situation in our Joseon is characterized by a scarcity of flatlands, rugged mountains, and people living overcrowded in small plains. Therefore, securing the people’s livelihood is not easy.

– To solve this, we must not only consider agriculture as a means of livelihood but also allow commerce and industry to become tools for a stable livelihood. If commerce and industry flourish, and we can obtain what is lacking in our Joseon from outside, the people’s poverty can be alleviated.

– To achieve this, the current system must be radically changed. Not just the simple Six Ministries system, but dividing the government into three main branches—legislative, judicial, and executive—and establishing necessary offices and positions under them to ensure expertise.

– The system of local administrators also needs reform. Imposing judicial, administrative, tax, and military duties on a single magistrate is too burdensome; these duties should be divided and delegated to multiple officials.

– The ‘village official’ system must also be abolished. Unpaid village officials are bound to become corrupt. Thus, the village official system must be abolished and salaried officials should take over their duties.

– To aid the impoverished people, the court must take active measures. To achieve this, the ‘Three Taxes’[2] system must be reformed.

(Abridged)

– To carry out all these reforms, the court’s finances must be strong and robust. To secure finances, not only should taxes be reformed, but gold and silver mines should also be developed and invested in.

– The first step in tax reform is to unify the tax system. Currently, in addition to the basic land tax, our Joseon has numerous miscellaneous taxes which can easily lead to corruption.

– Unifying the tax system is as important as fair taxation. The prerequisite for this is the simultaneous reform of the land and tax systems, which is the best policy.

– In reforming the land system, the most basic principle is to remember that the land of Joseon belongs to the monarch. Moreover, the principle of “land to the tiller” should not be forgotten. However, if this is impossible, reforming the tax system is the best option.

– In reforming the tax system, the most important thing is the fairness of taxation. Fair taxation means that those who earn more should pay more, and those who earn less should pay less. Therefore, a progressive tax rate should be applied.

(Abridged)

– Through the expanded administrative organization, the government should actively engage in poverty relief, based on the finances secured through tax reform and industrial promotion. This poverty relief should not be simple relief but should give hope to the poor that they can escape poverty.

– In order to escape poverty, the people must have ambition. To encourage this, the government should provide various conveniences to the people to actively participate. As the most basic policy for providing such conveniences, the government should educate all people to have at least a minimum level of education.

– In this educational process, it is most important to assure that there is no distinction between the social classes of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Without distinction among the social classes, people will develop their innate talents, and this will transform our Joseon into a prosperous nation.

(Abridged)

As the presentation continued, they took a break for about an hour. During the break, King Sejong had a meal with Hwang.

“How amazing! How did you come up with all these ideas?”

In response to King Sejong’s question, Hwang replied with a calm expression, “I studied the classics of the ancient sages, history books, and the writings of the scholars.”

“Really? I can see how much effort you put into this.”

“His Majesty has given me too much praise.”

King Sejong continued to praise Hwang’s humility. “To be honest, many of your ideas were things I had never thought of before. Since the founding of our Joseon, many systems have been established, but more often than not, we have simply followed the traditions handed down from the past. In a positive light, this can be seen as preserving good customs, but in a negative light, it can be seen as complacency.”

“If all of those systems and laws were good customs, there would have been no reason for the previous dynasties to collapse and new ones to rise.”

King Sejong sighed heavily at Hwang’s cold response, “Sigh~ That’s true.”

After finishing his meal, Hwang earnestly advised King Sejong, “Your Majesty. The scriptures our scholars believe in say, ‘Put new wine into new wineskins.[3]‘ It has been 30 years since the fall of the Goryeo dynasty and the rise of our Joseon. One could say it’s been a long time or a short time. However, since the people’s poverty remains unchanged, reform is absolutely necessary. Sambong [4]proposed reforms, but his reforms were only for the few. We need reforms for the greatest happiness of the majority.”

At Hyang’s words, Sejong slapped his knee in admiration. “Your words are indeed correct!”

The official who had been recording beside the two men wrote the following at the end:

The prince’s words are radical and aggressive. However, the phrase ‘the greatest happiness of the majority’ should not be taken lightly. Isn’t ‘the greatest happiness of majority’ the crystallization of the royal politics that the ancient sages advocated and the aristocrats dreamed of?

Footnotes

[1] Platform.

[2] Implemented during King Taejong’s reign, ‘Three Taxes’ system was implemented which required peasants to pay a combination of taxes, including a land tax (租), a military service tax (庸), and a corvée labor tax (調). Under the system, each household was required to pay taxes based on the size of their land and the number of people in their household. In addition to paying taxes, peasants were also required to provide labor for government projects and military service when necessary. This taxation system aimed to provide revenue and a military force for the government but put a burden on rural populations who struggled to pay taxes and provide labor.

[3] “새 포도주는 새 가죽 부대에 담아라” (Sae podoju-neun sae gajuk budae-e dama-ra): This phrase is a proverb that means one should adapt to new situations or changes with new and appropriate methods or tools.

[4] Refer earlier chapters.