Episode 358: People are the problem. In many ways. (4)
When it was decided to educate Japanese students studying abroad and use them as apprentices, King Sejong, who was observing the situation, proposed an unconventional plan.
“How about hiring women as officials?”
At Sejong’s suggestion, I thought, ‘Isn’t it possible to change jobs?’ asked Sejong with an expression like this.
“Are you talking about formal management, not teachers?”
“exactly.”
The faces of the ministers turned white at King Sejong’s answer.
Compared to the late middle Joseon Dynasty, it was the early Joseon Dynasty when women’s power was guaranteed both absolutely and relatively strong. However, it was inferior to Goryeo, its immediate predecessor, and was extremely weak compared to the Three Kingdoms period.
Therefore, the ministers immediately expressed negative opinions.
“The women have little knowledge….”
“Those women with little knowledge are teaching children at the social democratic academy.”
“Women are naturally small people, so wouldn’t the distribution be too small to discuss state affairs?”
“There are strong pros and cons, but there is also Wu Zetian, who led the country during a period called ‘the reign of Wu Zhou.’”
“Wu Zetian is a bit….”
“Good. Assuming that Wu Zetian was severe, think about this for a moment. No matter how good the seeds are, if the field is bad, good crops will not come out. “Will a talented person be born if the mother’s natural grace is bad?”
“That’s true, but…”
“Half of the world is made up of women, so do you think it’s reasonable for talented people to come only from men?”
“….”
Since King Sejong’s words were reasonable, the ministers raised a counterargument in a different direction.
“Even now, government officials are working overtime and overnight as if they were eating a meal. “No family head would like to see his wife or daughter wandering the streets late at night or spending the night in a foreign house.”
“Even now, there are women wandering the streets of Hanseong at night. “And legally.”
“….”
The ministers had to keep quiet at King Sejong’s point.
* * *
Joseon established a night-time curfew by law.
In the Annals of May, the first year of King Taejong’s reign, there was the following record.
-Anyone who violates the law after the 3rd hour of the first watch and before the 3rd time of the 5th watch will be arrested.
Simply put, traffic was blocked from 8 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.
However, because this was causing enormous damage to the lives of the people, the time corresponding to the curfew gradually decreased.
In history before the intervention of the county, during the reign of King Sejo, the night curfew was relaxed from the 2nd to the 4th watch – 10 PM to 3 am – and in Gyeonggukdaejeon, it was confirmed to be after the 2nd and before the 5th watch.
What is interesting is that those subject to this nighttime curfew are limited to men – a staggered curfew system.
Joseon, which made Neo-Confucianism its national policy, applied strict internal and external laws.
According to the internal and external laws, women of the noble and merchant class could stay at home during the day and go out only at night, and men could not leave the house at night. (Note 1) That is why the ministers remained silent
at the words of King Sejong. .
* * *
Sejong, who refuted the ministers’ objections, waved the bait.
“And let’s think about it the other way around. Isn’t it because there aren’t enough people that officials now work overtime and overnight? But if enough people are deployed, won’t there be no need to work overtime or overtime? Then wouldn’t women have to work late or stay up all night in a foreign house?”
“That’s true, but…”
Sejong’s words were logically pushed aside, but the ministers continued to argue against it.
“Your Majesty’s intentions are high and beautiful, but the backlash will be severe.”
King Sejong snorted at Maeng Sa-seong’s point.
“joy! If you don’t want to see women using their courage, don’t sit at home and say things like Confucius and Mencius, but look at the past! Even though I’m stuck in the room with a butt that’s heavier than the butt of the stone Buddha sitting in that mountain temple! We’re in a situation where we can’t work properly right now because we don’t have anyone, so what kind of nonsense are you talking about? Don’t you know very well what the current situation is like in the government? Now that I think about it, I feel like I want to drag the worshipers (a low-level term for Buddha) from that temple to use the fire. However, I am holding back in case someone like Shindon, a famous monk from the end of King Jeonjo’s reign, emerges!”
King Sejong’s last words were a strong warning.
‘Shall we make way for the woman? Or should we give power back to the middle class? ‘Choose.’
In the end, the ministers had to make a choice.
“I will devise a way to honor Your Majesty’s will.”
“I look forward to it. Now is an important time to prepare for 10 years from now. Even though it wasn’t voluntary, it has come to this, so think of it as taking a breather. “Just like taking a quick breath, don’t forget that you must strengthen your internal stability and move further ahead in 10 years.”
The ministers responded to King Sejong’s request by bowing their heads.
“I will keep this in mind.”
The officer who recorded all of this added:
-… So, when the Prime Minister requested this, the ministers responded that they would keep it in mind.
The officer says:
It is true that there are currently not enough people to work in this coordination. However, appointing women to public positions requires careful consideration before deciding whether or not to do so.
The reason why things have come to this, as you said, is because of people sitting in their rooms wasting their time.
If you have that much insight, it would be natural for you to go to work, but these are the little people in the world who stay in their rooms and only move their mouths.
Put everything in the record office right now….
“What is it that officers write down so diligently? “I mean, I finished it a while ago, right?”
The officer who had been writing a piece criticizing the ‘noblemen who lock themselves in their rooms and talk only about words’ immediately bowed his head at King Sejong’s words.
“I apologize.”
“The job of a magistrate is to record the affairs of the government, not to record private feelings. It seems like officers are relaxed these days. “It wouldn’t be a bad idea to adjust staffing.”
“Please have mercy!”
The officer, who was in tears at King Sejong’s words, immediately bowed his head.
Seeing this, other officers diligently made fun of Geumpil.
– So, when the superior mentioned personnel adjustments, the officer who was involved quickly begged for forgiveness.
The officer says:
It is unkind to be intimidated by someone’s weaknesses.
How can you do something like a small person….
“Are you doing something different now? I guess we need to adjust the number of people…”
“Please save me!”
The two officers, who were in tears, had to keep bowing their heads.
Hyang, who was watching the scene from the side, smiled bitterly and muttered to herself.
‘It would be difficult for Abama to hear good things from the officers. Even if you do cross-verification, you will only get bad reviews.’
* * *
During the Joseon Dynasty, when the king and ministers discussed state affairs, two officers were always present.
This was partly to prevent records from being interrupted due to toilet problems or other urgent situations, but also to prevent malicious manipulation.
Since two officers recorded the same incident, it was intended to be cross-verified when writing the annals later.
* * *
With that, the blue meeting ended and the ministers and Hyang who were in Geunjeongjeon came out.
Hyang, who was heading to Donggungjeon, stopped and looked at Geunjeongjeon.
“Given the advancement of women, how are you going to solve the issues of childcare leave and career breaks?”
Hyang, who was worried about the solution to an issue that was an important controversy even in the 21st century, burst into laughter.
“Heh! Oh my…”
‘I forgot! What kind of nobleman is that person?…’
It was King Sejong who first institutionalized guaranteeing maternity leave for government officials and childcare leave for their husbands.
Hyang, who was laughing and turning around, suddenly turned around and looked at Geunjeongjeon again.
“Is there something strange?”
“Lowering?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Let’s go.”
The smile on Hyang’s face had disappeared as he quickly waved his hand and turned around at the words spoken by the eunuch who was serving him.
‘Why? Did you open your doors to women? why? If you were so seriously worried about the lack of talent, wouldn’t it have been easier to abolish slave labor? Wouldn’t there have been less resistance than opening it up to women? why?’
I tilted my head with a sudden curiosity and headed toward the East Palace.
* * *
The next day, Lee Jik visited Maeng Sa-seong’s house.
Because it was an official holiday stipulated by law, Ijik’s face was filled with a relaxed look that I haven’t seen in a long time.
Maeng Sa-seong, who heard of Lee Jik’s visit, came out to the yard and welcomed him.
“How could you come to such a shabby place on this thousand-dollar holiday?”
“Because I was at home, they seemed to want me to pay for medicine…”
Maeng Sa-seong burst out laughing at Lee Jik’s prank.
“Ha ha ha ha ha! I hope you still like Geumseul! Eat it!”
As soon as we settled down in the sarangbang, a main meal with simple mountain vegetables was brought in.
“It’s been a while since we last had a chat about hand-to-hand Go.”
“That’s good!”
Maeng Sa-seong was pleased with Lee Jik’s words and brought the checkerboard that had been left in one corner of the room.
The two shared a drink and played a game of baduk.
While carefully putting down the game of baduk, Lee Jik spoke to Maeng Sa-seong.
“What do you think?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your Majesty the Lord’s intention is to open the doors of employment to even women.”
“Hmm…”
Hearing Lee Jik’s words, Maeng Sa-seong put down the game of baduk and crossed his arms, lost in thought. As Maeng Sa-seong was lost in thought, Lee Jik continued.
“Your Majesty the Lord must have expected that those noisy bastards would not stay still. “Isn’t that right?”
“Except he probably did.”
“No matter how much the number has decreased significantly due to the unspeakable events that occurred in the year of Giyu, there are still those who make noise. “I don’t know why you created something for these guys to talk about.”
Perhaps frustrated, Lee Jik filled the glass next to him and emptied it in one go before continuing his conversation.
“There was an easier way. “It is the abolition of slaves.”
Maeng Sa-seong nodded silently at Lee Jik’s words.
Maeng Sa-seong did not open his mouth after that. After pondering for a while, Maeng Sa-seong slowly opened his mouth.
“Captain. Do you know the current situation of slaves in Joseon?”
“I know roughly. “It has been decreasing since slaves were treated as property and taxed.”
“That is the case for private slaves, and public slave labor is not decreasing much. To be precise, the number of those who had previously been government slaves has decreased, but the number of those who have newly become government slaves has increased dramatically.”
After hearing Maeng Sa-seong’s words, Lee Jik’s eyes widened as he searched for memories for a moment.
“no way! “Giyu-nyeon’s?”
Maeng Sa-seong nodded at Lee Jik’s words.
“Those involved in the rebellion of Giyu-nyeon. As long as they are alive and exist, His Majesty the Lord will never mention the destruction of slaves.”
Ijik looked bitter at Maeng Sa-seong’s assertion.
“I guess so.”
Looking at Lee Jik’s expression, Maeng Sa-seong continued speaking.
“I still remember what the late King said to His Majesty the Lord. ‘Chungnyeong may seem weak, but when it comes to making decisions, she is more decisive than anyone else.’ Looking at the way His Majesty the Lord thinks about the Jongmyo Shrine and the people, it would not be lacking to be recorded as a Holy Prince rather than a Hyeongun. But there is something we must not forget.”
“You are a despot and a dictator.”
“That’s right. Considering the cases of former Vice Admiral Ryu Jeong-hyeon and other admirals, this is certain. As long as there are still entities that could destabilize the royal authority, His Majesty the Lord will never abolish the slave system. The same goes for guilt-by-association.”
Ijik, whose appetite was whetted by Maeng Sa-seong’s words, filled his glass with alcohol and emptied it in one go. But there was still a bitter taste left in my mouth.
* * *
At the same time, Hyang, who was sitting alone in the East Palace and organizing his thoughts, also had a bitter look on his face.
“Unless it is a constitutional monarch, the essence is that it is a despot…”
Those who led and carried out the Giyu Rebellion were all killed.
Those currently working in the mines as government slaves were the children or relatives of those who had been implicated and sentenced.
In some ways, he could have been a victim of the inhumane system of guilt-by-association, but in the circumstances of this era, he was a potential traitor who inherited the ideology of the rebellion leaders.
As long as there were people who planned a national rebellion and immediately inherited the idea, the abolition of Nobi would never be implemented.
* * *
Note 1) Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Items prohibited from entering at night.
http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0035247
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