Episode 392: Small changes. (4)
The past that started like that went smoothly.
The proctors opened the sealed envelope, took out the test papers and answer sheets, and began distributing the test papers and answer sheets.
During this process, something unusual emerged: the proctors distributed test papers and answer sheets along a horizontal line.
This was also Hyang’s trick.
* * *
“To prevent any possible irregularities….”
According to Hyang’s suggestion, the test papers were divided into two types, A and B. And this is where Hyang’s trick came into full effect.
There were two types, A and B, but they all had the same problem and the same correct answer. However, the order of the problems was different and the location of the correct answer was the same.
For example, question number 1 on type A test paper was number 4 on type B test paper, and if the correct answer to question number 1 in type A was number 2, the correct answer to question number 4 in type B was number 4, and so on.
In addition, the layout of the section manager was arranged so that the gap between the front and back was narrow, but the gap between the left and right was widened as much as possible.
* * *
The first test that started like that ended in about 2 hours (about 4 hours).
Jing~.
“Everyone stop! Please submit your answer sheet!”
“for a moment! wait for a sec! “Please give me a little more time!”
Several test takers begged for a little more time, but the supervisors did not show any mercy and took the answer sheets back.
“This can’t be happening!”
“People need to be flexible!”
Those who had to submit the answer sheet despite their request gathered together and expressed their anger.
“I can’t! “Let’s challenge the old governor!”
“That’s right!”
The test takers who came together like that ran straight to the inspector and raised their voices.
In response to the protest of the test takers, the inspector asked with a sour look on his face.
“So what do you want me to do?”
“If I had been given a little more time, I could have written down all the answers, but I couldn’t, so please let me take the re-exam! “I came here with plenty of time!”
“Huh…”
The observer, who sighed briefly as if he was taken aback by the test takers’ protests, answered firmly.
“It’s impossible.”
“Inspiration!”
“Past exams are also official work! How can we use people as managers if they cannot do their jobs properly in the given time? “There is no office for incompetent people who have to do in two days what other officials would do in one day!”
“Inspiration!”
“For people like you, it may only be one day late, but for others, it could be the difference between life and death. It’s public service! “Get out now!”
The candidates had to retreat with a look of disappointment due to the inspector’s harsh scolding.
While a war of words was going on between the test takers and the observers outside, the supervisors were guessing the correct answers using the recovered answer sheets.
The process of getting the correct answer was also truly unique, and this was also Hyang’s trick.
* * *
“No matter how objective or Zen-based, it would take time and errors to compare and match each one individually…”
Looking for a useful method, Hyang searched through his memories of living as Jinho in the 21st century.
It was not only in the military that all kinds of people gathered, but also in houses where there were many brothers. During holidays, such houses were crowded with brothers and their families, and stories of all kinds of experiences abounded.
This was the same for Hyang and Jinho’s family. And among the relatives I met that way, there was a retired teacher whose reminiscences were quite entertaining.
“Nowadays, OMR is standard even in regular schools, but until the 1988 Olympics, answers were checked manually for everything except national mock tests. As for how they did it back then….”
Hyang remembered the method the relative had taught him and immediately applied it.
First, I glued layers of paper that were left to be discarded. After attaching the next answer sheet to the specifications, holes were drilled in the numbered spaces corresponding to the correct answers.
If the paper frame created in this way was overlapped with the answer sheet submitted by the test taker, the correct answer could be immediately confirmed.
* * *
In that way, most of the results of the first test were known the next morning.
Candidates who took the test the day before were pacing in front of the government office bulletin board with anxious faces.
As time passed, around noon, an official came out and started pasting papers on the bulletin board.
“This is the list of successful applicants!”
Those who had taken the test in the past stuck to the bulletin board and compared their test numbers with the numbers posted on the bulletin board.
It was a moment of joy and sorrow.
Those who passed the first test met with the proctors again and received application numbers for the second test. Of course, it was a bonus that I had to pay another stamp fee of 80 won.
“The second exam is in five days, so don’t be late!”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind!”
* * *
Five days later, the second test was conducted.
In general, those who passed the first round were about 70% of all test takers. And in the second round, about half fell off again.
Those who passed the 1st and 2nd rounds in that way were between 30% and 40% of all test takers.
“At least this year, it seems like the number of people who passed the exam will increase a little more…”
“Because the first round of results were good, right?”
Despite the conversation, the supervisors could not relax the whole time.
The second round was an essay. It was a test in which the subjective opinions of test takers and supervisors clashed, and it was the test in which the most controversy arose.
Therefore, when the second test began, additional officials from the Hanseong government of at least 4th rank or higher were dispatched to determine the winner through a three-person consensus system.
* * *
After such an eventful past, all the successful candidates who passed the exam safely gathered in Hanseong.
Meanwhile, a new government office building was built in Hanseong, and it was a training center.
It was a building built because it was unsightly to use a palace for the training camp exam, which is one of the teacher appointment examination processes – a process where teacher candidates are housed and their personality and abilities are identified and filtered. However, after it was completed, it was one of the buildings that was used in many ways.
*
… Applicants who took the civil service exam dressed like officials had to pass the ‘Ma’s 3rd Examination’.
The training process consisted of receiving practical training while staying in a training camp and then going to a government office to take charge of basic practical tasks.
And throughout the entire process, supervisors and executives were watching with eagle eyes.
Because he passed the state examination, a government position was guaranteed. However, it was this training process that decided whether he would continue his career or retire from the 8th rank or 7th rank.
For this reason, it was a process called ‘the third examination of the devil.’
* * *
After about a month, the candidates’ careers began to be decided.
Most of those who received excellent scores on the first and second exams and good practical skills, especially industry and academia, were taken to the Ministry of General Affairs and the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
And those who received such a rating were objects of envy.
No matter what anyone said, the departments with the most power in adjusting payments were the General Affairs and Finance. Of course, the officials working in that department started swearing every time they heard something like this.
“Shit! “I’m in a bright and bright situation!”
“What’s the best thing about coming here? “The only thing is that you can take herbal medicine freely!”
As a side note, starting from the Gyeongjang period, Joseon’s herbal medicine industry developed rapidly and later became the cornerstone of the biomedical industry.
* * *
And for those who remained, the departments they would work in were determined based on their identified aptitude and practical skills.
After the department was decided, the next step was to decide on the location of appointment.
“Anyone who wants to support the Hamgil Island, Daeseol Island, and Eonwol Peninsula regions should come forward.”
At the words of the director of the General Affairs Department, who was in charge of the process of deciding on a new position, those who had passed the state examination secretly looked to their left and right. The Director of the General Affairs Department spoke after seeing this.
“As you probably already know, those who apply to the relevant region receive additional points.”
But no one came forward easily.
I was coveting the extra points. However, unlike Hamgil Island, which had become somewhat stable, Daeseol Island and Eonwol Peninsula were still risky.
If you go out there right away, you might hear people say, ‘This guy is blind to extra points.’
“No? Then, random assignment….”
“The girl is going!”
As the director of the General Affairs Department was about to move on, a female test taker jumped up from her seat. After that, several men and women got up from their seats and came forward.
The Director of the General Affairs Department walked and gestured.
“Follow me.”
* * *
The director of the General Affairs Department, who had moved to the office next door, looked at the applicants, especially the women, and asked.
“Even if Hamgil Island is like that, Daeseol Island and Eonwol Peninsula are rough places. “It must be difficult for a woman’s body, so why not withdraw now?”
“I entered the service with the sole intention of sacrificing my body and mind for the country, but is the suffering of my body a problem?”
“That’s right!”
The director of the General Affairs Department was the first to respond to the female test takers’ answers and explained the situation to the female test taker who answered first.
“To be honest, we can solve the problem of food, clothing, and shelter, but we do not yet have time to make separate preparations for your safety.”
When the director of the General Affairs Department said he was worried about the safety of female exam takers, the female exam taker responded firmly.
“I understand that officials who go abroad must learn magic and rifle marksmanship. “I am not good at magic and I do not know how to use a rifle, but I am confident that I will be better than anyone else if I learn it, and I know archery to a certain extent, so I am confident that I can protect my own body.”
“Hmm… Do others think the same way?”
“yes! “That’s right!”
The director of the General Affairs Department, who confirmed the momentum of those who passed the state exam, especially women, looked at the records of the female test takers who moved first.
‘Ahn Moon Hye-ra…. Her grades are second to none, but her adaptability and practical skills are the best. I’ve already been assigned to the General Affairs Department… If I survive safely in a foreign country, I’ll be looking forward to the next one…’
The Director of the General Affairs Department, who had made a little mark in his head, got up from his seat.
“Follow me.”
At the place where it was moved once again, a large disk was hanging on a pillar. And the original plate was divided into compartments of various sizes, and the external names such as ‘Hamgildo’, ‘Daeseoldo’, ‘Dongbinghang’, and ‘Eonwol Peninsula’ were written on the divided compartments.
“What is this?”
The Director of the General Affairs Department calmly answered Ahn Moon-hye’s question.
“You will be choosing the region where you will be appointed. “We call it hit and run.”
“Hit and run?”
“It is the most fair method without any external pressure.”
* * *
In this way, through hit-and-run, the new foreign appointees were decided.
“We still have to take the empty seats from outside. “Check and execute.”
“yes.”
As the number of vacancies for those assigned to the outside was increased, the divisions of hit-and-run people located on the outside were reorganized.
There were a total of 8 hit-and-runs, which were 8 in Joseon. Candidates were divided into eight rows according to their province of origin.
“As you can see, these hit-and-run people here are missing the province they came from. “Only by applying an epidermal agent.”
“Ah…”
The test takers standing in front of the wheel nodded to the official’s explanation.
“Then I wish you luck. “Turn it!”
At the command of the official, the test taker vigorously turned the disc.
‘Please Hanseong! Please Hanseong! Get caught in Hanseong!’
* * *
Note 1) Garima (加里亇)
https://m.blog.naver.com/nadakik/221149164912
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