Black Corporation: Joseon

‘The Crown Prince and the craftsmen are making something again!’

When rumors spread from Area 51, gossipmongers perked up their ears while court officials began breaking into cold sweats.

“What initiative is he planning now!”

“Please don’t start anything during the budget review period!”

This was the lament of officials who couldn’t openly name names. Their superiors tried to comfort these lower officials’ outcries.

“But isn’t it good if it works out properly? It always helps the treasury significantly.”

When the superiors intervened thus, the subordinates responded with woeful expressions.

“But whenever His Majesty approves it, we have to investigate and prepare everything from scratch!”

“The higher-ups don’t understand! They casually say ‘Hey, just reduce the numbers!’ but we nearly die every time that happens!”

Hearing their subordinates’ complaints, the senior officials let out long sighs.

“Sigh… Just endure a little longer. This too shall pass.”

“It never passes! And since when does a wave hit just once?”

“…”

Eventually, these rumors circled around and reached Sejong’s ears.

Upon hearing them, Sejong immediately summoned Hyang.

“I hear you’re starting something new again.”

“Yes. I’ve been thinking about something and am discussing it with the craftsmen.”

“You’ve already started so many things, yet you’re starting another? Is it absolutely necessary?”

Hyang immediately responded to Sejong’s pointed question.

“Of course.”

At Hyang’s concise answer, Sejong’s and the ministers’ eyes sparkled.

From past experience, they knew the Crown Prince had certain habits when explaining his new initiatives.

When explaining projects with lower chances of success or requiring large budgets, he would talk at length with various explanations.

However, for projects with high success probability and potential for massive profits, his explanations became short and concise.

In such cases, even when Sejong or the ministers raised concerns about funding, Hyang’s answer remained consistent.

“This will bring enormous profits. That level of budget is necessary.”

That would be all. No further detailed explanation would follow.

But Sejong and the ministers had to open their purses. Because as Hyang guaranteed, the subsequent profits were always astronomical.

Given this precedent, Sejong and the ministers’ eyes sparkled. And in such situations, their wallets would already be half-open.

“Indeed? Then what are you making this time?”

“We’re creating something to replace women’s gache.”

Disappointment spread across the faces of Sejong and his ministers at Hyang’s answer.

“Didn’t you already try to eliminate gache before and were told it was impossible?”

“Yes, and I was advised that domestic harmony should come first.”

“Yet you’re challenging it again?”

“Yes!”

“Is it absolutely necessary?”

“It’s essential for both the health and beauty of Joseon’s women.”

Curiosity began to creep back into Sejong’s expression at Hyang’s response.

“We already know about women’s struggles with gache’s weight, so I understand the health aspect. But why must gache be eliminated for beauty’s sake?”

“That’s…”

About to answer, Hyang sensed something odd and looked around.

‘Why is it so quiet?’

Noticing the deathly silence in Geunjeongjeon Hall, Hyang made an incredulous expression.

From the ministers to the eunuchs, everyone was listening intently to Hyang’s words with utterly serious faces.

‘Really! Why are these elderly gentlemen who’ll be smelling incense behind screens in a day or two so focused? And you eunuchs! Why are you all so interested?’

“Crown Prince?”

“Yes? Yes!”

Snapping out of his bewilderment at the unexpected situation, Hyang collected himself and continued.

“Since ancient times, a beauty was said to possess nine colors. Among these nine colors are the three lengths: long hair, long hands, and a long neck. While gache serves the requirement of long hair, it ruins the requirement of a long neck.”

“It ruins the long neck?”

“Yes. The weight of gache causes the neck to stoop and shoulders to hunch, making flesh gather around the neck unsightly. Simply put, it disrupts the harmony.”

“Hmm…”

“Indeed…”

Not only Sejong but all the ministers nodded at Hyang’s explanation. The elderly ministers particularly showed strong agreement, as their aged court ladies exhibited similar appearances to what Hyang described.

Seeing their reactions, Hyang raised his voice slightly.

“Therefore, if we use accessories that can replace gache, we can achieve the harmony of the three lengths and attain greater beauty.”

“Hmm…”

At Hyang’s explanation, Sejong hummed thoughtfully while the ministers whispered among themselves.

“It does make sense…”

“Indeed it does.”

“The harmony of the nine colors is important…”

While the ministers were whispering, Sejong spoke up.

“If you make such accessories, will the royal workshop monopolize them?”

“Wouldn’t that be unreasonable just considering the example of gache? We’ll just serve as the cornerstone.”

“Cornerstone…”

After mulling over Hyang’s words, Sejong reached a decision.

“You’ll have to convince the Queen yourself.”

“…Yes.”

While forcing out his response, Hyang grumbled internally.

‘Wow! Father’s evasive maneuver is absolutely brilliant!’

Well aware of women’s determination in pursuing beauty, Sejong had very naturally avoided the danger.

The court historian recorded all this as follows:

-…Thus, His Majesty approved the Crown Prince’s proposal.

The historian notes: Women’s insistence on gache despite its difficulties stems from their determination to pursue beauty. This cannot be blamed solely on women.

Gache was already expensive, so how expensive will these new accessories be? I’m wondering if I should open a tavern as a side business.

***

About two months later, Hyang headed to the Queen’s quarters with the Crown Princess, Yangwon, and Yangje.

“Welcome.”

Queen Soheon greeted Hyang with a warm smile and looked at him with curiosity.

“I’ve heard the rumors. Your presence here means you have results?”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Are you confident? Though I am your mother, I won’t hesitate to criticize if I’m not satisfied.”

“You will be pleased.”

Despite the Queen’s warning, Hyang answered confidently.

Seeing Hyang’s self-assurance, Queen Soheon’s eyes sparkled.

“Lady Jang, go call everyone.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Shortly after, all of Sejong’s concubines gathered in Queen Soheon’s room.

“You all come here too. For a proper evaluation, you should all participate.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

At the Queen’s command, the Crown Princess, Yangwon, and Yangje moved to join Queen Soheon and the concubines.

“Now then, let’s see! Crown Prince, show us what you’ve brought.”

“Yes, Mother.”

At Queen Soheon’s command, Hyang turned to the following eunuchs.

“Bring them forward.”

“Yes.”

At Hyang’s order, the eunuchs came forward with their bundles.

Carefully placing the bundles on the floor, they untied them to reveal black wooden boxes.

“Oh?”

“My goodness!”

“Oh, how pretty!”

Queen Soheon and the concubines couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at the sight of the boxes.

The wooden boxes, meticulously lacquered and finished with copper ornaments at the corners, were clearly extraordinary at first glance.

Seeing their reactions, Hyang internally rejoiced.

‘That’s right! Luxury bags don’t come in incredibly luxurious boxes for nothing! The packaging accounts for half the value!’

-Half the price of luxury bags must go into the box itself.

Hyang nodded slightly, remembering a saying from the 21st century.

After briefly being distracted by the boxes, Queen Soheon collected herself and looked at Hyang.

“There’s a saying in the markets: ‘The taste matters more than the bowl,’ isn’t there?”

“Yes, and I’m confident the taste will be good as well.”

Confidently answering, Hyang unlatched the top box. Opening it, he tilted it slightly to show its contents to Queen Soheon.

Seeing the contents, Queen Soheon unconsciously clapped her hands in admiration.

“Oh my! How beautiful!”

Inside the box lay an exquisitely crafted cheopji and cheopji-meori that the craftsmen had poured their hearts into making.

As if enchanted, Queen Soheon stared at the cheopji and cheopji-meori, then called to her similarly entranced lady-in-waiting.

“Lady Jang, let’s try it on.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Girls!”

With the help of her ladies-in-waiting and court ladies, Queen Soheon removed her gache and used the cheopji-meori to tie her hair into a new style.

“Bring the full-length mirror.”

“Yes.”

Standing before the mirror brought by a court lady, Queen Soheon examined her hairstyle and showed a slightly unsatisfied expression.

“It’s pretty, but seems a bit lacking.”

“We have this as well.”

At Queen Soheon’s words, Hyang opened another box to show its contents. Inside was an ornate jokduri and silver pins designed to connect and secure the jokduri to the cheopji as a set.

“Lady Jang!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

After putting on the complete cheopji and jokduri set, Queen Soheon turned this way and that before the mirror, then turned to Hyang.

“Crown Prince, this is truly beautiful, truly lovely.”

“Thank you.”

“Above all, it feels so light on my head. Thank you, Crown Prince.”

“Are you pleased with it?”

“I’m very pleased. I’ll use this instead of gache from now on. Truly.”

At Queen Soheon’s words, Hyang bowed with a bright expression.

“I’m truly grateful!”

Gaining approval from the number one ranked woman in Gyeongbokgung meant that cheopji and jokduri would become the new trend.

However, Hyang discreetly observed the other women’s expressions. From Sejong’s concubines to the Crown Princess, Yangwon, Yangje, and even the ladies-in-waiting, their faces were filled with envy and desire.

Seeing this, Hyang immediately distributed the stacked boxes.

“Please accept these.”

“Oh my! Thank you!”

The women eagerly accepted the boxes and examined their contents. As they gathered to look inside the boxes, they soon noticed one particular feature.

“Are the animals on the cheopji matched to the inner court ranks?”

Hyang immediately nodded at Queen Soheon’s question.

“Yes, they are.”

Queen Soheon nodded in approval.

“Such attention to detail makes me like it even more.”

The accessories Hyang created also included decorative hairpins to be inserted on both sides of the tied hair for added style.

Hyang’s new hair ornaments were warmly welcomed by the women. After receiving abundant praise from Queen Soheon, Hyang whistled softly as he left, muttering:

“Whew~ Now it’s a success!”

Hyang’s confidence wasn’t unfounded. Within less than two months, noble women in Hanseong began wearing cheopji and jokduri instead of gache. And in less than half a year, this trend spread throughout all of Joseon.

Gache craftsmen and metalworkers jumped into manufacturing cheopji and jokduri to profit from this trend.

While the animals featured on the cheopji were determined by the wearer’s social status, there were no restrictions on materials, leading to the creation of elaborate cheopji using gold, silver, and jewels. Additionally, there were no restrictions on the decorative pins worn on either side, allowing for extravagant displays.

Eventually, acquiring a matching set of cheopji, jokduri, and hair ornaments cost about as much as a decent gache.

As a result, many middle-class women still used gache, while those of lower classes had no choice but to continue using simpler hairstyles like dulremeori and komeori^[1].