Black Corporation: Joseon

As the reform progressed, the craftsman community of Joseon, especially the blacksmiths, were suffering a lot.

The reason behind their suffering was a chain reaction that started from the military arsenal.

As a large number of craftsmen from the military arsenal relocated to the research institute and Area 51, it became apparent that there was a shortage of craftsmen at the military arsenal itself.

“Select skilled craftsmen from the land provincial forces, naval forces, and the garrison forces throughout Joseon and bring them to Hanyang. Examine the skills of these craftsmen who have arrived and fill the vacancies in the military arsenal.”

“We accept your command.”

Following King Sejong’s orders, there was an uproar at military camps across the country.

Craftsmen who known for their skills, who had been making swords and archery equipment at the military arsenal, came to Hanyang.

King Sejong also attended the screening of these craftsmen who would work in the military arsenal.

King Sejong’s greed for talent shone here as well, as he chose about 30% more than the quota of the military arsenal.

“After satisfying the quota of the military arsenal, send the rest to Area 51.”

“…We accept your command!”

Overjoyed by the unexpected gift, Hyang immediately paid his respects to King Sejong.

“Your grace is immeasurable, Father!”

Following this event, It was inevitable that a chain reaction would occur in such a situation.

“If they take away the craftsmen who make swords, what are we supposed to do?”

“It’s bad enough when someone picks only the meat from the feast, but when they take people like this…”

The military, depriving of their best skilled craftsmen, had to scout for renowned craftsmen from the civilians and bring them into military.

If there was a silver lining from all this chaos, it was that the perception of craftsmen changed slightly for the better.

Both officials and civilians began to value skilled craftsmen, and their treatment improved.

It was a butterfly effect created by King Sejong and Hyang, who was greedy for people’s talent.

* * *

As soon as the decision was made to establish a state-owned enterprise that would be in charge of iron production, Hyang and the ministers exchanged opinions about preparations for it.

To be precise, Hyang forced his way into the ministers’ discussion.

“Even without this, you have many responsibilities. You don’t have to get involved in this…”

“Considering the volume needed for the research institute and Area 51, this is absolutely necessary.”

Hyang took a place in the discussion, unfazed by Hwang Hui, who was trying to avoid a situation akin to, ‘a sister-in-law who was more mischievous than her mother-in-law.’

“Since we’re doing it in Area 51, I’ll take care of the evaluation!”

“There’s no need to go that far…”

“This is a great undertaking of the state! As the crown prince, I should step forward!”

“… Very well.”

Hyang, who had announced that he would be in charge of the evaluation, persuaded King Sejong and obtained permission.

“Will it be okay?”

In response to the worried question of the ministers, Hwang Hui answered with a nonchalant expression.

“Isn’t it good for us? We already have plenty of tasks to do.”

* * *

The first selection criteria for iron-related craftsmen was proposed by Hyang.

– Regions where the proportion of crude iron¹is high in the total tribute.

Instead of places with an absolute large quantity regardless of crude iron or wrought iron, they set the standard for places that relatively produced a lot of crude iron, and quite a few regions fell away.

Through this first evaluation, one place was selected from Chungcheong Province, and Gyeongju and Hapcheon were selected from Gyeongsang Province. Although there were other places with a large production volume of iron fields, only these three places had a higher proportion of crude iron to wrought iron.

Once the first candidates were decided, horse riders carrying the royal edict sped off.

“Royal edict!”

At the cry that the royal edict had come down from Hanyang, the local officials neatly arranged their official robes, bowed deeply towards Hanyang, and politely received the royal edict.

Upon opening the seal and checking the content of the edict, the local officials sighed.

“Huh~, another task.”

* * *

Following the royal edict, people selected from the three iron fields came to Hanyang.

“We need a place to test their skills.”

At Hwang Hui’s words, King Sejong looked at Hyang. At his silent command, Hyang immediately gave an answer.

“I will prepare a place in Area 51.”

“Very well.”

So the place for these craftsmen to compete their skills was decided, but a problem arose among them.

“The craftsmen refuse to forge in the same place.”

At the report from the head of the blacksmith, Hyang frowned and asked the reason, “What is the reason?”

“Extracting iron is a secret technique among secret techniques, and they say it cannot be shown to competitors.”

“How frustrating…”

Facing the awkward situation, Hyang looked around at his advisors. Among them, Hwang Hui, who had a similar expression, opened his mouth.

“Why not just force them?”

At Hwang Hui’s suggestion, the Master Blacksmith shook his head.

“Then they will simply storm out.”

“Even though this is a national affair?”

“They are all rough and proud because of the dangerous work they’ve done. They would rather get beheaded than do it by force.”

“Goodness… tsk!”

At the Master Blacksmith’s answer, Hyang studied the map of the Area 51.

“How much space is needed to build a steel foundry? Here and here, and here in the empty lots, if we make room, they wouldn’t overlap each other, would they?”

“Just a moment!”

Upon hearing Hyang’s words, the Master Blacksmith, who was studying the map, immediately went out to take actual measurements.

After going around the lot and taking actual measurements, the Master Blacksmith returned and reported to Hyang.

“It seems possible.”

“Then, talk to the iron craftsmen.”

All the craftsmen accepted Hyang’s proposal right away.

Through a lottery, the craftsmen determined their spots and led their people to establish their territories in the designated areas.

Watching from one side of the laboratory as the leader of each blacksmiths group and their followers settled in, Hyang looked back at the Master Blacksmith.

“There are quite a few people joining us, aren’t there?”

“With the iron forgers, iron moulders, fire-blowers, assistants, charcoal burners and charcoal carriers included, it’s quite a crowd.”

“Is that so?”

Upon hearing Master Blacksmith’s response, Hyang nodded enthusiastically, visibly excited.

“This will be fun when the real competition begins.”

“Will you continue to observe?”

“When else will I see such a spectacle?”

“…I suppose so.”

Hyang was excited. 

Although he had seen the process of making iron from small furnaces when he was taught by a traditional swordsmith in the 21st century, he had never witnessed such a full-scale iron-making process.

Upon deciding on the venue, Hyang gathered the craftsmen together.

“The venue is prepared, and the materials you all said you needed are also ready. Let’s check if anything is missing.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

At Hyang’s command, the craftsmen headed to where the prepared materials were.

The first thing the craftsmen checked was the most important materials: iron ore and charcoal for fuel.

And then, came the first test process Hyang had prepared.

“Huh?”

When the craftsmen went to where the iron ore was stacked, they all looked perplexed and turned to look at Hyang.

“Your Highness, is the crude iron we should extract is from stone iron?”

In response to the question asked in a unique dialect, Hyang nodded.

“Most of it is stone iron. I found a good source of iron ore recently. Why, can’t you do it?”

“It’s a bit troublesome, but it’s not impossible.”

“Right.”

“Well, it’s not impossible.”

At the craftsmen’ response, Hyang muttered to his inner officer standing behind him.

“Everyone gets one point.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Hyang, who was evaluating the craftsmen, soon widened his eyes in surprise. The craftsmen were showing him an action that he had not anticipated.

The craftsmen randomly picked out iron ores from the pile here and there, took out a hammer from the basket they were carrying, and crushed the iron ores.

Once they produced a proper amount of iron ore powder, the craftsmen took out iron spikes and lamps from the basket.

The craftsmen sucked the iron spike once to moisten it, then stuck the iron ore powder on it.

The craftsmen, who had a proper amount of iron ore powder stuck on the iron spike, lit the lamp and put the iron spike into the flame.

As the color of the flame changed with the insertion of the iron spike, the craftsmen all murmured.

“This one… has a lot of sulfur?”

Hyang was intrigued at this point.

‘They knew about the flame reaction!’

Having confirmed the status of the most important raw material, iron, the craftsmen moved to a pile of yellow soil. Without exception, the craftsmen tasted the yellow soil with their fingers and slightly shook their heads.

“What’s the problem?”

“This iron stone is mixed with a lot of sulfur. If we want to make good iron, we need to get rid of the sulfur, but it’s a bit hard with the energy this soil has.”

“Right!”

“The soil is a bit poor.”

At the response of the craftsmen, Hyang quickly summarized the situation.

“Then, you guys find the appropriate soil.”

“And, I don’t see any lime.”

“I’ve prepared it.”

In this continued sorting process, this time the craftsmen found themselves in a predicament.

“What’s this stone?”

“It’s coal. You use it instead of charcoal. Master Blacksmith.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

At Hyang’s command, Master Blacksmith stepped forward and explained about coal to the craftsmen.

After the miners found coal, the first place to use it was the artisans working in the Area 51.

Therefore, Master Blacksmith, who had the most experience with coal, stepped forward.

Whether the explanation of a person from the same industry worked or not, the craftsmen soon nodded their heads.

“Coal… it looks fun?”

“They said it has more firepower than charcoal, right? Hmm… how should we adjust the ratio?”

“And sulfur is mixed in… we need more yellow soil and lime…”

“Can’t you do it?”

At Hyang’s question, all the craftsmen shook their heads.

“Then, as soon as you prepare the materials, you start making the furnace. Since Gyeongju’s kiln takes the longest time, we will start the competition as soon as Gyeongju’s is completed.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

That day, when Hyang returned to Eastern Palace, he scratched his head and grumbled nervously.

“They knew about flame reactions… Really! How much did this damn Joseon forget what it had!”

* * *

As the craftsmen began constructing the kiln with the required materials, Hyang meticulously documented the process while conducting the evaluation.

“A square-shaped kiln, eh?”

“Building it this way makes it easier to pile up iron ore and charcoal.”

“This kiln is somewhat high, isn’t it?”

“If it’s high, the quality of the iron improves.”

“Is that so?”

While Hyang engaged in conversation with the craftsmen, the officers standing behind him recorded their conversation and added or subtracted points based on Hyang’s signals.

During the kiln-making process, what caught Hyang’s attention was Gyeongju’s team.

In contrast to other places that mainly used clay to construct clay kilns, Gyeongju was primarily using stones to build their kiln.

“Making it out of stones, what’s the advantage? Is it good at withstanding heat?”

“Stone alone cannot withstand the heat. We have to cover it with clay. However, if we do it this way, there’s no need to rebuild it every time, is there?”

“Is that so?”

Upon hearing the response, Hyang made a small hand gesture.

According to Hyang’s signal, the officer recorded the score on the table.

“Gyeongju bonus points: 2.”

Once the kiln was constructed, the craftsmen began the process of extracting iron.

There were some trials and errors while using coal instead of charcoal, but Hyang didn’t consider it a problem.

“This is a process we must experience, so I won’t consider it a problem!”

After a brief period of trial and error, the craftsmen began the process of extracting iron in earnest.

The competition had begun.

* * *

Excluding the time spent making the kiln, the winner of the two-week-long competition was the craftsmen of Gyeongju.

Hyang explained to King Sejong why Gyeongju had emerged victorious.

“First and foremost, Gyeongju used stones to build a stone-structure kiln. While it’s not that other craftsmen did not use stones, clay was primary in their cases. In contrast, stone was primary and clay secondary in Gyeongju’s kiln. This allowed…”

“So, they can continuously use the kiln, right?”

“Yes, indeed. Secondly, there’s the matter of manpower involved in the production of refined iron. Other kilns took crude iron out of the kiln, heated it again in the kiln, and then the laborers hammered it to create wrought iron.”

“So, it requires a lot of manpower.”

“Yes, indeed.”

“And how about Gyeongju? Did they use a different method?”

“Gyeongju melted the produced crude iron again after mixing it with selected scrap iron.”

“Melt it again? Isn’t that a waste of effort?”

“It wasn’t a wasted effort. When the iron mixture that was melted again was cooled, it was mostly wrought iron, and there was a substantial amount of steel.”

“Ah~. How ingenious!”

Upon hearing King Sejong’s evaluation, Hyang nodded.

Unknown to Hyang, the double-melting process used by Gyeongju was similar to the Bessemer process, undergoing a similar transformation process. This method dramatically reduces the amount of carbon mixed in the iron during the double-melting process, similar in a basic sense to the 20th-century ironmaking method. (Note 1)

* * *

The craftsmen of Gyeongju, who became the ultimate winner through the competition, were summoned to a place where King Sejong and all the ministers were present.

Summoned to a gathering where all the illustrious ministers, known throughout the kingdom, were present, the craftsmen was trembling and prostrating himself, only drawing breaths.

“Fellow craftsmen, be at ease.”

At King Sejong’s command, the craftsmen replied in a voice loud enough to burst his throat.

“Yo-yo-your highness, I am deeply honored!”

“Calm down, calm down… I have a question for you. We are planning to open the biggest ironwork in the country. Would you be willing to take on this task?”

“If-if-if-if you command, I will dedicate my life to it!”

At the craftsmen’s response, King Sejong smiled.

“You don’t have to stake your life… A large iron mine has been discovered in Pyeongan-do. Coal was also found in Pyeongan-do. But there’s some distance between the two places. Where do you think would be the best place to build the ironworks?”

As the question shifted to his area of expertise, the craftsman found his tension eased somewhat.

In response to Sejong’s question, the craftsman asked him.

“This servant doesn’t know the geography well, only a countryman who knows nothing but Gyeongju. How far apart are these two places?”

“It’s 100 li. The fortunate thing is that there’s a river, so we can utilize water transportation.”

Upon hearing Sejong’s answer, the craftsman organized his thoughts before replying.

“When forging iron, stone iron and charcoal are important, but the most important thing is clay. If the clay is good, the iron comes out well. This time, I saw that not only the stone iron but also the coal is heavily mixed with sulfur. To capture this sulfur, we need a lot of good clay and lime.”

“So what?”

“We need to go and see for ourselves. Even if there’s a struggle to carry the stone iron and coal, we need to go to a place with good clay. The most important thing is clay.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it is!”

Taken aback by the craftsman’s firm answer, Sejong fell into deep thought. After a long period of silent contemplation, Sejong made his decision.

“Very well! I will confer upon you the position of a Master! You will go, assess the situation, and find the optimal location to establish a foundry!”

“Y-yes, I will obey your command!”

“What is your name?”

“I don’t have a surname, my name is just Deok-su.”

“I will grant you the surname Kim! As Kim signifies ‘metal,’ I hope that your descendants will continue your profession!”

“Your generosity is overwhelming!”

Having been granted a surname in addition to his position, the craftsman wept as he left the room.

As soon as craftsman left, Hwang Hui and the ministers all looked at Sejong together.

“Why? Are you dissatisfied that I gave a mere foundry worker the rank of a fifth-grade official?”

“We are not questioning your judgment, Your Majesty, but is the rank not too high?”

“Among you ministers, is there anyone who knows how to make iron?”

“… No, there isn’t.”

“And yet you look down on a mere foundry worker?”

“… We apologize.”

“It’s been said over and over again that one shouldn’t apologize unless absolutely necessary.”

“We apologize.”

“Tsk!”

Like in the days of Jang Yeong-sil, granting an official position to someone in a low-status profession would have caused a great uproar, but such incidents were becoming less common.

Because what’s difficult the first time isn’t so difficult the second time.

And because it was now known that this was just in Sejong’s character, it was guaranteed that such words would be uttered.

“Why don’t you ministers try to make iron?”

* * *

Ten days after Deok-su was granted a surname and left, officials dressed in court and military uniforms gathered at Deok-su’s house in Gyeongju.

“His Majesty’s command!”

“What? What did you just say?”

Deok-su’s family, who were working in the house and the adjacent foundry, were thrown into confusion.

“All family members of Kim Deok-su, come out and receive His Majesty’s command!”

“Kim Deok-su? Your father’s name is Deok-su, but Kim?”

“Is that the problem right now? It’s His Majesty’s command!”

Quickly rushing out, Deok-su’s family members all knelt in the yard.

The official standing before Deok-su’s family unrolled a scroll and read it out loud.

“Craftsman Deok-su of Gyeongju foundry is bestowed with the rank of an Iron Master, a fifth-grade official! Also, the surname ‘Kim’ is granted to Deok-su!”

The official who read for a while afterwards asked a question while rolling up the scroll.

“Who is the eldest son of Master Kim?”

In response to his question, a sturdy young man emerged from the foundry.

“It’s me.”

“Congratulations.”

The official congratulated the young man and handed over the scroll with the command written on it, along with various other documents about the bestowed rank and rewards.

“Where is my father?”

“Master Kim left for Hwanghae-do as soon as he received the command.”

That day, Deok-su’s family used all their assets to throw a feast.

And the miraculous story of Deok-su’s family’s rise in status became a legend in that region.

———

Note1) Research on the Operation Method of Stone-Pile Brother Iron Furnace. Shin Kyung-hwan, Kim Kwon-il, Choi Young-min.

Outdoor Archaeology Issue 22 (2015.03)

1. Its a type of iron that was used during the Joseon Dynasty. It is obtained by refining 숙철 (Sukcheol), which is iron with a low carbon content that can be forged. 정철 was used to make strong and sharp weapons, as well as tools and decorative ironwork[↩]