Black Corporation: Joseon

The ‘Document Arrangement Punishment’ struck fear into all officials as soon as it was established.

In the 21st-century internet discussions about Joseon, the nobles of Joseon were so enthusiastic about recording things that they were jokingly referred to as ‘record-lovers.’

Since its establishment, the records of the country’s administration were only 30 years old, yet they were already vast.

The evaluation of the local officials was harsh.

“You fools who stake your lives on note-taking!”

Their judgment was that it was like the notes of a test-taker who only believed in the saying, “If you take good notes, you become an honor student,” and colorfully noted down everything with various pens.

“The problem is how to organize and digest it afterward….”

Among all the meticulously recorded documents, only the official histories had gone through the process of organization.

Therefore, the suggestion that Hyang made after securing his position through the crown prince’s appointment was to organize the documents by each department.

The issue was not that they had recorded so much due to ignorance, but that it wasn’t valueless.

However, this task was draining.

The volume of documents was tremendous, and the tasks that needed immediate attention continued to pile up.

The amount of daily petitions, accounts, and other reports that came to the royal court was already huge, and the number of replies to them was also considerable.

It was a repetitive situation where, “When one cartload of documents is organized, two cartloads of work piles up.”

The ‘Document Arrangement Punishment,’ which was created to punish the officials of the Ministry of Personnel who didn’t understand the situation and conducted the hazing ritual, was the perfect solution.

“If you don’t produce results within a set time, the remaining time and volume will determine the exile period.”

The officials who were punished with this worst punishment became ‘a slave to some archive,’ literally having to deal with the work.

“What if someone messes up the documentation process?” 

To Sejong’s question, Hyang answered with a nonchalant expression.

“We have to apply the ‘guilt-by-association’ system¹.”

“The ‘guilt-by-association’ system?”

“We should involve the prominent members of clans and households. If someone who is being punished for a crime is trying to mess things up, then the heads of the clan and family… we must summon them.”

At Hyang’s words, Sejong slapped his knee.

“Aha!”

* * *

As all their property was confiscated, the couple Jo Mal-saeng had to rely on their eldest son, Jo Seon.

“Father, welcome.”

“Welcome.”

As Jo Seon and his wife, Princess Jeongjeong, welcomed them, Jo Mal-saeng and his wife had to first beg for forgiveness.

“Forgive us, Your Highness, for inconveniencing you.”

“Forgive us.”

“No, please come in.”

So, Jo Mal-saeng and his wife had to settle in Jo Seon’s annex.

The day Jo Mal-saeng and his wife were dependent on Jo Seon’s house, Sejong sent a letter to Jo Mal-saeng through a court messenger.

The content of the letter was simple.

‘Be diligent and remember who you inherited your blood from.’

A short but powerful warning.

* * *

Jo Mal-saeng, who had only heard about the Document Arrangement Punishment, was listening to the Ministry of Law Enforcement’s official reading a scroll cautiously.

“…So, the criminal must do his best in organizing the documents! This was the royal decree. Do you understand?”

At the cautious official’s words, Jo Mal-saeng nodded weakly.

“I understand. And since I’m a criminal, please speak casually.”

“Then… are you okay with that?”

“I am a criminal.”

“Then I will speak informally… Come. Follow me.”

“Yes.”

Jo Mal-saeng, following the still uncomfortable official of the Ministry of Law Enforcement, looked up at the sky.

“It’s a damn clear sky.”

The April sky was stunningly bright.

* * *

The place Jo Mal-saeng was directed to was the newly constructed buildings next to Gyeongbok Palace, behind the Six Ministries intersection.

In the vast open space where the private houses were entirely cleared away after purchasing the 21st-century Jungak-dong and Susong-dong areas from the royal court, huge buildings were erected.

A tall fence surrounded the area, and at the entrance of the gate hung a signboard written by Sejong himself:

‘Joseon National Archives’

It was a place where the terrible legend was engraved: “The red pillars of the Archives were stained with the tears, sweat, and nosebleeds of the officials and criminals who worked there.”

“Phew….”

Seeing the magnificent scale of the Archives, which he had only heard about, Jo Mal-saeng involuntarily opened his mouth.

The feeling of actually seeing it was different from just hearing about the scale and budget when he was an official.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s….”

Staring blankly at the buildings, Jo Mal-saeng had to quickly move his feet at the words of the official.

Hastily approaching, the Ministry of Law Enforcement’s official clicked his tongue at Jo Mal-saeng.

“Tsk… If you have such distracting thoughts… Nine times out of ten, you’ll end up in punitive labor.”

“Ah, understood!”

Jo Mal-saeng, whose face turned pale at the Ministry of Law Enforcement’s official’s words, shook his head.

* * *

“This is where the criminal will work.”

“Yes.”

Jo Mal-saeng had arrived at one of the many buildings within the record office. On the sign hanging from the building’s main pillar was written ‘Ministry of Military Affairs’.

Entering the building, Jo Mal-saeng unwittingly let out a sigh.

“Haah~.”

Inside the building, in a large room at the center, nine long desks were arranged in three rows, and officials with dark circles around their eyes were flipping through scrolls, transcribing them into books.

Seeing the officials, worn out from fatigue, Jo Mal-saeng felt awkward.

‘Am I going to end up like that too?’

“I will now explain the work process.”

“…Yes.”

Whether it was because he was told to speak informally, or because he realized that Jo Mal-saeng’s status was nothing more than that of a criminal, the Ministry of Law Enforcement’s official’s words had become more brusque than before.

“First, receive the work assignment from the supervisor in front. Since you were from the Ministry of Military Affairs before, you must be familiar?”

“…Yes.”

His words were polite, but there was a hidden thorn in the content.

The official, with a face mixed with sympathy and reproach, continued.

“Since it’s the Ministry of Military Affairs, it’s likely the account books from various provinces to begin with. Check the date they arrived and find the corresponding date in the Royal Secretariat Diary², record what happened, and if a response was given, find the date and search for the exact copy to finish recording.”

“So I have to go to the Royal Secretariat office for this… right?”

“Follow me.”

The official led Jo Mal-saeng to the entrance. A standing official pointed at two large buildings in the middle of the record office.

“From here, on the left is where the Royal Secretariat Diary is stored, and on the right is where the copies of responses are stored. They are sorted by year and month, so finding them should make the work easy.”

“Yes…”

Seeing the two large buildings, Jo Mal-saeng replied with a defeated voice.

The official’s explanation was nearing its end.

“… When the bell rings once, you get a break of one gak (15 minutes). During that time, go to the side room to rest and stretch. When the bell rings twice, go out to the left to the dining hall for a meal. Meals are provided once a day, at noon. Finally, when the bell rings three times, you will leave. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“Then, begin your work.”

“…Yes.”

Feeling the eyes of the Ministry of Law Enforcement’s official behind him, Jo Mal-saeng approached the supervisor.

“Let’s start with these ten for the criminal.”

The supervisor pulled out ten scrolls from the shelf behind him and handed them to Jo Mal-saeng.

Receiving the scrolls, Jo Mal-saeng unwittingly read the date on the top one.

“Hongmu (洪武) 26th year (1393, Taejo 2nd year)… Gasp!”

Startled, Jo Mal-saeng looked at the supervisor with surprised eyes. The supervisor nodded, understanding his expression.

“A bit old, isn’t it? There are hardly any criminals in the Ministry of Military Affairs. Or they are completely ignorant… Our goal is to reach Taejong’s 6th year within this year.”

That was a total of 14 years of records.

Seeing Jo Mal-saeng’s stupefied expression, the supervisor urged him on.

“Hurry up and work! Don’t forget that delay or error will result in punitive labor! Especially for a criminal, committing an offense ‘deceiving the king,’³  is a grave crime. Even a single mistake will result in immediate punishment!”

“Yes, yes!”

Hurried by the supervisor, Jo Mal-saeng found an empty seat and unrolled a scroll.

“A brush with ink… Heh, heh…”

Looking for the ink, Jo Mal-saeng became despondent. On the long table’s center were several brushes in an inkwell, an inkstone filled with ink, and a stack of blank paper.

Literally, he was reduced to the status of a desk-bound clerk who had to write documents.

* * *

Meanwhile, at a house in Joseon, Jo Mal-Saeng’s wife, Madam Shin, was complaining to Princess Jeongjeong.

“Your Highness, can’t you help us in any way?”

Despite Madam Shin’s plea, the princess shook her head with a troubled expression.

“It’s beyond my ability. His Majesty these days is quite obstinate about this matter.”

“Sigh~. What are we to do then…”

At the princess’s reply, Madam Shin beat her chest in despair.

In the history before Hyang’s intervention, Jo Mal-Saeng, who was found to have been bribed, had to be exiled.⁴ Not long after the exile, he was pardoned, and after 2 years, he could return to central politics.

However, that was the end.

Jo Mal-Saeng never sat in the promised ministerial position until his death. His evaluation in the records at the time of his death was as follows:

– He had good character and was competent, but the ‘flaw in a gem’ (옥의 티) blocked his way.

He was a good talent for Sejong, who was ambitious for talents, but he was not on the same level as Hwang Hui.

Simply put, he was used because he was needed, but he was not a completely satisfactory talent; this was Jo Mal-Saeng.

However, with Hyang’s intervention, the range of changes grew, and with the emergence of a brilliant processing tool called ‘Document Sorting Type,’ Jo Mal-Saeng’s political comeback became an unknown variable.

* * *

Meanwhile, during the one month period set by Sejong, an enormous amount of wealth flooded into the national treasury.

“Land documents, slaves, gold, silver, horse meat⁵ and horse harnesses⁶ . Coral, jade… All the wealth obtainable in Joseon is here.”

At Sejong’s words, the officials could only bow their heads. Staring at the bowed officials, Sejong continued.

“How they ate up… and without any losses… I must admire the cunning of the tax officials. Truly, an incredible skill.”

With Sejong’s thorny words, the officials all prostrated themselves, crying out,

“Please kill us!”

“I wish I could do as the tax officials say or throw them all into the Document Sorting Type, but I made a promise, so I will let it go this time. However, if this happens again, don’t hope for my mercy.”

“We will keep that in mind!”

“Then, let’s get to the main point.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Thus the bribery issue was sealed, and national affairs began to move on track again.

Outside the palace, people were busy rebuilding, and inside, they were busy conducting state affairs, but amidst the busyness, a subtle ripple occurred among the officials.

It was because of Sejong’s directive regarding the female servants in the office.

“When the central and local female servants give birth, they will be given 100 days off as a rule.”

“We accept the order.”

Sejong’s order had its validity because there were frequent cases where the discharged female servants got sick or their babies died as they had to work without properly taking care of themselves.

However, the reason this order caused a ripple was different.

“What! Female servants get maternity leave, and what about us?”

The officials, exhausted from their strenuous duties, began to complain.

Their complaints reached Sejong and Hyang’s ears through the inner officials. Hearing the complaints, Hyang chuckled.

“Hmph! If they feel wronged, tell them to write a resignation letter! What a complaint over such a small benefit! Do they think power is so easily gained?”

Sejong went a step further.

“I heard there are many complaints about giving maternity leave to the female servants?”

As soon as Sejong’s words fell, Hwang Hui began to defuse the situation.

“Isn’t it natural to have those who complain everywhere?”

“I wish I could catch them all and make them sort documents for 100 days or so.”

“Bestow your mercy, Your Majesty.”

“Tsk! Alright! But it’s really annoying. I’m not even denying them holidays!”

“Your Majesty is wise!”

In Joseon at that time, there were holidays. Lunar New Year, Daeboreum (the Great Full Moon), Dano (the Spring Festival), Chuseok (the Harvest Moon Festival), the 24 solar terms, the king’s birthday, and the 1st, 8th, 15th, and 23rd of every month were official holidays.

Besides these official holidays, there were days off according to the regulations of each institution, as Hyang had allowed one day off every 10 days.

Thus, if the solar terms, festivals, official holidays, and regulated days off overlapped, there were cases where they rested for 4 or 5 consecutive days, and every year, when the calendar was distributed from the Office of Astronomy, officials flocked to check their holidays.

Because of this, Sejong was furious when the officials complained. After sending the officials away, Sejong grumbled while looking at Chief Eunuch.

“How about rounding them all up and putting them in the Document Sorting Type for 100 days?”

Chief Eunuch closed his eyes tightly and sincerely answered Sejong’s question.

“Please spare them, Your Majesty!”

1. I guess you could call it collective punishment. But for accurate meaning, ”’Guilt by association”’ (연좌제/連(緣)坐制) means the implicative system that any person suffers unfavorable treatment or punishment on account of an act not of his own doing but committed by a relative. (credit: KR Wikipedia)[↩]
2. Seungjeongwon Diary or ‘Royal Secretariat Diary’ is an official document recording from royal edicts to reports on the nation’s subject’s petitions.[↩]
3. Gigungmangsa, a term derived from Chinese characters, It is derived from the Chinese characters 欺 (to deceive), 君 (king or ruler), 罔 (net), and 上 (above)[↩]
4. In Sejong Veritable Records, it is stated as such, (1) “…Minister of Military Affairs Jo Malsaeng received twenty-four (nobi: slaves).” and (2) “…Jo Malsaeng had [his] letter of appointment 職牒 revoked, and was sent to Hoein 懷仁 in Chungcheong Province 忠淸道.”[↩]
5. Horse meat is considered valuable since the amount of wealth needed to raise one horse is significant at the time[↩]
6. Saddles, bridles, belts, horse gags, and others are considered expensive as they are made of high quality materials[↩]