Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 196

196. The Beginning of Spring (1)

As spring of Gyeongseul Year (1430) arrived, Joseon [Korea] once again stirred with activity.

With the Gyeongjang reforms [economic and social reforms] underway, various sectors of the economy were expanding. However, agriculture remained the foundation, and rice farming was the core of that agriculture.

Therefore, as the planting season approached, the entire land of Joseon slowly began to awaken.

Having recovered from a bout of measles following the Giyu Rebellion [a political upheaval], the rural areas of Joseon were gradually transforming.

The most significant change was the marked increase in land consolidation efforts.

* * *

The agricultural land of Joseon was in dire need of consolidation. Hyang even muttered to himself upon first seeing the rice paddies.

“This is like a giant jigsaw puzzle….”

For Hyang, who was accustomed to the neat, chessboard-like rice paddies of the 21st century with its mechanized farming, this was a natural reaction.

However, there were reasons for this disarray. The Korean Peninsula is largely mountainous. People congregated in the remaining plains, reclaiming land for farming, building homes, and establishing communities. Furthermore, with varying forms of ownership from household to household, the shapes of rice paddies and fields inevitably became irregular.

This situation led to inevitable problems, the most significant being farmland management. The intricate entanglement, which Hyang likened to a ‘giant jigsaw puzzle,’ made managing farm roads (agricultural roads), irrigation channels, and drainage channels nearly impossible.

Consequently, carts couldn’t navigate the narrow farm roads, and disputes over agricultural water were frequent.

Of course, the rulers of the Korean Peninsula hadn’t ignored this problem. They had attempted solutions, but with limited success due to difficulties in mobilizing labor and resolving ownership disputes related to land consolidation.

Joseon was no exception.

In the first year of Sejong’s reign (1419), the magistrate of Gobu and the Jeolla governor requested repairs to the Nulje Reservoir in Gobu County and the division of the land of 10,000 *gyeol* [a unit of land measurement] below it. Jeolla Governor Yi An-woo implemented the Jeongjeon Law [a land redistribution law]. (Note 1)

However, the results were disappointing. In August of the following year, a major flood caused the embankment to collapse, destroying approximately 600 *gyeol* of rice paddies. Eventually, Jang Yun-hwan, the Jeolla governor at the time, suggested abandoning the Nulje Reservoir, and it was closed. (Note 2)

This situation gradually improved after Hyang was appointed as Crown Prince.

Hyang, who had begun to make his mark with his writing (Geumpil), advocated for nationwide water management projects using relief rice.

Sejong and his ministers, recognizing the value of Hyang’s proposal, initiated water management projects using relief rice.

The water management project, starting modestly, expanded each year as its benefits became clear. As the scale of construction grew, the types of projects also diversified.

With the construction and maintenance of dams and reservoirs largely completed, the court turned its attention to river maintenance.

The court focused manpower on river maintenance during the brief periods before the harvest and before the ground froze, as well as the short interval after the ice melted and before planting began.

They dredged the riverbeds, removing accumulated sand, and widened the rivers by clearing the surrounding areas, reducing the risk of flooding.

Initially, they built stone weirs, and later, after the development of a cement-like substance called Hoejuk, they began constructing underwater weirs using reinforced concrete to prevent drought and salt damage (damage caused by seawater intrusion at high tide).

While Hyang suggested this, it wasn’t solely based on his unique knowledge.

Over millennia, humanity had accumulated extensive knowledge of river management.

This was also true of Joseon. They possessed considerable technical expertise, having built dikes and reservoirs since the ancient Three Kingdoms period.

However, the reason why Joseon – and the dynasties before it – had failed to properly maintain rivers was a matter of approach.

Traditionally, large-scale civil engineering projects like river maintenance were viewed as ‘forced labor (役).’ Consequently, Joseon officials resorted to forcibly mobilizing manpower.

Workers received no compensation, such as wages, and often had to provide their own meals.

This situation drove people to become slaves or wander as vagrants.

It was in this area that Hyang used his knowledge to add a crucial ingredient.

Initially, he compensated workers with relief rice. Later, as the Gyeongjang reforms progressed and the court had more resources, Hyang introduced the concept of ‘performance-based pay’ to these projects.

Officials overseeing projects that were completed ahead of schedule or with fewer safety incidents were more likely to be promoted, and the workers received bonuses in addition to the relief rice.

“Praise makes whales dance, but incentives make whales fly!”

With these reward policies in place, river maintenance progressed with even greater momentum.

As a result, by Giyu Year (1429), the 6th year of Gyeongjang, river maintenance throughout Joseon was showing tangible results.

* * *

Simultaneously, the reorganization of the tax system led to the emancipation of a large number of slaves. Following the Giyu Rebellion and its aftermath, tenant farmers migrated in large numbers. Landlords who had previously relied on numerous slaves and tenant farmers now had significantly fewer laborers.

Faced with a labor shortage, they had to increase farming efficiency to maintain their previous yields, and land consolidation was the solution.

Before the planting season, landlords mobilized not only tenant farmers but also people from nearby towns to begin consolidating land.

They leveled the uneven ridges between rice paddies and fields to create larger, unified fields and maintained irrigation channels.

They didn’t simply maintain the existing channels. With the stable water supply from reservoirs and various types of weirs, they introduced a large number of waterwheels, which had previously been a novelty, to distribute water to the irrigation channels.

As they improved irrigation and farmland in this way, farm roads naturally widened.

Farm roads, once so narrow that only one person carrying a frame could barely pass, became wide enough for carts to travel on.

* * *

As the Gyeongjang reforms progressed, the court received an unexpected benefit.

It was the increased use of carts.

Sejong had been deeply concerned with promoting the widespread adoption of carts.

Efforts to distribute carts had been underway since the reign of Taejong. Jang Ja-hwa, who had traveled to Ming [China] as an envoy, reported:

“There is nothing better than a cart for transporting goods.”

“Is that so?”

Taejong, upon receiving the report, ordered artisans to make carts but faced strong opposition from Chief State Councilor Ryu Jeong-hyeon.

“Our Joseon has many mountains, which limits the usefulness of carts! The wealth, time, and effort required to make them outweigh their benefits, so there is no need to produce them!”

In the end, Taejong had to abandon the idea of distributing carts. (Note 3)

This issue resurfaced during Sejong’s reign. Before Hyang’s intervention, Sejong and his ministers debated ‘carts’ in April of the 17th year of Sejong (Eulmyo Year, 1435).

However, Sejong persisted, and after confirming their effectiveness, he told his ministers:

“Some people dislike them, but there is nothing more convenient than a cart for transporting things like bricks, tiles, and stones. A cart can carry twice as much as three people, so how beneficial is that?”

Emboldened, Sejong set out to distribute carts to the Northeast and Northwest regions. However, ministers, including Hwang Hee, continued to voice their opposition.

“Carts are convenient, but only on flat roads. They are useless on rough or muddy roads. Even in Pyeongan-do, the road to Anju is flat and suitable, but other areas are rough and unsuitable.”

Hwang Hee, highlighting the terrain problem, continued:

“And carts are not something anyone can make. If we distribute carts, the country must send artisans to make them, but they will break them soon after receiving them and become unusable within months. The country cannot continuously send artisans, can it?”

(Note 3)

Ultimately, Sejong abandoned the distribution of carts in rough terrain. After that, carts gradually disappeared in Joseon.

Ironically, 350 years later, the Silhak [Practical Learning] scholar Park Je-ga of the Jeongjo era strongly advocated for the use of carts in ‘Bukhakui (北學議)’ [Discourse on Northern Learning].

Sejong’s frustration led him to delegate more and more work to the Crown Prince.

Sejong, whose health was declining due to an excessively meat-centered diet and stress, and who was deeply frustrated by the repeated failures of various reform policies, began to hand over state affairs to the Crown Prince.

Having delegated work to the Crown Prince, Sejong began to focus on studying letters.

* * *

However, in the altered history after Hyang’s intervention, the number of carts was steadily increasing.

The expansion of commerce and industry contributed to this increase, but Hyang’s *deokjil* [obsession or passionate interest] also played a role.

The handcarts – rickshaws in 21st-century terms – made in Hyang’s 51st district became a hit after the Great Fire of Hanseong [Seoul].

The handcarts, with frames made from mass-produced iron from the Anju steel mill, were sturdy.

“If only there was rubber….”

Despite Hyang’s regret, the wooden-spoked cartwheels proved surprisingly durable.

Another reason for their popularity, besides their sturdy construction, was their moderate size.

The moderate size, suitable for one or two people to pull instead of horses or oxen, was actually the key to their success.

Although small, the cart could carry at least the amount that four or five men could carry on their backs at once.

Handcarts could navigate the rough terrain that Hwang Hee had mentioned, as well as the narrow roads that large carts pulled by oxen or horses couldn’t access. Furthermore, peddlers became the biggest buyers of handcarts because two or three men could push and pull them through difficult terrain.

It became common for peddlers with handcarts full of goods pulled by donkeys to travel on business trips.

This was also true for large merchant groups. Many carts were needed to transport goods. Large carts pulled by oxen or horses were useful, but handcarts pulled by manpower were ideal for short-distance deliveries.

Finally, the increasing number of blacksmiths nationwide, who had become symbols of high-income professionals, solved the maintenance problem.

In this way, numerous causes and effects intertwined, and the number of carts began to explode.

The carts, which had gradually disappeared since the fall of Goguryeo [an ancient Korean kingdom], known as the ‘Land of Carts,’ were spectacularly revived during this period.

* * *

While the countryside was stirring with land consolidation efforts, the court, albeit unintentionally, finally began road construction.

“It is finally beginning.”

At Sejong’s words, the ministers looked at him with tense faces.

Sejong continued with a serious expression.

“We have water transport (transporting cargo by waterway), and railroads are also being studied, but water transport is vulnerable to natural disasters, and the development of railroads is uncertain. Therefore, the people can only be comfortable if we properly pave the land routes of Joseon. You all know the importance of the road construction that will be carried out from now on.”

“We are keeping that in mind.”

The ministers answered in unison, but Sejong continued to urge them.

“Remember that the development of Joseon depends on the success or failure of this construction.”

“We will engrave it in our hearts!”

The ministers answered Sejong’s request in a loud voice.

* * *

Note 1) Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Land Consolidation Item.

http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0002943

Note 2) Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Nulje Item.

https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0013293

Note 3) Sejong the Great Sillok Read in One Volume, written by Park Young-gyu. Woongjin Knowledge House.