Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 183

Samin Academy (1)

The rumors of the tribute of horses and various other goods from the Jurchen people ignited a nationwide competition of loyalty. Fruits, seafood, medicinal herbs, and other items considered precious throughout Joseon [Korea] were sent to the capital. In regions lacking such resources, people erected monuments praising Sejong’s virtues. As these monuments began to appear, a competitive frenzy swept across Joseon, even reaching the northern frontier lands.

This competition became so intense that Sejong had to issue an urgent decree:

“As the farming season begins, the people must focus on their livelihoods!”

Watching this spectacle unfold, Hyang wore an incredulous expression and muttered,

“There was a reason why they called that family in 21st-century Pyongyang [North Korea’s capital] a dynasty…”

As Hyang grumbled about the phenomenon, which was more fanatical than enthusiastic, a question popped into his head.

“But didn’t they say the Jurchens also erected a monument praising his virtues?”

Suddenly overcome with curiosity, Hyang diligently gathered related information.

After marking the collected information on a map, Hyang let out a light whistle.

“Whew~ It’s roughly the Donggando region, isn’t it? It’s uncertain how much Joseon’s territory will expand through Dongjin and Seojin, and how long that territory can be maintained, but at least concrete evidence will remain up to the Gando region.”

* * *

While such commotion was happening, the officials of the court silently focused on their work.

No, they had no choice but to.

“If you don’t meet the deadline, it’s overtime! Do you want to come to work even on holidays?”

“No, sir!”

The court officials were burning with the goal of ‘protecting their holidays’.

As Gyeongseul year began, officials belonging to the Ministry of Rites were added to the list of those suffering from overwork.

The reason for keeping the officials of the Ministry of Rites busy was the ‘Samin Academy’.

* * *

The Samin Academy was the embodiment of the ‘expansion of education’ item written in Gyeongjang [Sejong’s policies]. In the initial plan, only boys could enter the Samin Academy. However, when the Gi-yu Rebellion was suppressed, Sejong added an order.

“Our Joseon is short of talent! Such an impious thing happened because we restricted learning despite the lack of talent! Therefore, allow girls to enter the Samin Academy, which is in charge of the most basic education!”

It was Sejong’s firm order, but the Minister of Rites could not easily accept it.

“Is it really necessary to have girls learn?”

Sejong briefly retorted to the Minister of Rites’ question.

“So, is your daughter illiterate?”

“…I obey your order.”

The Minister of Rites had no choice but to bow his head immediately at Sejong’s question. At least for the children of the noble class, it was essential to have basic academic skills starting with the Thousand Character Classic [a classic Chinese text used for literacy], even for girls.

Sejong, who was looking at the Minister of Rites with a pathetic expression, turned to the other officials.

“It is said that children grow up imitating their parents. But how can a mother, who spends the most time with them until they become adults, be a role model if she is uneducated?”

At Sejong’s remark, all the officials had to bow their heads.

“Your Majesty’s words are wise!”

* * *

Although they received Sejong’s order, the officials of the Ministry of Rites had a headache.

“It is good that His Majesty is so virtuous that he wants even girls to come… But will the parents really send them? In the current situation, there will be many who will not even send their sons…”

The ordinary people they had seen made their children work as soon as they grew up to some extent. If they were not strong enough to help with farming, it was common to have them take care of the cows.

Having seen such scenes, the officials of the Ministry of Rites reacted negatively to Sejong’s order.

This was a misunderstanding on the part of the officials, or rather, the Sadaebu [aristocratic scholar-officials].

The time when the junior officials in charge of the work saw the people was before they passed the civil service examination – the end of Taejong’s reign, the beginning of Sejong’s reign.

As I said before, at that time, Joseon was experiencing a series of severe famines. At that time, survival was more important to Joseon’s farmers than their children’s education.

However, if they had even a little spare time, ordinary people were enthusiastic about their children’s education.

The reason why they put so much effort into education was also for survival.

“You need to know what’s written on the notice posted by the government to avoid losing out.”

“Of course. And is the notice posted by the government the only problem? When you’re farming as a tenant, who knows what tricks the landlords will play in the contract?”

“Did you hear that? Go and study!”

Because of this situation, most farmers knew at least half of the Thousand Character Classic. [a classic Chinese text used for literacy]

And, even in such difficult times, those who educated their children with all sorts of hardships when their children showed talent were the ordinary people of Joseon that they were ignoring.

This could be seen from the fact that a considerable number of Yangin [commoners] came from the civil service examination every year, not Sadaebu. It was just that the Sadaebu were unconsciously ignoring it.

* * *

In any case, the royal order was strict, so the officials of the Ministry of Rites had to find a solution.

In the conference room created in the Ministry of Rites, the Danghagwan [high-ranking officials] and Chamsanggwan [lower-ranking officials] belonging to the Ministry of Rites were putting their heads together and sharing their opinions.

“Let’s solve the easy things one by one first.”

“Easy things?”

“Let’s start with choosing a place to build the school.”

“Didn’t we decide to use Hyanggyo [local Confucian schools] for that?”

When ‘Hyanggyo’ was mentioned, a Gyori [official title] asked a question with a puzzled face.

* * *

After the suppression of the Gi-yu Rebellion, Sejong issued an order to abolish Hyanggyo throughout Joseon.

“It is a building made for Sadaebu to gather, hold ancestral rites for adults, and form friendships! They gather in groups to create evil gangs, so it is better to get rid of them!”

According to Sejong’s order, all Hyanggyo across the country had to close their doors. The ancestral tablets of the adults enshrined in Hyanggyo were all moved to Sungkyunkwan [National Confucian Academy] in Hanseong [old name for Seoul], and the ancestral rites of the adults were held only in Sungkyunkwan.

It was the Ministry of Rites that blocked the demolition order for Hyanggyo, which had been closed down in this way.

At that time, the Minister of Rites risked his life and pleaded with Sejong.

“Demolishing Hyanggyo, which was built with effort, is a waste! We must use it in a good way!”

“What is the good way you are thinking of?”

In response to Sejong’s question, the Minister of Rites reported what he and the officials of the Ministry of Rites had thought together.

“We must use it as a Samin Academy! To run a school, you need a building. It is better to use Hyanggyo than to spend money to build a new building!”

“Hmm?”

The Minister of Rites’ proposal stimulated Sejong’s interest. In response, Sejong asked the officials for their opinions. In response to Sejong’s question, the officials – especially Minister of Taxation Kim Jeom – showed a positive response.

When the officials also agreed that it was a good idea, Sejong accepted the Minister of Rites’ request.

Thanks to this, most of the Hyanggyo buildings survived, except for a few that had already been destroyed.

* * *

“I know that we decided to use Hyanggyo. However, a new order has been issued to educate even girls, hasn’t it? So, we need to find a new place. If there is no distinction between the upper and lower classes, and even the distinction between men and women disappears, it will be a big problem.”

The officials were all serious at the explanation of the Jeongrang [official title] who first raised the issue.

When ordering the establishment of the Samin Academy, Sejong had particularly emphasized something.

“Think carefully about why I named it ‘Samin Academy (四民學堂)’ [Academy for the Four Classes of People].”

After pondering for a while at Sejong’s order, the officials of the Ministry of Rites were soon able to understand Sejong’s intention. ‘Samin (四民)’ referred to the status of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, but it also meant ‘all people’.

In the end, what Sejong wanted was for them to learn and compete in one place without distinction between classes.

In such a situation, an order was issued to open the doors to even girls, so it was no wonder that the officials of the Ministry of Rites were worried.

While they were deeply troubled to find a good solution, one of the heads of the family, the highest-ranking person, opened his mouth.

“I think we can continue to use Hyanggyo.”

“Yes?”

“Hyanggyo is not a small building, is it? If we divide it properly, we will have space to teach boys and girls separately.”

“Hmm….”

At the words of the head of the family, the officials recalled the Hyanggyo in their hometown and calculated this and that.

“Certainly….”

No matter how poor the town was, there was no one-room Hyanggyo. The officials who were calculating all nodded their heads.

“It seems okay.”

“The problem is towns that don’t have Hyanggyo and don’t have Hyanggyo nearby. We will have to build buildings in such places. If we only educate boys, we can tell them to go back and forth even if it’s a bit far, but girls can be in danger.”

“That’s right.”

“Then, let’s wrap up this agenda like this. Anyone who disagrees? No one, right?”

No one raised their hand at the words of the Chami [official title] who was presiding over the meeting.

It was a plan that could not be criticized in particular, and they wanted to avoid wasting time and working overtime by just finding fault.

After overcoming one hurdle, the meeting began to speed up little by little.

The meeting, which had been going smoothly, met another hurdle when the agenda was ‘How to get the children to gather at the school?’

As soon as the agenda came out, one of the Jwarang [official title] stepped forward and raised the issue.

“The biggest problem is the farming season. Unless they are very young children, they have to help with farming.”

“And, if they are children who are so young that they can’t help with farming, it will be difficult for them to go back and forth to school. In principle, they can come to school from the age of five, but isn’t it actually impossible?”

“That’s true.”

“So, the education period must avoid the farming season. That’s the only way to increase attendance.”

“That’s true too. Then, we should definitely avoid the summer, right?”

“Yes. In addition to being the farming season, summer is also a problem because of the heat. How much did we suffer from the heat when we were studying?”

When the words ‘studying and heat’ came out, all the officials gathered in the conference room nodded their heads. They were reminded of all the hardships they had experienced sitting down to study in the sweltering heat. It was common for their buttocks to get sweaty and for them to be scolded by their teachers for losing concentration due to the heat.

“But if we take out the summer, the flow will be cut off, right?”

Another Jwarang raised his hand at Chami’s point.

“So, what about adjusting the class period to start after the harvest and end before the planting season?”

“Huh?”

The officials who heard the opinion calculated for a while and then all nodded their heads.

“It’s a good opinion!”

* * *

The plan, which was written after so many meetings, was submitted to the Minister of Rites.

The Minister of Rites, who reviewed the thick plan from beginning to end, nodded his head.

“It’s good. I will report it to His Majesty as it is. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you.”

“If there’s nothing special, I think we can leave work on time today.”

A smile as big as a washbasin appeared on the face of the Chami who submitted the report at the words of the Minister of Rites.

“Thank you!”

* * *

“Hmm….”

Sejong, who was examining the plan submitted by the Minister of Rites, nodded his head.

“It seems like a good plan. It is right to educate men and women separately because they are different, and it is also good to set the class period from after the harvest to before the planting season, avoiding the farming season. I can see how hard the officials of the Ministry of Rites have worked. Thank you for your hard work.”

“I am deeply grateful.”

At Sejong’s praise, the Minister of Rites bowed his head and sighed softly.

‘I’ve overcome one hurdle!’

“But… I think some explanation is needed for this part, ‘Meals are provided to those who attend to increase attendance.'”

‘It’s within the expected range!’

Since Sejong’s question was expected, the Minister of Rites was rather relieved and immediately began to explain.

“Yes. Even after the harvest, the food situation in each household tends to worsen after going through the winter. Although fewer people are suffering from the spring famine, it is still a burden. Therefore, if we provide even one meal, parents will be happy to send their children to school.”

“It’s a good idea, but… It won’t be easy to prepare the food to feed the children who come to school, will it?”

“So, the meals provided at the school will mainly consist of dried food supplied to the military.”

“Dried food?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm….”

Sejong pondered for a moment. The dried food developed by Hyang and favored by the military was quite a decent food. It was not just dried and powdered grains, but also contained enough dried meat, so it was a decent item for one meal.

“If each school has a talented cook, it will be quite edible.”

Sejong, who had organized his thoughts, made a decision.

“Proceed as planned.”

“I obey your order!”

‘Awesome! It’s time to leave work on time today!’

The Minister of Rites replied with a happy heart.