Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 291

291. Guju (4)

“Where the hell am I? Who am I?”

As the Iwami silver mine began to operate in earnest, Mochiyo couldn’t shake his confusion.

* * *

The first thing that struck him was the stark difference between the residential areas for the Japanese miners and the Koreans.

The two areas, separated only by a path leading to the mine, were worlds apart.

The Japanese residential area looked like any typical village in Japan.

Houses with earth and wood walls and shingle roofs of wooden planks offered protection from the elements.

But the Korean area was filled with single-story buildings and warehouses constructed from that strange gray mixture.

The differences weren’t just in the buildings.

Mochiyo’s confusion deepened because everything, except for the Japanese laborers’ houses and clothing, had shifted to the Korean style.

It started with the mining tools.

* * *

“They expect us to dig with these? I’d rather use my bare hands!”

“Son of a….”

“What a waste of iron… Damn it.”

The Koreans who saw the shovels, pickaxes, and other tools brought by the Japanese laborers clicked their tongues and cursed.

“What are they saying?”

“Ah, that… well….”

Mochiyo, overhearing the Koreans’ complaints, asked the interpreter, but the Japanese interpreter stammered, sweating profusely.

Sighing softly, Mochiyo said, “I get the gist. Haa….”

A few days later, tools made in Korea arrived on a transport ship from the peninsula.

The Korean artisans, unloading the wooden boxes from carts, carefully examined each tool.

The Japanese miners and samurai gathered to inspect the ‘Made in Joseon’ tools.

“Good heavens! They make shovels and pickaxes out of such good iron?”

The samurai, seeing the shovels, pickaxes, saws, and other tools gleaming in the sunlight, were astonished.

The quality of the iron used for tools by common laborers was remarkable.

It was clear that iron comparable to that used for the samurai’s cherished swords was being used.

The Japanese sword (倭刀, *wakizashi*) was the pinnacle of Japanese ironmaking at the time.

The *wakizashi* was so excellent that Ouyang Xiu, a scholar of the Northern Song Dynasty, wrote a poem called ‘Ode to the Japanese Sword (日本刀歌)’.

The Japanese sword had reached its limit through countless trials to overcome the limitations of underdeveloped ironmaking technology.

Therefore, the *wakizashi* was a precious item, carefully crafted by skilled artisans.

However, unlike Japan, where the introduction of new technologies had stagnated since the Three Kingdoms period, ironmaking had continuously advanced on the Korean Peninsula.

Furthermore, with Hyang’s involvement, even higher quality iron materials (鐵材, *cheol jae*) were being supplied in large quantities.

The Japanese miners, comparing the tools in their hands with those of the Koreans, grew disheartened.

“How can a pickaxe get sharper with use?”

“And the chisels, too. Ours bend, break, or dull after a few hits, but the Korean chisels don’t.”

Having seen the difference, the Japanese miners soon relayed their demands to Mochiyo through their supervisors.

“They want Korean tools?”

“Yes. With those tools, we could increase our mining output several times over.”

Mochiyo immediately went to Ahn Sang-taek at the Yunotsu command center, who looked slightly embarrassed by the request.

“As far as I know, each country is responsible for procuring its own tools, isn’t it?”

“But the Korean ones are so much better….”

Ahn Sang-taek considered Mochiyo’s words and said, “I’ll send a dispatch to Hanseong [Seoul]. But you’ll have to cover the costs.”

“I will. And….”

“Anything else?”

“I’d like to import steel materials (鋼鐵材, *gang cheol jae*) made in Korea.”

“…I’ll include that in the dispatch.”

“Thank you.”

Mochiyo turned away, muttering with a bewildered expression.

“Is this Japan or Korea….”

The Yunotsu he knew was gone.

As Korean mining technicians and their families, along with troops to protect them and defend the port, arrived in force, Yunotsu quickly became Koreanized.

The defensive walls, once made of earth and sandbags, were mostly replaced with walls of the same material as the mine buildings.

Houses combining that unknown material with traditional elements lined the roads, laid out like a chessboard. Korean children with braided hair ran between the houses.

But Mochiyo was most struck by other buildings.

“Another bathhouse (洗身盪, *sesintang*) has been built.”

As the name ‘Yunotsu (温泉津, *onsentsu*, hot spring port)’ suggests, there were hot springs there.

The Koreans drew hot spring water and created a public bathhouse called *Sesintang*.

All Koreans enjoyed bathing there, including those working in the mine.

A bathhouse in the Korean quarters allowed them to wash off the dust, change into clean clothes, and relax after work.

On their days off, they visited their families in Yunotsu, relieved their fatigue in the hot spring baths, and enjoyed catching up.

However, the buildings that most intrigued Mochiyo were the monopoly bureau and the Korean *jeonjang* (錢莊, money exchange).

The monopoly bureau and the *jeonjang*, in the most central area of Yunotsu, were in the same building.

The *jeonjang* paid the Korean artisans’ wages, and the monopoly bureau sold all kinds of goods needed by the Koreans—artisans and soldiers alike.

Eventually, most of the Japanese in Iwami—from Mochiyo to the miners—became customers of this monopoly bureau.

With money, the Japanese could buy useful Korean goods without traveling all the way to Nagato.

The most popular items were spices and *binu* (soap).

As they grew accustomed to this lifestyle, even the Japanese in Iwami gradually became Koreanized.

As the situation evolved, the Yunotsu monopoly bureau grew in size.

Hyang was surprised by what happened there, leading to the birth of the world’s first ‘cashless transaction’.

* * *

The incident began when a mining artisan named Jang Hak-chul visited the *jeonjang*.

Hak-chul, withdrawing money to buy goods for himself and his family, had an idea.

“Excuse me, sir.”

“Yes?”

The clerk, busy recording the withdrawal, looked up when Hak-chul called.

Hak-chul asked, “All my wages are recorded in this *jeonjang*’s account, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And to buy something at the monopoly bureau, I have to withdraw money, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And the money that goes to the monopoly bureau comes back to this *jeonjang*, right?”

The clerk retorted, annoyed, “Goodness! Why ask such obvious questions?”

Hak-chul explained his idea.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to trade directly with the account at the monopoly bureau’s checkout?”

“Huh?”

Hak-chul’s proposal:

-Station *jeonjang* clerks at the monopoly bureau’s checkout.

-When a customer presents their account, the clerk deducts the purchase amount.

-This would eliminate the need to withdraw money, spend it at the monopoly bureau, and then transfer the money back to the *jeonjang*.

“What do you think?”

“Hmm….”

“Indeed.”

Soon, all the *jeonjang* employees gathered around Hak-chul, analyzing the possibilities with serious faces.

“It would definitely reduce our workload. It seems like a good idea.”

“But if we’re not careful, there could be theft.”

Hak-chul added, “Hey! How many Koreans are in this tiny Yunotsu and Mt. Seokgyeon that we need to worry?”

“Huh?”

“Wait a minute?”

The employees’ negative attitude changed drastically.

“Indeed, excluding the soldiers, there aren’t many.”

“We know almost everyone dispatched to Mt. Seokgyeon and their families.”

Kang So-hwi, the Yunotsu branch manager, stroked his beard and pondered.

After deliberation, he concluded, “Draw up a plan!”

“Yes!”

The employees answered excitedly. If it worked, it would greatly reduce their workload.

The process of handling money was quite cumbersome.

In the end, a detailed plan was created and tested.

With positive results, Branch Manager Kang decided, “Execute it! I’ll write the report.”

* * *

The report on the ‘currency-free transaction’ in Yunotsu was sent to Hanseong.

It quickly attracted the attention of Sejong [King Sejong the Great] and his ministers.

The cost of creating and distributing currency was significant.

“It seems useful, but I don’t think we can expand it yet.”

The ministers agreed with Sejong’s assessment.

“That’s correct. We can prevent theft in Yunotsu because of the small population, but not in more populated areas.”

“It’s difficult to verify identity with current identification cards. We can’t apply the Yunotsu plan elsewhere.”

The current identification card in Joseon wasn’t like a modern ID with a photo, so there was no way to verify identity.

Sejong turned to Hyang.

Receiving the unspoken question, Hyang shook his head.

With Hyang’s negative reaction, Sejong smacked his lips and concluded, “It’s a pity, but let’s not expand it.”

“We obey your command.”

While bowing with the ministers, Hyang grumbled inwardly.

‘Photography wasn’t my concern!’

* * *

As the Iwami mine operated in earnest and the Korean population in Yunotsu grew, the court established a new facility: ‘Samin Hakdang (士民學堂, Academy for All People)’.

The Koreans in Yunotsu, soldiers and civilians alike, sighed in relief.

“Hoo~. I was worried about educating my children, but now I can rest easy!”

“You can say that again!”

While the adults sighed in relief, the children frowned.

“The good days are over!”

* * *

The rumor about Samin Hakdang reached Mochiyo.

“Samin Hakdang?”

“Yes. A place where children are taught academics.”

Mochiyo laughed at the report.

“Hah! How Korean! Still educating, even here? But even with all the Koreans in Yunotsu, there can’t be many high-status people to educate their children, right?”

The subordinate corrected him, “They teach children of all ages and statuses, even girls.”

“What!”

“It’s called ‘Samin Hakdang’ because it’s a place where all people’s children come to learn.”

Mochiyo jumped up from his seat.

“I must inform the lord immediately!”