Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 369

369. Stagnation – Stillness in Motion (3)

Although it was decided that Hangeul [the Korean alphabet] would be officially used from the fall semester of the following year, many people began using it in advance.

The administrators of the General Affairs Department and the Ministry of Education, as well as those working in the research institute and Area 51, were at the forefront of adopting Hangeul.

The reason the administrators of the General Affairs Department and the Ministry of Education learned and used Hangeul was to prepare for its official promulgation, education, and use the following year.

“We need to train personnel to educate administrators in local government offices, and we need to identify and address any problems that may arise from its early adoption….”

“The problem is that it has increased the amount of unnecessary work….”

“It’s really hard to make a living while receiving a salary….”

“Fortunately, it’s easy to learn and write. If it were difficult, I would have already resigned. Seriously….”

While complaining, the administrators worked to resolve the problems that arose while using Hangeul.

Of course, both praise and complaints were inevitable in the process.

The praise stemmed from the fact that Sejong [King Sejong the Great, who created Hangeul] had already foreseen such problems, and the complaints arose from the fact that he had entrusted the administrators with finding the solutions.

The simplest example was the problem of ‘homonyms’ [words with the same pronunciation but different meanings].

When writing official documents, there were frequent instances where words with the same pronunciation but different meanings appeared together. Or, the meaning of a sentence could change completely depending on how it was interpreted.

“How should we solve this problem….”

To find a solution, the administrators rummaged through the Haeryebon [a commentary on Hangeul] or racked their brains.

Just in case, the administrators who were rummaging through the Haeryebon noticed the table of contents written on the page immediately after the cover—books hadn’t included such a thing until then—and cursed.

“Damn it!”

‘Chapter 4. Problems of Writing and Understanding’

And the item written directly below it was clearly labeled ‘Homonyms’.

The administrators who hurriedly found the item frowned once again.

-Hangeul is a phonetic alphabet, so it presents the problem of homonyms. For example, even if it is written as ‘advance’, the meaning of the entire sentence changes depending on whether it is ‘前進 (moving forward)’ or ‘轉進 (changing direction and moving forward)’.

There are several ways to solve this.

One, always write in Chinese characters.

Two, write Hangeul and Chinese characters together.

Three, the meaning can be understood by looking at the context of the sentence, so use only Hangeul unconditionally.

Choose one of these three options or devise a better solution. I (余, me) will remember those who come up with a better solution.

The administrators who saw the last sentence exclaimed simultaneously.

“What the hell!”

It was because they were astonished by the words written by the king, who they couldn’t believe was the same human being as them.

‘No, you identified all the problems and provided choices, and now you’re telling me to come up with a new solution?’

The administrators, feeling deflated, muttered involuntarily.

“What sin did I commit in my past life….”

The administrators, grumbling with exhaustion, suddenly perked up and began rewriting the document.

‘Just in case! If I get it right, it’s a chance to turn my life around!’

* * *

However, Sejong the Great—with divine inspiration—created it with determination, and he had prepared for the expected problems and appropriate solutions.

The administrators who encountered Hangeul desperately racked their brains, but they could not escape the scope set by Sejong.

“In the end, do we have to choose one of the alternatives suggested by His Majesty?”

“Probably….”

The conclusion was reached, but the administrators couldn’t easily make a choice.

This was because they couldn’t be sure that the alternative they chose was the ‘correct answer’ that Sejong had in mind.

This was the same for the ministers. If they chose the wrong answer due to a wrong judgment, they would definitely hear that unpleasant tongue-clicking sound.

In the end, the ministers sought out Hyang [a character in the story].

Hyang, who heard the reason from the ministers who came to see him, clicked his tongue without realizing it.

“Tsk!”

The ministers were momentarily upset by Hyang’s tongue-clicking sound, but there was nothing they could do.

‘Oh! That damn tongue-clicking sound!’

‘That rich man is really…. I think I’m going to quit!’

They were swearing all sorts of things internally, but outwardly, they bowed their heads.

“No matter how I think about it, they all seem to be the correct answer.”

“They are all the correct answer, aren’t they?”

“Yes?”

The ministers who heard Hyang’s answer all stared at Hyang with wide eyes.

Looking at the ministers, Hyang continued.

“Hangeul is a newly created alphabet. So, we cannot know what is the correct answer and what is the wrong answer. Several ministers and administrators have to write it, and the people have to write it while correcting it. The problem that Father pointed out is what he expected to happen in the process of breaking away from the Chinese characters that we have been familiar with, and it is just an alternative. So, would there be a correct answer?”

“Ah….”

“If you apply and use all the determined alternatives, the most appropriate method will be chosen on its own. Or, a completely unexpected new alternative may appear. Father wrote it that way because he wanted the administrators to do their best to learn and write Hangeul.”

“Ah….”

‘Was it bait? Did I get caught?’

Knowing the ministers’ thoughts, Hyang immediately added.

“Of course, if someone actually finds a new alternative or problem, Father will be deeply interested.”

In the end, the ministers, who learned about what Sejong wanted through Hyang, took their leave.

“Wait, I may be saying presumptuous things as a young child, but there is a saying among those Westerners that says, ‘What to fear is not failure, but learning nothing from failure.'”

At Hyang’s words, the ministers bowed their heads and replied.

“Thank you for your valuable advice.”

The ministers who came out of Hyang’s office all sighed.

“Haa~. That rich man….”

In any case, the ministers informed their subordinates of Hyang’s advice. The administrators who heard the advice began to use Hangeul more actively. As they actively used Hangeul, their understanding soared, and measures to deal with the problems that occurred in the process of transcribing Chinese characters gradually took shape.

* * *

As the Hangeul system became established, there were places that used Hangeul more actively than Chinese characters.

One was the military, the other was the Jurchen [a Tungistic people who lived in Northeast Asia] and Daeseol Island [likely Hokkaido, Japan], and the last one was the research institute.

There was no choice but to do so in all three places.

First of all, in the case of the military, it was the place with the lowest level of humanities literacy. Of course, there were those who had considerable humanities knowledge—with science or engineering knowledge as an option—in addition to military capabilities, such as Choi Hae-san and Lee Cheon, but apart from those who moved from civil service—typically Jo Mal-saeng—the humanities literacy was poor.

Of course, the high-ranking military officers who passed the military examination and started their careers had to read military books, so they were মোটামুটি 괜찮았지만 [more or less okay], the humanities literacy of the middle and lower-ranking military officers such as Gapsa (甲士) [soldiers] who entered through recruitment (取才, 뽑음) [selection] was miserable.

Therefore, Hangeul was a very welcome existence for these people. There was almost no inconvenience in writing reports, writing orders, or reading the orders they received.

In the end, those who had been suffering from various grievances due to the problem of letters—especially in the promotion part—looked towards Hanseong [the capital of Joseon] and raised their arms and shouted Cheonse [Long live the King].

“Long live His Majesty the King! Long live! Long live!”

In addition to alleviating the grievances of the military officers who had little learning, Hangeul showed its power in another area, which was the field of communication.

The combination of the optical communication network and Hangeul, which was installed thanks to Hyang’s 덕질 [obsession/enthusiasm], became ‘like giving wings to a Chollima’ [a mythical winged horse, meaning it greatly enhanced their capabilities].

The amount of information that could be transmitted with the existing numerical code was limited.

However, as soon as Hangeul popped out, Hyang created a Hangeul code. The combined optical signal, which assigned 4 digits to the initial consonant, 4 digits to the medial vowel, and 4 digits to the final consonant, could transmit slightly more detailed information quickly than before.

Of course, the express messenger was still in charge of really detailed and accurate information, but it was still possible to receive urgent reports in a little more detail than before.

* * *

The case of the Jurchen was a bit special. The Jurchen had a Jurchen script that was created during the old Jin Dynasty.

However, it was not an easy script to use because it was based on Chinese characters. In the end, only a small number of Jurchen aristocrats were learning it in the current era.

In that situation, Hangeul was easier to write for ordinary Jurchens, and they had no hesitation in accepting it.

“Anyway, I’m a Joseon citizen!”

In the process of recording the Jurchen language using Hangeul, a chain reaction occurred, which was that the Jurchens who 귀부 [submitted/pledged allegiance] had learned Korean faster.

It was a chain effect brought about by the advantage of being able to read with their eyes, not just listening and speaking.

* * *

This was the same on Daeseol Island.

The Ainu people of Daeseol Island were in a worse situation because their history and myths had all been passed down orally (口傳) [oral tradition].

Of course, there were attempts to record it in writing using hiragana, katakana, or Chinese characters used by the Japanese, but most of them ended in failure.

Hiragana and katakana could not accurately record the pronunciation of the Ainu people. Using Chinese characters failed because there were not enough people who were good at Chinese characters to that extent.

In the meantime, Hangeul, which Joseon people have been using since recently, was the best letter for recording their traditions in writing.

They could write down their words with almost no errors, and the Ainu people who knew Hangeul could understand the sentences properly just by reading them.

Thanks to this, the Ainu people who 귀부 [submitted/pledged allegiance] to Joseon could not help but show more favor to Joseon.

* * *

“They are very interesting people.”

Hakmakuru, who bought salt and some medicinal herbs from the monopoly store and came outside, muttered as he looked at the Joseon people passing by in front of him.

Since Joseon set foot on Daeseol Island, the number of Joseon people has been increasing on Daeseol Island.

Most of them were soldiers, miners, and their families.

Joseon, which learned that the natural environment of Daeseol Island was not easy, was cautious about 사민 (徙民) [resettlement of people].

As a result of observing the Ainu people, Joseon’s court, which learned that farming was possible, received support from those who would serve as 둔전병 (屯田兵) [military farmers] on Daeseol Island.

‘The income from the Ilgun 둔전 [military farms] while working on Daeseol Island is recognized as a supplementary income, not a salary.’

Many soldiers applied to work on Daeseol Island in response to the court’s announcement. Since the deployment of the military was essential as Daeseol Island became Joseon’s territory, they were aiming for supplementary income.

They could live as 둔전병 [military farmers] on Daeseol Island during their mandatory military service period and return home, or they could settle on Daeseol Island. If they settled down, they could receive tax benefits as well as rent an overwhelmingly larger land—after the Giyu Rebellion [a historical event], Joseon nationalized most of Joseon’s land based on the Wangto ideology [the idea that all land belongs to the king]—than those who 사민 [resettled] to the Jurchen area.

If the soldiers and their families who were dispatched in this way formed one axis, the other axis was the miners.

The miners who entered Daeseol Island were mining sulfur and coal.

Hyang, who confirmed the information about the sulfur hot springs among the information obtained from the Ainu people of Daeseol Island, immediately ran to Sejong.

By Sejong’s order, the survey team that started the investigation was able to find a large sulfur hot spring in a place called Hell Valley by the Ainu people.

The survey team, who saw the sulfur thickly clinging to the rocks near the hot spring, hurriedly wrote a report and returned to Joseon.

Sejong, who confirmed the survey team’s report, recruited miners and sent them to Daeseol Island without saying a word.

This was because he could solve the problem of sulfur shortage that he had not found an answer to until then.