There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 319

320. < Family Photo >

Contrary to what many people watching Jang Yeong-sil might have thought, he wasn’t simply someone who disliked the King’s inventions.

Ije had been the benefactor who freed Jang Yeong-sil from his fate as a government slave and the liege who recognized his talent.

Moreover, as an inventor himself, Jang Yeong-sil deeply respected Ije.

In fact, there was no better superior than Ije, who provided engineers with inspiration and even explained the underlying principles.

‘The problem is that His Majesty’s expectations are too high.’

He kept assigning tasks that seemed nearly impossible, and Jang Yeong-sil barely managed to accomplish them through repeated contemplation and experimentation.

“Yeah. You somehow manage to do it. I think that’s the problem,” Yi Cheon said dryly.

Jang Yeong-sil had managed to enlist Yi Cheon’s help after much pleading, but Yi Cheon was also focused on inventing the clock ordered by His Majesty.

He needed to finish it quickly and return to his other duties, but it didn’t look easy at first glance.

“What can we do, brother?” Jang Yeong-sil asked, scratching his cheek.

Even he, who grumbled like this, would unconsciously immerse himself in the work once he started, to the point of forgetting to eat, wondering if it would work or not.

“We can’t deliberately ruin something we *can* do, can we?”

“Tch, what an annoying thing to say. No wonder you’re the only one who receives His Majesty’s favor,” Yi Cheon clicked his tongue.

“To print the image reflected in this box as it is… As always, he makes unreasonable demands.”

The box Ije made was a camera obscura [a darkened box with a small hole or lens that projects an image of the scene outside onto a screen inside], a device for drawing pictures that closely resembled reality.

Of course, this alone couldn’t create a photograph.

Even if you traced the image formed in the camera obscura, it was just a drawing, not a photograph.

“His Majesty taught me the principles, but…”

Apply a photosensitive material to a plate and expose it to light.

The problem was that Ije only knew that much.

The rest was up to Jang Yeong-sil to figure out.

First of all, he had no idea what to make this so-called photosensitive material out of.

Fortunately for Jang Yeong-sil, Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom] had unexpectedly accumulated data on this.

“I heard that the Military Supplies Command is making a lot of strange things these days. Why don’t you go to Jiphyeonjeon [Hall of Worthies, a royal research institute] and ask?”

In Joseon, since combining chemical substances such as sulfuric acid and nitric acid, they had been conducting various experiments without hesitation.

Sulfuric acid was also used to bleach paper, and these two substances were essential materials for gunpowder and flying arrows.

Even though they knew the risks, few had any aversion to handling them.

‘To be precise, they’re going crazy because of the flying arrows.’

Everyone in the country knew how much money the Joseon Flying Arrow Project was raking in.

And how much money the artisans who contributed to the invention of flying arrows received in performance-based bonuses.

The King encouraged various experiments, assuming safety rules were followed, so there was nothing to hesitate about.

Of course, safety rules were literally the minimum rules and didn’t necessarily guarantee survival, but the people of Joseon didn’t really care about that.

The data systematically compiled by the officials under the King’s constant reminders was stacked and stored in each department.

And some of it was moved to Jiphyeonjeon so that even seemingly unrelated departments could refer to the research results.

“You want *all* the data from the Military Supplies Command…?”

Jeong In-ji felt a surge of annoyance for a moment, but the other party was not just an official from a government slave background, but Jang Yeong-sil, who had served the King for a long time and was also higher in rank than himself.

He had to soften his sharp tone at the end.

“Yes. Are you very busy right now?”

“Ah, no, I’m not.”

“You have to do it even if you’re busy. It’s the King’s order.”

“……”

Whenever His Majesty wanted to make something, he would always call Jang Yeong-sil and order him to do it. Sure enough, this time too, he was acting under the King’s direct command.

Jeong In-ji, being the intelligent person he was, didn’t argue any further and quietly brought the data.

The amount was considerable, so Jang Yeong-sil had to search for clues for a long time with Yi Cheon and his subordinates.

However, the hard work was worth it.

“Silver salt turns black when exposed to light.”

The Military Supplies Command was not only manufacturing nitric acid but also actively mixing it with other substances.

The things they stumbled upon included flying arrows and nitroglycerin.

In the process, the production of silver salts such as silver nitrate and silver chloride was also carried out.

And by chance, they discovered that the color of a sample made with this changed when exposed to light.

The Military Supplies Command didn’t take this seriously and simply recorded it in about one line before moving on, but for Jang Yeong-sil, who was desperately looking for a clue, it was like a lifeline.

The work began to pick up speed.

===

After much trial and error, Jang Yeong-sil created a method of exposing a polished metal plate with chemical treatment.

It was a method similar to the daguerreotype [an early photographic process], the world’s first photography technique.

In the original history, it was something that appeared hundreds of years after nitric acid and silver salt were invented, when the photosensitivity of silver salt was noticed, but if you have an idea, you can skip that time.

Since this suddenly popped up in this era, the disadvantages of taking a lot of money to get a photo or taking more than 15 minutes to shoot were naturally not noticeable.

In this era where it takes several hours to draw a portrait, being able to capture someone’s appearance in 15 minutes was a great thing.

Realizing that he had made another invention of the century, Jang Yeong-sil excitedly ran to the King.

Ije praised him with a benevolent expression and then adjusted his evaluation of Jang Yeong-sil upward again in his mind.

‘See, you can do it if you try. This guy was just exaggerating.’

Satisfied, Ije called his family together.

===

“You made something strange again?”

“Strange?”

This is an invention that will change the era.

There was no one who made a fuss after hearing my explanation, saying that their soul would be sucked into the photo.

Like Joo So-hwa said, most people just accepted it.

“A person’s soul stays with the body when they are alive, so how can it be trapped in a mere painting? If that were the case, the person who owns that camera would be the strongest,” Do, who understood it in detail, added.

Since the family understood, there was no need for unnecessary persuasion.

The first historical photo in the world is a group photo of our family.

“Okay, Your Highnesses, please come a little further inside!” No-bi shouted loudly.

‘Did I call too many people?’

My parents and three younger siblings, King Nosang and his wife, me and Joo So-hwa, and our children.

I wondered if everyone could fit in the photo, but these were the people I had narrowed it down to.

‘If I had called my half-siblings, nephews, and cousins, whew.’

Fortunately, with this number of people, we can somehow squeeze them in.

When No-bi snapped his fingers, the eunuchs in charge of taking the photo hurriedly moved.

The eunuchs handled the camera skillfully, as if they had practiced a lot, but it seemed slow in No-bi’s eyes.

When No-bi glared, the eunuchs’ hands moved twice as fast.

“Okay, we’re going to take it!”

– Click!

…There was no shutter sound like that.

Unlike modern times, where you can take a picture with just the flick of a finger, these early models take a long time to take just one picture.

‘Well, I’ve made it for now, so I can gradually improve it.’

Photography is worth it.

No matter how well a painter can draw, it’s hard to match the realism that a photo gives.

Conversely, there are advantages that only paintings can have.

“Oh, it’s finally over.”

“This takes quite a while.”

“Dust… got in my eye…”

Since they had to keep their eyes open for at least several tens of seconds without blinking, the family members groaned here and there as their tension was released.

While they were chatting and waiting, the eunuchs carefully brought the photo plate, as if the exposure work was over.

‘What is it?’

The eunuchs’ expressions look a little uneasy.

Could it be because No-bi scolded them earlier?

‘I told you to do it moderately.’

I don’t know who he learned it from.

Even though they complained outwardly, they seemed to be feeling the significance of the photo, as they hurriedly gathered around it and offered their comments.

“My goodness, it’s like copying a mirror exactly!”

“Mother, I look a little wider in the photo.”

“I think it’s originally like that.”

“Why do you all have such stiff expressions? The King looks the best.”

“It’s because we’re nervous, nervous.”

“I… covered half of my face…”

While adding complaints one by one, they all seemed to be feeling the importance of the photo.

I felt the same way.

‘The quality is surprisingly good.’

Of course, it’s a black and white photo, but the photo itself came out very clear.

‘The only flaw is….’

“Brother, look at this!”

At the cry of my youngest brother, Seong-nyeong, I nodded regretfully.

“Yes. There’s a stain on it.”

Next to me, who was smiling faintly, there was a very opaque stain.

‘These guys.’

How did they process the photo to get something like this on the monumental first photo?

When No-bi glared at the eunuchs, the eunuchs hurriedly explained.

“Your Majesty, we did our best. But for some reason, the photo came out wrong…”

“Keu-eung.”

I guess it can’t be helped since it’s an early photo.

Even though it was a pity that there was a noticeable stain on the first historical photo, I was about to accept it and move on.

“Wait.”

Joo So-hwa grabbed my sleeve and whispered.

“This… isn’t this a person’s face?”

“Huh?”

“There are eyes, a nose, and a mouth on the stain?”

Joo So-hwa pointed to the stain on the photo and said.

‘What is she talking about.’

Looking closely again, there were three small dots on the engraved stain.

It looked like a face after hearing her words.

“A g-ghost!”

Seong-nyeong, who heard his sister-in-law’s words, was startled and made a fuss.

“Exciting! It’s a ghost!”

“Father, it’s a ghost!”

The commotion spread quickly through our children’s mouths.

“Oh my, it *does* look like a face.”

“Come to think of it, the upper part of this stain looks like an Ikseongwan [a type of Korean royal headwear].”

The family members buzzed.

The fact that photography was invented for the first time meant that they were also encountering spirit photography for the first time.

To my eyes, it was just a stain that was printed incorrectly, but to the people of this era, it seemed as if it contained some kind of being.

Before it got any louder, I, as the only modern person in this place, said firmly.

“It’s a misunderstanding.”

All the spirit photos that circulated in modern times are either misunderstandings or composites.

Not to mention this stain caused by the limitations of early photographic technology.

The eunuchs, realizing that it was clearly their mistake, lowered their heads and asked.

“We are truly sorry, Your Majesty. If you order, we will take the photo again.”

I was about to answer yes without thinking.

However, after looking down at the photo plate once again, I slowly shook my head.

“No, it’s okay.”

This is the first family photo I took.

I can take it again, but that would just be the ‘second family photo’.

‘Even if there’s a flaw, it’s doing its job as a photo well enough.’

My gaze slowly scanned the photo plate.

The King and Queen Nosang, who had already grown old.

In contrast, my three younger siblings, who were standing behind them, exuded youthful energy.

My wife and innocent children.

And even the unidentified stain.

When we all become the past someday, all of this will be enough to remain as evidence that such people existed.

1419.

Photography was invented.

< Family Photo > End

ⓒ Pitkong