Black Corporation: Joseon

While shipbuilding officials in the Mediterranean region were tilting their heads and muttering, Hyang was picking his ear and mumbling in Area 51.

“Who’s talking about me? Why is my ear so itchy?”

“Your Highness.”

Hyang, who was picking his ear with her pinky, straightened his posture when he sensed the presence of a eunuch outside.

“What is it?”

“Prince Anpyeong has arrived.”

At the eunuch’s announcement, Hyang frowned deeply.

“This bastard again…”

Though he kept grumbling, Hyang soon had no choice but to allow him entry.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

A moment later, Anpyeong entered and paid his respects to Hyang.

“I greet Your Highness.”

“We just saw each other yesterday, what’s this… If it’s about the Entertainment Industry Inspection Office, I have nothing to say.”

As Hyang jumped to a conclusion, Anpyeong immediately raised his voice.

“Brother, I mean, Your Highness! The Inspection Office is indeed my divine calling!”

Hyang nodded at Anpyeong’s words.

“Considering the things you’ve done since childhood, I suppose it is.”

Anpyeong had been spanked at age four for saying he wanted to become a traveling performer, and as an adult, he had traveled around the country to see all the troupes, making King Sejong hold the back of his neck in exasperation.

At Hyang’s words, Anpyeong put strength into his voice.

“Your Highness just acknowledged it! Indeed, a person can achieve the best results when doing their divine calling! So, please allow me to transfer to the Inspection Office!”

“Personnel matters are decided by His Majesty.”

“That’s the problem! His Majesty won’t allow it! So if Your Highness could help a little…”

“Have you not considered why our Father refused?”

“…”

Anpyeong suddenly fell silent at Hyang’s question.

***

As soon as he heard rumors about the establishment of the ‘Entertainment Industry Inspection Office,’ Anpyeong had jumped up.

“The Inspection Office is where I should dedicate my life!”

Sejong briefly asked Anpyeong, who had come to Geunjeongjeon Hall, jumping for joy:

“Have you finished organizing the Korean music and folk songs?”

“There’s still a bit left.”

“Stay in your position until you finish that work. Once it’s done, I’ll arrange a place for you in the Entertainment Industry Inspection Office.”

“Father!”

“I won’t say it twice. It’s not allowed until you properly finish the task you’ve been given.”

Thus rejected by Sejong, Anpyeong had been pestering Hyang for days.

***

“If you properly finish the task you’ve been given, Father would transfer you without you even asking. When it comes to personnel matters, Father is more certain than anyone else.”

At Hyang’s words, Anpyeong presented his own compromise proposal.

“Then how about a concurrent position…”

“Hey, you bastard!”

Before Anpyeong could finish, Hyang burst out shouting.

“What was the first principle Father established when starting the reforms? No concurrent positions! And you want to break down a principle that’s just barely being established because of you alone? Get out now! If you really want to move to the Inspection Office, finish your assigned task as quickly and properly as possible!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Are you not leaving right now? I’ll…!”

“I’m going!”

Pressed by Hyang’s intensity, Anpyeong left the room as he answered.

Watching Anpyeong’s retreating figure, running away as if his tail was on fire, Hyang sighed deeply and grumbled.

“Sigh~ We’re already in a stagnant period because we’re so short on people…”

***

As Hyang said, the first principle Sejong established when starting the reforms was ‘no concurrent positions.’

Until then, concurrent positions had been the norm for government officials, especially those of senior rank. Even junior officials often handled work from multiple departments simultaneously due to the shortage of people.

This was also related to Joseon’s founding ideology.

‘If the king follows the way of the sages and realizes benevolent governance, a large government is unnecessary. The king’s virtue will shine in all directions, so the people will follow that virtue and live righteously and beautifully. If disputes arise among the people, learned and virtuous scholars will educate them.’

***

After removing the elder ministers through the Great Purge, Sejong immediately began to expand the size of the government.

“When one person handles work in multiple fields, progress is slow and lacks depth.”

Under this justification, Sejong began prohibiting concurrent positions and increasing personnel.

Moreover, the incident of document forgery and embezzlement by Hwang Hui’s sons provided further justification for the ban on concurrent positions.

Of course, for smooth governance, there had to be people who could oversee the overall framework, coordinate policies, and advise the king, and senior officials took on this role.

However, as the size of the government greatly increased, the first problem to solve was the shortage of talented individuals.

***

Although they revised the civil service examination system to broaden access and attract more talented individuals, the workload Sejong was delegating easily surpassed the supply.

As the situation became like this, the pace of reforms began to slow down little by little. Therefore, the thing ministers, prime ministers, and Sejong worried about most was adjusting the priority of policies.

And all sorts of methods were employed to secure talented individuals.

***

Among these methods, the most useful was the ‘petition.’

Whenever Sejong implemented a radical policy, petitions would be submitted. And every time these petitions came in, officials became rather excited.

“We need to catch a big fish this time…”

“It’s about statecraft, so it should be good, right?”

Interestingly, even among those submitting petitions, there seemed to be areas of expertise. The volume of petitions varied depending on which field Sejong’s radical policy was related to.

And among those who had been in seclusion and submitted petitions out of indignation, officials immediately rushed to those who presented useful opinions, carrying Sejong’s royal command.

“Your opinion is pretty good. Why don’t you come and see how different theory and practice are!”

***

As people steadily entered official positions through petitions, some began to aim for official positions through petitions.

Among those who submitted petitions, there were some who genuinely had exceptional insights but were in seclusion for various reasons. However, there were also many who tried to use tricks.

Those who were summoned because their petition content was good engaged in debates with Sejong in front of the ministers at Geunjeongjeon Hall. Observing the debate, Sejong and the ministers took note of the petitioner’s character and abilities, and soon placed them in an appropriate department. And many of those who entered this way started at a slightly higher position than those who entered through the lower civil service examination. Seeing this, people who tried to use tricks appeared.

“One well-written petition is better than the lower civil service exam!”

People began to use petitions for faster promotion than others.

***

When talent was recruited through petitions, the government announced the content of the petition nationwide through the official gazette.

“We hope you will ponder this content and compare it with the policies implemented by the government to come up with better opinions.”

Although it was published with good intentions, some people began to abuse it.

They carefully copied the petitions written in the gazette, and then submitted petition letters when new policies in similar fields were announced in the future. They didn’t just copy one petition, but combined the contents of several petitions to create a plausible one.

Because the volume of petitions submitted each year was enormous, these recombined petitions easily passed through the officials’ filters.

However, what these tricksters didn’t consider was that the final gatekeeper was Sejong, and that Hyang, second to none in memory, was by his side.

“Doesn’t this seem familiar?”

“It seems to be a mix of several.”

With Hyang’s confirmation added, Sejong wrote the answer in red and returned it to the officials.

‘Re-examination required.’

The moment a petition came back with this written on it, hell unfolded for the officials. They had to go through all the petitions published in the gazette for the past few years.

“This fucking bastard! Just wait till I catch you!”

Officials who were unexpectedly saddled with this task had to engage in ‘furious searching.’

And those caught ‘copy-pasting’ were severely punished.

‘Banned from official positions and submitting petitions for 10 years.’

And Hyang, upon receiving a report of the situation, chuckled and muttered.

“As expected of the ‘nation of tricks’…”

However, even in this situation where ‘copy-pasting’ was prohibited, there were some who actually advanced their careers through ‘copy-pasting.’

-Looking at the petition published in the gazette on ** month, ** year… (omitted)… However, the content of the petition published in the gazette on ## month, ## year regarding the same policy… (omitted)… As shown, the contents of these two selected petitions conflict, and the original intention of the policy… (omitted).

Officials who saw petition letters that openly cited sources and made point-by-point arguments all exclaimed in admiration.

“That’s innovative!”

And Sejong, upon seeing such a petition, immediately concluded:

“This is exactly the kind of person we need in a position to review and coordinate policies implemented so far. Bring him here immediately!”

“We obey your command!”

***

Although they used all sorts of methods like this to gather talented individuals, it became increasingly difficult to find talent.

The rate at which talented individuals were leaving the stagnant talent pool far exceeded the rate at which they were being supplied.

As a result, whenever Sejong discussed state affairs with Hyang, he always complained about this problem.

“People are all Joseon has, yet how can there be such a lack of talent?”

“There must still be many in seclusion.”

At Hyang’s answer, Sejong let out a long sigh.

“Sigh~ Those still in seclusion should be considered as having no intention of entering official service, shouldn’t they? Shouldn’t they be seen as no different from those ruthless ones who rebelled in the year of Giyu?”

“Well, that could be the case.”

Hyang responded with a bitter smile to Sejong’s complaint.

One of the biggest causes of the current talent shortage was the Giyu Rebellion. Not only was the number of scholars who participated in the rebellion problematic, but the number of scholars who died for refusing to participate or for trying to stop it was also enormous.

In simple terms, the Giyu Rebellion was a critical event that resulted in the loss of a significant portion of properly educated human resources.

“It will still take some more time for talent to emerge from the Commoner’s School and the Middle School…”

“Yes. It’s a bit regrettable, but it can’t be helped.”

Hyang nodded at Sejong’s lament. Looking at Hyang, Sejong continued.

“Scholars came from the Western Regions, but you took them all…”

“Hahaha! They’re only useful for mathematics and natural sciences, aren’t they? And although they can communicate to some extent verbally, they’re still useless when it comes to writing.”

At Hyang’s answer, Sejong stroked his beard and muttered.

“Writing is indeed the problem…”

Hyang’s eyes sparkled at Sejong’s muttering.

‘The tide has come in! Let’s row!’

“Father, honestly speaking, why wouldn’t there be people in this Joseon? Even looking at the example of the ‘Straight Talk on Farming,’ weren’t there many wise people?”

“That’s true.”

Sejong nodded at Hyang’s words.

In the early stages of the reforms, Sejong had ordered officials to create an agricultural manual.

“The Ming’s agricultural manuals are tailored to the climate of the Central Plains, so they don’t suit us well! Find wisdom from elderly farmers in each province and record it!”

That’s how the ‘Straight Talk on Farming’ came to be after years of effort.

And this ‘Straight Talk on Farming’ soon became an essential book that had to be in every rural village across Joseon.