Black Corporation: Joseon

The next morning, Han Myeong-hoe stood at the entrance of Gwanghwamun with a tense expression.

Fidgeting with the sleeve of his dobo containing his household register, Han Myeong-hoe swallowed hard.

“This is the chance of a lifetime. I must leave a good impression.”

Giving himself this pep talk, Han Myeong-hoe waited for Gwanghwamun to open.

Shortly after, Gwanghwamun opened and the gate guards changed shifts. As the gate opened wide, Han Myeong-hoe stepped towards it.

“Halt! What’s your business?”

Han Myeong-hoe stopped at the guards’ shout and stated his purpose.

“I am Han Myeong-hoe, here by order of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Ah! Wait there for a moment!”

At Han Myeong-hoe’s words, a guard who seemed to recognize the situation quickly went inside.

Soon after, the head guard came out and approached Han Myeong-hoe.

“Are you that scholar?”

“I am.”

“Please show me your identification tag.”

At the head guard’s request, Han Myeong-hoe searched his clothes and produced his identification tag. The head guard examined it front and back before returning it.

“I’ll send word in. Please wait a moment.”

“Understood.”

The head guard disappeared back inside, and Han Myeong-hoe stepped back to wait for a response.

Shortly after, a eunuch scurried out and approached the gate guards, asking something. The guard pointed at Han Myeong-hoe in response. Seeing Han Myeong-hoe, the eunuch approached and said,

“Please follow me.”

“Understood.”

***

After leading Han Myeong-hoe through Gwanghwamun and Geunjeongmun, the eunuch positioned him in front of Geunjeongjeon and said,

“Please wait here for a moment.”

“Understood.”

Leaving Han Myeong-hoe at the bottom of the stairs leading up to Geunjeongjeon, the eunuch scurried away and disappeared behind the hall.

As the eunuch vanished, Han Myeong-hoe hurriedly adjusted his attire and waited to be called.

However, Han Myeong-hoe had to wait for quite a while longer.

“Have they forgotten about me?”

Though growing impatient at the long wait, Han Myeong-hoe recalled the character for patience and continued to wait.

Just then, ministers walked through Geunjeongmun towards Geunjeongjeon. The ministers, trailed by officials carrying stacks of reports, stopped in their tracks when they saw Han Myeong-hoe.

As the ministers approached, Han Myeong-hoe bowed politely according to etiquette. Seeing this, the ministers began to ask questions.

“Are you Han Gi’s son?”

“Eh? Yes.”

“Raise your head for a moment.”

As Han Myeong-hoe straightened up, the ministers each made a comment.

“He’s the spitting image of his friend.”

“He has a sturdy build. He must be strong.”

“He’s been standing for quite a while without showing signs of fatigue. His stamina must be good.”

“Indeed. After all, isn’t endurance the most important thing?”

Except for the first comment, Han Myeong-hoe was bewildered by the stream of seemingly irrelevant remarks.

‘What’s going on here? It’s like they’re inspecting a cow at a cattle market.’

“Ah! We’ll be late for the court session at this rate! Let’s hurry!”

“Indeed! We’ll see you later, young man!”

The ministers, having thoroughly confused Han Myeong-hoe, rushed into Geunjeongjeon with their officials in tow.

Left alone again, Han Myeong-hoe couldn’t hide his perplexed expression.

“What kind of goblin play is this… Oh! I must pull myself together!”

As Han Myeong-hoe was trying to gather his scattered wits, a eunuch emerged from Geunjeongjeon and approached him.

“His Majesty summons you.”

“Understood.”

***

Entering Geunjeongjeon, Han Myeong-hoe prostrated himself and made a deep bow to King Sejong.

“Eunuch, bring a chair.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As Han Myeong-hoe sat in the chair brought by the eunuch, King Sejong began to question him.

“Well… Let’s start with praise. Your action yesterday in stepping forward to protect the people is praiseworthy. You did the right thing.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty. It was merely what any scholar should do.”

“You seem to have learned from a good teacher. So, under whose tutelage did you study?”

“I studied under Master Taejae, Your Majesty.”

At Han Myeong-hoe’s answer, King Sejong’s eyes sparkled.

“Taejae? Is he well?”

“I occasionally sent letters inquiring after his well-being, and he seemed to be doing well.”

“Is that so?”

King Sejong’s eyes sparkled.

***

Taejae Ryu Bang-seon had lived a tumultuous life. After passing the civil service examination and studying at Sungkyunkwan, he was implicated in Min Mu-gu’s case due to his father’s involvement and was exiled. Released from exile in 1415, he taught students in Wonju, but was exiled again to Yeongcheon due to false accusations. He was only released in the 9th year of King Sejong’s reign.

He was highly regarded for not neglecting his studies and conduct even during exile, and was recommended for an official position immediately upon his release. However, having experienced the filth of politics firsthand before even properly taking office, Ryu Bang-seon declined the position, citing illness.

But now, through Han Myeong-hoe’s words, it was confirmed that he was perfectly fine.

***

“Hmm… That aside, I have a question for you. Listen to the situations I present and share your thoughts.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

From then on, King Sejong presented various scenarios and asked for Han Myeong-hoe’s opinions. If there was even a slight gap in his answers, King Sejong ruthlessly probed that point.

It wasn’t just King Sejong. The ministers also took turns questioning Han Myeong-hoe and pressing him for answers.

After this intense round of pressure interviews, Han Myeong-hoe was completely exhausted.

Looking at Han Myeong-hoe’s half-dazed face, King Sejong smiled and made his conclusion.

“Taejae has taught him well. Hmm… His ability to grasp the context of situations and his quick-wittedness are quite good. For now, let him work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

“Your grace is boundless, Your Majesty!”

At King Sejong’s decision, Lee Maeng-gyun smiled broadly and bowed his head. As other ministers were about to speak up, King Sejong spoke first.

“‘For now,’ I said. For now…”

At King Sejong’s additional explanation, the ministers closed their mouths. Seeing this, King Sejong muttered to himself without realizing it.

“This insatiable appetite for talent…”

At King Sejong’s words, the ministers quietly raised their heads to look at him. Though they didn’t speak, they were all inwardly shouting the same thing:

‘Look who’s talking! Who’s the one with the real appetite here!’

Whether aware of the ministers’ feelings or not, King Sejong proceeded with business.

“You will start learning practical skills at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from today. We will evaluate your abilities after one month and grant you an appropriate rank, so do your best.”

Hurriedly coming to his senses at King Sejong’s words, Han Myeong-hoe prostrated himself and exclaimed,

“I will do my utmost best, Your Majesty!”

“I look forward to it. You may go.”

At King Sejong’s words, Han Myeong-hoe bowed again and began to back away. As he was retreating, King Sejong called out to him.

“Wait. I forgot something.”

At King Sejong’s words, Han Myeong-hoe came forward again.

“Do you have any friends who studied with you under Taejae?”

Han Myeong-hoe immediately answered King Sejong’s question.

“Yes, there are a few, Your Majesty.”

“Oh? Who are they?”

“There’s Gwon Ram, the grandson of Master Yangchon (Gwon Geun), and though still young, a friend named Seo Geo-jeong who has exceptional literary talent.”

“Is that so? Submit their personal information in writing. Minister of Foreign Affairs.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! I will make sure to receive and submit it!”

“Very well. You may go now.”

“Eh? Yes, Your Majesty.”

Later, when Hyang heard the story through the eunuchs, he smacked his lips.

“It’s not some multi-level marketing scheme… Anyway, splitting them up like this should put my mind at ease.”

***

Thus, the “Han Myeong-hoe multilevel recruitment” that unfolded disrupted the lives of several people.

First, officials carrying documents with King Sejong’s royal command rushed to Yeongcheon. The officials who found Ryu Bang-seon’s house shouted loudly.

“Royal command!”

Next were Gwon Ram and Seo Geo-jeong.

“This child called Seo Geo-jeong might be a problem.”

“What’s the problem?”

“He’s only twelve years old. He hasn’t even had his coming-of-age ceremony yet.”

At Heo Jo’s words, the ministers’ faces became troubled. However, Kim Jeom resolved their dilemma in one stroke.

“What’s the problem? We already have a child named Kim Dam in the research institute.”

“He’s younger than Kim Dam, so it’s not an issue.”

“Let’s use Kim Dam as a precedent and move past this point. Can’t we just bring him in and raise him like they do at the research institute? Isn’t it better that he’s not fully mature yet?”

At Kim Jeom’s words, the ministers unconsciously nodded their heads.

***

Despite abolishing the ban on government service for children of concubines and people from the northwestern provinces, and automatically placing those who passed the lower civil service exam into local and central administrative organizations, there was still a shortage of talent.

The reasons for the talent shortage in Joseon’s government were complex.

First, it occurred during the process of changing the low-level officials in central and local administrative organizations from unpaid volunteer positions to paid full-time positions. One cause was the vacancy created by weeding out incompetent or corrupt individuals after investigating their past work.

Secondly, although the door to the lower civil service exam had been widened, passing through it was not easy. Despite the expansion, the pass rate did not exceed 25% of applicants.

Third, with the flourishing of commerce and industry, more nobles and commoners began to dedicate their lives to these fields rather than seeking official positions.

Lastly, even among those who entered through the lower civil service exam, not all were talented. There were many with academic knowledge but little practical ability. As a result, senior officials in local and central governments had to go through great trouble to identify the truly capable individuals.

This was also why the ministers agreed to establish the Samin Hakdang and Junghak Dang. However, since these institutions had not yet produced results, Joseon was still facing a talent shortage.

***

In any case, caught up in this multi-level recruitment, Gwon Ram and Seo Geo-jeong were brought to the court and received practical training.

After performing well in the evaluation following their training, they were immediately dragged to the Ministry of General Affairs and the Ministry of Education to take on practical duties.

The officials who were initially pleased to have bright talents join them soon had to put on long faces.

“Why is the workload increasing!”

As work progressed faster, all the tasks that had been put off came flooding back.

And one day, as they were living under the flood of work that had poured in, Gwon Ram turned at the sound of someone calling him.

“Who is it? Isn’t it Sohan-dang?”

Turning around, Gwon Ram brightened at the sight of the voice’s owner.

“Who do we have here, isn’t it Jajun!”

Seeing Han Myeong-hoe, Gwon Ram’s face lit up and he started running towards him.

The two hadn’t met even once since being suddenly recruited into the government. This was due to the practical training followed by evaluations, and then the tremendous amount of overtime work that followed. Of course, they could have met on holidays, but when holidays came, they were in a situation where they did their best to rest.

Seeing Gwon Ram running towards him with a bright face, Han Myeong-hoe smiled and opened his arms wide. Gwon Ram, who had sprinted at full speed to reach Han Myeong-hoe, immediately executed a flying side kick.

Crash!

“Ouch!”

As Han Myeong-hoe, suddenly kicked in the chest, fell to the ground, Gwon Ram sat on top of him and shouted,

“Good to see you, you damn bastard!”

***

While the daily life of the court was passing uneventfully like this, Hyang received a summons from King Sejong.

Late at night, Hyang entered Gangyeongjeon and was guided by a eunuch into King Sejong’s room.

“You called for me, Father?”

“Yes. Sit down over there.”

“Yes, Father.”

As Hyang sat down, King Sejong got to the point.

“Crown Prince, I will give you a choice.”