Black Corporation: Joseon

August 1432.

A small Franciscan monastery on the outskirts of Florence.

“Brother Giovanni. A letter has arrived from Brother Angelo.”

Giovanni received the letter from his close friend who had nearly been excommunicated for studying knowledge inherited from Roger Bacon, considered a heretic. He returned to his room and examined the letter.

“Brother… You’ve arrived safely. Lord, thank you.”

Giovanni gave thanks to God while holding the letter in his hand.

***

The number of scholars and alchemists fleeing from the Eastern Roman Empire to Italy to escape the threat to their lives during the Ottoman expansion was gradually increasing.

As the economic power of the city-states in northern Italy greatly increased, wealthy individuals who had amassed great fortunes began supporting these scholars and alchemists who had taken refuge in Italy.

The foundation for the great transformation later known as the “Renaissance” was slowly beginning to take shape.

Riding this wave, Angelo actively engaged in academic activities. He sought out those who had come from the Eastern Roman Empire to debate whenever he had the chance, and also selected disciples from among the newly ordained young monks.

However, it was still premature.

It started with a bishop who had been watching Angelo’s activities giving him a first warning.

‘Exercise restraint.’

But Angelo’s activities continued, and finally, a warning letter arrived from the Vatican.

It was then that a lifeline was lowered to Angelo and his disciples, who were at a crossroads between excommunication and being burned at the stake.

“A country called Joseon in the far East is seeking mathematicians and alchemists. How about going there?”

Angelo and his disciples had no choice but to accept the suggestion from the messenger sent by Cosimo de’ Medici.

The bishop readily granted permission when he received a letter from Angelo and the abbot requesting permission to leave, citing the reason of ‘spreading the gospel to a far Eastern country.’

Thus, a letter had arrived from his friend who had set out on an indefinite journey, one that risked his life traversing an unknown sea route.

***

After saying a prayer of thanks, Giovanni composed himself and examined the envelope.

On the wax seal preventing the envelope from being opened carelessly was a flower pattern.

“So it really is the ‘Land of Flowers’?”

As Giovanni was examining the unfamiliar flower shape, he read the Latin sentence written next to it.

“Inspected to prevent confidential information leakage. This is a legal measure based on Joseon law?”

After reading the sentence, Giovanni broke the seal and opened the envelope. Inside were several sheets of paper filled with writing.

Giovanni quietly began to read the letter.

***

‘To my dear friend and spiritual brother, Giovanni.

With your prayers and the Lord’s protection, my disciples and I have safely arrived in Joseon.

Of course, pirates did swarm us on our way back to Joseon. However, when the cannons mounted on the Joseon ships spewed fire, they crumbled like the walls of Jericho falling to the sound of trumpets.

After a comfortable voyage following that, my disciples and I, along with others, were able to arrive in Joseon.

The first impression of Joseon upon arrival was…

…that it’s a very cautious country. Even though we arrived, we weren’t allowed to enter the port immediately, but had to spend five days in a quarantine facility built on a nearby island.

After that, there were several inspections and quarantine procedures, but no actions that threatened our lives.

Having thus set foot on Joseon soil, we traveled north using smaller boats.

After arriving at a trading port called ‘Jemulpo’ located west of the capital, we changed boats again and were able to reach the capital of Joseon by traveling up a large river called the Hansu.

My disciples and I were finally able to enter Hanseong – also called Hanyang or Gyeongseong – after passing through the large and beautiful city gate protecting Joseon’s capital.

Brother, don’t be surprised. Many of Joseon’s roads are paved with cementum. And unbelievably, no human or animal waste could be seen on these roads.

The oxen and horses pulling carriages loaded with people and goods all had large baskets attached to their backsides, preventing cow and horse dung from falling onto the road.

But what surprised me the most was the iron horse (Ferrum Equus) and railroad.

Oh, my brother. Have you ever seen a beast made of iron, not a living horse or ox, pulling carriages? Joseon is transporting people with such things.

The iron horse that moves with water and fire…’

+++

“Oh my…”

The following sections describing the basic operating principles and sketches of the external appearance were completely blacked out, and Giovanni couldn’t hide his disappointment as he smacked his lips.

After smacking his lips several times, Giovanni continued reading the letter.

‘Thus, we were able to have an audience with the king of Joseon. He was a young king who appeared to be in his 20s, though he had a beard. But I later heard that he was 33 years old.

Let me add briefly that it’s difficult to guess the age of Joseon people just by looking at their faces. They all have younger-looking faces compared to their actual age.

Anyway, the king of Joseon we met seemed to be highly respected by his subjects and people. Even to me, his eyes looked clear yet filled with wisdom.

However, his son and heir to the throne was a shock. He was able to speak Latin, albeit somewhat awkwardly. I later found out that he had taught himself using books obtained through Kitai and a Kitai language dictionary.

And this Crown Prince was the one who had called people like me to Joseon.

My first impression of this young prince, who had recently turned 16, or rather, this prince who was closer to being called a child, was that of Plato’s ‘philosopher king’ (Philosophus regem).

Although the path to spreading the Lord’s gospel was blocked by the prince’s cunning method – I’ll write about this separately – other aspects were truly admirable.

Most of those many objects that surprised us were created through this prince’s teachings and orders.

The prince who called us here told us what we were to do. Fortunately, it wasn’t to create gold through alchemy, but to research and develop various necessary technologies and mathematical knowledge.

For example…’

After that, an enormous amount of text was completely blacked out.

“Damn it all!”

Giovanni, who had unknowingly cursed out loud, startled himself and quickly made the sign of the cross.

“Lord…”

After reflecting on his momentary lapse of emotion that led him to curse, Giovanni focused on the letter again.

Angelo’s letter had already moved on to the latter part.

‘While performing these tasks, my disciples and I are engaging in many discussions with alchemists and mathematicians from Greece, as well as Joseon scholars.

Although we’re still in a situation where we can’t communicate well verbally, we’re having written discussions using formulas and numbers, but compared to the frustration we experienced in Italy, it’s heaven.

Every day feels like paradise because these Joseon intellectuals’ mathematical knowledge and abilities are excellent.

I thank the Lord every day for guiding me and my disciples to this Joseon.

I pray that you always enjoy peaceful days under the Lord’s protection.

From your spiritual brother, Angelo.’

“Hmm…”

After finishing Angelo’s letter, Giovanni fell into deep thought.

Although quite a lot had been redacted, Angelo’s letter was full of hope. It was a completely different atmosphere from the gloom that had filled him before departing for Joseon.

After staring at the letter for a long time, Giovanni unconsciously muttered,

“Should I go to Joseon too?”

He too had unknowingly accumulated considerable expertise in mathematics and alchemy.

A few days later, the bishop, having heard rumors that a letter had arrived from Angelo, summoned Giovanni.

“I heard that Brother Angelo, who left for Joseon, sent a letter. Did he arrive safely?”

“Yes. He says that by the Lord’s grace, he and his disciples arrived safely in Joseon.”

“Is that so? Nothing else?”

“He wrote about the customs and scenes of Joseon that he saw upon arrival.”

At Giovanni’s answer, the bishop’s face brightened.

With a brightened face, the bishop soon got to the main point.

“Actually, since Cosimo de’ Medici gifted a candelabrum to His Holiness the Pope, interest in Joseon has been growing day by day. Although he didn’t go to Korea for a good reason, Brother Angelo went to Joseon, and his letter has arrived. Naturally, not only His Holiness the Pope but many others are curious about Joseon.”

“Is that so? Should I give you the letter then?”

To Giovanni’s question, the bishop shook his head.

“That can’t be. It came to you, after all. Instead, you should read it in front of His Holiness.”

After pondering for a moment, Giovanni nodded.

“I will do so.”

“Thank you! Truly thank you!”

***

Ten days later, in the large reception room of the Vatican.

The reception room was filled with the Pope, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, their wealthy sponsors, and finally, nobles from various European countries.

The reason for the gathering of the wealthy and nobles, besides the Pope and Catholic figures, was simple.

It was due to interest in the ‘Land of Flowers,’ which was emerging as an increasingly important trading partner.

The chandelier gifted by Cosimo de’ Medici had turned all of Europe into a crucible of excitement.

For them, the East was a mix of mystery and terror. If the various stories transmitted through the Silk Road since ancient times – the Roman Empire – represented mystery, then the Mongols, who had turned the east of Europe into a complete wasteland, represented terror.

In this process, Joseon’s culture and artifacts, which had entered through Alexandria and Italy, greatly increased economic interest in the East.

Amidst this, the crystal chandelier hung in the Vatican and Habsburg blinded the eyes of Europeans.

Venetian merchants who saw the chandelier in the Vatican urged their glassmakers, but the products that came out were far from matching Joseon’s.

“Venice was known for glass, but even Venice failed?”

“How on earth was it made?”

“What kind of country is this Joseon?”

From merchants to nobles and kings, everyone’s interest in Joseon began to boil hot.

***

In this situation, Angelo’s letter read in the Vatican’s reception room was a spark.

It was a spark thrown into oil heated to just before the ignition point.

“…That concludes the letter.”

As Giovanni finished reading, the reception room was filled with murmurs.

“Roads paved with cementum? Wouldn’t that be difficult to maintain?”

“Maintenance aside, is it even possible to lay such a large amount of cementum?”

“Carriages that move without horses or oxen?”

“How can they move with water and fire?”

The interest of those in the reception room immediately focused on the ‘iron horse’. While various opinions were being voiced about the phrase ‘moves with water and fire’, one cardinal spoke up.

“There’s a record that in ancient Greece, a man named Heron rotated an iron ball by boiling water. Wouldn’t it be similar?”

“By boiling water? Just with steam? Wouldn’t the furnace need to be as big as a house to pull a carriage with steam?”

“Well…”

As all sorts of conversations like this were taking place, the power holders and merchants all came to the same conclusion.

‘We must open a path to Joseon!’

The ‘race towards Joseon’ was slowly beginning to surface.

Unlike the nobles and merchants, scholars dreamed of going to Joseon for different reasons.

“A philosopher king…”

“A research institute where one can study mathematics…”

“It’s a land of fantasy.”

At that time, in Hanseong.

Angelo was unknowingly grumbling to himself.

“This is maddening…”

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