Black Corporation: Joseon

With the naming of the writing system, the collaborative work of the father and son was completed.

The project, which started with over 40 volumes and grew to 70, ended with five slightly thick books. Of these five, three were for professionals dealing with foreign language pronunciation and recording – interpreters and translators for merchant groups. The remaining two were for the general public, with just over half a volume dedicated to the rules of the letters – spelling and pronunciation. The rest recorded examples of how to use them.

King Sejong looked at the pile of books on one side and the five volumes before him, then turned to Hyang.

“Somehow we’ve ended up completing the example book too, haven’t we?”

“It seems that’s how it turned out.”

Seeing Hyang’s smirking response, King Sejong asked briefly.

“You planned this, didn’t you?”

“How could I, Father?”

“You did plan it.”

“I look forward to the vernacular translation. About five days should do, right?”

“…Yes.”

Having set a deadline, King Sejong looked again at the books on the desk.

“I wonder if it will really be used well.”

To King Sejong’s somewhat pessimistic words, Hyang immediately replied.

“It will be used well. It’s a writing system created for Joseon’s language, after all.”

“That’s exactly where there will be opposition. There will be those who object to using the same letters as the commoners. Saying it’s low class and such.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if more of them come out?”

“Huh?”

When King Sejong expressed doubt at this unexpected statement, Hyang continued with a smile.

“We’ll need many people to reorganize the records in the Records Office.”

“That’s true.”

“Father, you created Hunminjeongeum not only out of love for the people but also to break free from Ming’s shadow, didn’t you?”

King Sejong paused briefly at Hyang’s point, then smiled slightly as he responded.

“Your perceptiveness… Yes, that’s right. The shadow of the Central Plains is large and dense, but if we can’t break free from it, Joseon can’t grow. And these days, I’m as eager for the yellow dragon robe as you are.”

“So we need to stuff those who oppose it into the Records Office and make them work. We need to forcibly drill Hunminjeongeum into their bones to break their outdated thinking. Their skills are softer than an axe blade anyway. We should improve their constitution this way and make use of them.”

As Hyang mentioned the recent petition with axes incident, King Sejong nodded.

“That’s true. Although their skills are dull, we could use them in the Records Office.”

“Indeed.”

King Sejong and Hyang continued their conversation with smiles. However, the smiles on their faces looked more wicked than anyone else’s.

Though they seemed confident of success, King Sejong’s feelings were half worry and half expectation.

“I hope this writing system survives well.”

“It will survive.”

‘History proves it!’

Hyang asserted with a face full of conviction, then added his wish.

“If I have one wish, it’s that these words would be used for a long time without changing. When people’s lives become difficult, language is the first thing to become harsh.”

***

When Hyang lived as Jinho in the 21st century, his Korean language teacher had explained this aspect while teaching about the evolution of Hangul.

“As these old Hangul consonants and vowels disappeared, our language gradually became stronger and harder. So why did they disappear? The most plausible theory is that it was because people’s lives became harder. The period when old Hangul started to disappear was the latter half of Joseon, after experiencing two wars and suffering from famines. When survival itself became an issue, people’s temperaments sharpened, and as their temperaments sharpened, their language became sharper too.”

The students nodded at the teacher’s explanation. Similar content was recorded in their reference books.

The teacher, who had paused briefly, continued.

“And we actually experienced such a change. When? The most recent period would be that damned ‘IMF’ era. Until then, only rockers would say ‘ssarang’ instead of ‘sarang’ (love), but after the IMF crisis ended, even ballad singers started singing ‘ssarang’. Another example is the second-person pronoun ‘ne’. Subtitles clearly wrote ‘nega’, but people started saying ‘niga’, and before we knew it, even subtitles started writing ‘niga’.”

***

Hyang, briefly recalling the 21st century memory, repeated again.

“I only hope that the language of our Joseon will not become harsh for a long time to come.”

“That’s certainly true.”

Nodding strongly in agreement with Hyang’s words, King Sejong soon rose from his seat.

“Well! Now that we’ve finished, let’s get up.”

“Yes.”

Rising from his seat and slightly stretching his stiff back, King Sejong turned to Hyang.

“Five days. Don’t forget.”

“…Yes.”

***

A week later, King Sejong made a shocking revelation in a gathering of ministers.

“Today, I have something to tell you ministers.”

At King Sejong’s words, the ministers wore expressions that suggested the moment they had been waiting for had finally arrived.

They had known for months that King Sejong and Hyang had been busy coming and going, secretly planning something.

‘What on earth are they up to?’

Officials whose curiosity had built up over the months of secret activities had approached eunuchs they had befriended to casually ask questions.

However, the eunuchs who were questioned all consistently feigned ignorance.

This reaction from the eunuchs only piqued the ministers’ curiosity further.

“What on earth are they planning to do…”

Although all sorts of speculations were rampant, no one had the courage to ask King Sejong directly.

“Maybe Minister Hwang Hui could have done it.”

And today, King Sejong was revealing that secret himself.

***

With not only the ministers but also the court historians and scribes focused on King Sejong, he slowly continued speaking.

“For the past few years, I have been researching something alone. And today, I want to show you the results.”

“Gulp!”

At King Sejong’s words, the ministers swallowed dryly and stared at his mouth.

“Summon the Crown Prince.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Shortly after, Hyang entered Geunjeongjeon with eunuchs. After paying respects to King Sejong, Hyang stood at the podium while the following eunuchs hung large charts on the hanging frames.

As Hyang’s preparations finished, King Sejong spoke again.

“What I want to show you today is a writing system unique to our Joseon.”

At King Sejong’s words, the ministers’ eyes widened as much as they could.

“Crown Prince, explain.”

“Yes, Father.”

Responding to King Sejong’s command, Hyang began speaking while turning over the cover of the chart with a pointer.

“I will now explain ‘Hunminjeongeum (訓民正音)’.”

***

Having somewhat recovered from their initial shock, the ministers soon focused on Hyang’s explanation.

Hyang explained to the ministers the pronunciation of consonants and vowels, how they combine, and even simple examples.

“That concludes the explanation.”

As Hyang’s explanation ended, King Sejong asked the ministers.

“What do you think?”

Though King Sejong asked, no ministers answered immediately. Eventually, Lee Jik stepped forward and addressed King Sejong.

“It seems we need to think about it a bit more, Your Majesty.”

“But surely you must have a first impression?”

At King Sejong’s question, Maeng Sa-seong stepped forward.

“At first glance, it seems easy to write and read, but it’s difficult to give a definitive answer before actually using it.”

King Sejong immediately responded to Maeng Sa-seong’s answer.

“That’s why Jinpyeong and Anpyeong started working on it yesterday. We should be able to see some results soon. For your reference, it took Jinpyeong and Anpyeong only about 1 shijin (about 2 hours) to learn this Hunminjeongeum.”

The ministers considered the meaning of the “1 shijin” King Sejong mentioned.

‘Is he bragging about his children? No… He’s saying it’s that easy.’

‘Is he emphasizing that it’s easy to understand and use?’

***

While the ministers were struggling to find the hidden meaning in the words, the Chief Royal Secretary informed King Sejong that Anpyeong had arrived.

“Let him in.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Shortly after, Anpyeong entered Geunjeongjeon and paid his respects to King Sejong.

“Well, what is it?”

“Following your command from yesterday, Father, I have recorded five vernacular songs and brought them.”

“Let me see.”

Receiving the papers through the Chief Royal Secretary, King Sejong carefully examined the contents. At the top of the papers were lyrics in Chinese characters, and at the bottom were lyrics written in Hunminjeongeum.

“Hmm…”

After comparing the lyrics written on the paper, King Sejong put down the papers and asked Anpyeong.

“So, how was it?”

“Hunminjeongeum was overwhelmingly useful for writing lyrics. Since I could write as it sounds, it greatly reduced the effort of finding the right Chinese characters for those words. Also, because I wrote the sounds directly, there was less risk of misrecording.”

“Is that so? I see. Ministers, please read it as well.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The ministers read the lyrics Anpyeong had brought. Having just seen Hunminjeongeum, the unfamiliar ministers looked back and forth between the charts hanging on the frames and the papers to understand the sentences.

“G… Ga… Gat… Gasi… Gasiri…”

However, as they were unmatched in literary talent, they soon became accustomed and began to read the sentences.

“Gasiri gasiri itgo…”

“Nima nima…”

After confirming that the ministers had finished reading, King Sejong asked again.

“What do the ministers think?”

To King Sejong’s question, Lee Jik was the first to speak.

“Honestly, we could understand the meaning just from the sounds we read. It seemed somewhat useful, but it seems right to decide after testing it more in practice.”

At Lee Jik’s answer, King Sejong’s expression became unfavorable. Seeing that expression, Lee Jik’s heart sank, but he couldn’t agree right away.

‘I might end up like Minister Ryu Jeong-hyeon, but we’re talking about a writing system! A writing system! We need to examine it more carefully!’

Lee Jik continued speaking while repeatedly bowing his head.

“Is writing lyrics the only use for a writing system? I think it’s right to verify it in more applications and then decide.”

“If the results of Jinpyeong’s Hunminjeongeum report are good, will you concede?”

At King Sejong’s question, Lee Jik became very tense.

‘This is the final warning!’

Feeling his life was in danger, Lee Jik calculated as quickly as possible.

‘Prince Jinpyeong is in charge of official documents! If there are no particular problems with official documents…’

After calculating, Lee Jik made his decision.

“If so, this subject will concede, Your Majesty.”

“Then, let’s talk again at that time. Let’s end today’s court session here. I’m tired and need to rest.”

***

As King Sejong declared the end of the session, the ministers who left Geunjeongjeon all flocked to the Prime Minister’s Office (formerly the State Council).

Gathered in the meeting room of the Prime Minister’s Office, the ministers began to debate about Hunminjeongeum.

“His Majesty seems determined, so shouldn’t we follow?”

“That’s true, but a writing system unique to Joseon out of nowhere…”

“Still, it seems quite useful, what do you all think?”

Amidst various comments being exchanged, Kim Jeom showed a very positive reaction.

“I think it looks very useful. It’s not easy to transcribe our thoughts using someone else’s writing, is it? It seems like we might even be able to find hidden talents if we use it well.”

At Kim Jeom’s words, Maeng Sa-seong let out a long sigh.

“Huu~. Why wouldn’t I know that? The problem is that there’s an even bigger issue.”

“What issue?”

“A historical issue.”

At Maeng Sa-seong’s words, Kim Jeom thought for a moment, then nodded and looked at Lee Maeng-gyun.

“You’re going to be busy, Minister.”

At Kim Jeom’s words, most of the ministers except Lee Maeng-gyun nodded, and Lee Maeng-gyun grumbled with a very annoyed face.

“Ah! History is really…!”

It might be speculation to say so, but among the countries surrounding the Central Plains, there weren’t many countries with their own writing systems that had good relations with the Central Plains countries.

The Khitan Empire (Khitan script) was like that, the Jin Dynasty (Jurchen script) was like that, and the Yuan Dynasty (Mongolian script) was like that too.

If Joseon were to create and use its own writing system, there was a very high possibility that Ming would react nervously.

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