Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 189

Episode 189: Teacher (1)

In March, a proclamation was issued to government offices across the country.

– A (甲). A person in charge of education at a social democratic academy.

– Eul (乙). A person responsible for managing the building and attached farmland of the Social Democratic Institute.

Applicants for Category A are men and women from Yangin background who are outstanding in academics, have good character, and have a talent for teaching.

In the case of academics, it is based on the scores of the employment examination conducted by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

In the case of personality, it is initially determined through interviews with those who have passed the appointment test and continues to be evaluated during the training process that follows.

In the case of talent, it is selected through the educational process of those who have passed the above two courses.

For women, sewing and weaving skills are checked in addition to the above selection criteria.

In the case of women, preference is given to those who have received the title of filial wife (孝婦) or virtuous woman (virtuous woman).

* * *

Joseon’s noble society was shaken by the proclamation issued by the government. It was because of the following problems.

-Is teaching children at a social democratic academy really a job?

“What kind of career is it to teach children the thousand-character alphabet? “And that too, in a school where all dogs and cows gather, unless they are children of slaves!”

‘Academics are something that can be learned and mastered by noblemen.’ There were many people who were caught up in the traditional way of thinking and reacted negatively, but there were also quite a few who did not.

“The world is changing. The number of heavenly men is decreasing, and we have entered an era where even noblemen can enter the civil service if they put in the effort!”

“How can it be that joining the military is the only answer! If you look at Joseon today, the number of merchants and artisans is increasing! The world will be able to stand on its own only when properly educated people become merchants and artisans! “The Social Democratic Institute is the place of enlightenment that the saints of old wanted!”

“Mencius himself once said that one of the three joys of a noble man is to ‘acquire and teach the world’s gifted students!’ “Although it only teaches a thousand characters, simple arithmetic, and basic morals, who knows whether someone who will open their eyes to learning through it and take responsibility for the future of Joseon will emerge!”

A war of words ensued, but to sum it up, on the day of the appointment examination, a large number of noblemen gathered at the examination hall created in the office of each province’s governor (officially Dogwanchalchulcheoksa (都觀察黜陟使)).

However, the part that King Sejong had the most trouble with was the appointment of women as teachers.

* * *

Before officially deciding on this issue, it was Hyang who spent the most time with King Sejong.

Late at night, with all the officers kicked out, King Sejong and Hyang said, ‘The goal is to educate women.’ We were discussing opinions on the topic.

“Abby Lee believes that Joseon women should also be allowed to enter the civil service if necessary. “Because there is not enough people in Joseon.”

In King Sejong’s judgment, it was a waste of time to distinguish between men and women in modern Joseon.

It was a natural concern as it was a situation where the construction of the police station would be successful and Joseon would be able to stand proudly alone only with the help of children, regardless of men and women.

One last thing.

Only by creating a gap in the barrier between men and women will it be beneficial to the controversy over the caste system that will one day surface.

“That’s right. But the problem is that if you reveal your intention right now, there will be tremendous opposition.”

Sejong let out a long sigh at Hyang’s point.

“Whoa~. “That’s the problem.”

Seeing King Sejong like that, Hyang also sighed inwardly.

‘It’s like this even in the early Joseon Dynasty, when women’s status was high.’

As Hyang said, women’s social status was quite high until the early Joseon Dynasty. However, this was closer to respecting women’s territory in a situation where there was a traditional division of roles between men and women.

Since joining the government meant women entering the male domain, it was clear that there would be tremendous opposition.

While he was pondering for a while, Hyang made a suggestion to Sejong.

“It may be a bit expedient, but why not use the Social Democratic Institute?”

“Social Democratic Institute?”

“Abama has already declared that girls should be admitted to the academy, and there was no opposition. “That’s why you didn’t tell us to find women as teachers to teach girls?”

“That’s right. “Because men and women are different, we shouldn’t create problems no matter how close we are.”

Hyang nodded at Sejong’s words and continued speaking.

“So, this is how we set the standards for women who will become teachers. “The moment you become a teacher, you will bring glory to your village and family.”

“It’s the glory of the village and the family…”

Sejong’s face brightened as he pondered his words for a moment.

“I see! “It would be a good cause to have Hyobu and virtuous women as teachers!”

“That’s right. In this way, we are gradually expanding the scope.”

“Let’s do that!”

Hyang smiled bitterly as she saw Sejong appreciating her.

‘Hyobu and a virtuous woman…. This is a controversy that will attract criticism in the future.’

But in today’s era, this is what works and is the best.

The best course of action was to stimulate the noblemen’s desire for Confucian honor.

In this way, the standards for hiring female teachers at the Social Democratic Institute were created.

* * *

While men voluntarily took the exam, an unexpected situation occurred for women. A serious situation occurred where the village’s retainers or local officials visited those who were recognized as filial piety or virtuous women and begged them to join the civil service.

“What would a mere woman know?”

“no way! Instead of doing that, please do your best for our village.”

“How great would it be if all the girls in our village grew up with good behavior, following your example?”

Receiving the title of ‘filial father’ or ‘virtuous woman’ from the country was a blessing for the village, but having a teacher teach the children also enhanced the village’s reputation.

Amidst this chaos, appeals containing similar content were filed one after another from local officials.

Although they do not have proper education, there are people who are filial sons or virtuous women. They have excellent weaving and sewing skills, so please allow them to be appointed.

King Sejong, who had been pondering these appeals, came to a conclusion.

“Loyalty, filial piety and fidelity are not something that can be learned only from books. These are the things that must be observed and modeled, so even if they are ignorant of Buddhism, they are fully qualified to teach. “Especially because the people that young children see and learn from the most are their mothers, so what should we do to determine their importance?”

According to King Sejong’s order, women who were known for their fidelity and filial piety, even though they were not properly educated, were recommended as those who disciplined female children.

King Sejong’s decision soon began to circulate among the people.

Many people nodded at Sejong’s decision.

“yes. “For children to learn properly, seniors must set a good example.”

“cancer! “Of course.”

“But should we teach sewing to girls separately? “You can learn at home, right?”

“So, is that what the stitching on your clothes looks like?”

“….”

Regardless of class, when the man in charge of the family’s finances disappeared, it was the women’s responsibility to take charge of the family’s finances. The main work of women who became responsible for making a living was day labor in the rice fields or sewing.

In particular, if you were good at weaving or sewing, you could live a little more comfortably than if you worked as a day laborer in the rice fields or fields.

Therefore, few people objected to teaching girls how to sew and weave.

The reason why the word ‘almost’ was used was because many of the officials of Yejo raised objections.

“Now that I am working in a factory, is there a need to teach weaving?”

“I guess so.”

“Except weaving. “It would be better to teach at least one more letter in that time.”

Yejo Panseo, who thought that the words of his subordinate officials were reasonable, insisted to King Sejong that ‘Weaving’ be removed from the curriculum. While King Sejong and the ministers were nodding their heads at Ye Pan’s claim, Hyang raised a counterargument.

“The basis of the automatic loom used in textile factories is the loom. “If there is a problem with the quality of the fabric or the loom, those who have experience in weaving are more capable than those who have not, in order to quickly find out where the problem is.”

“Ah…”

King Sejong and the ministers nodded at Hyang’s point.

“There is such a problem.”

“I’ve never done weaving before…”

Hyang grumbled inwardly at the ministers’ words.

‘Such good-looking noblemen!’

It is generally known that weaving is the exclusive domain of women, but men also often participated in the work. In particular, a very high proportion of men were involved in weaving seats such as Hwamunseok.

However, most of the ministers who now filled Geunjeongjeon were people who did not have to worry about making a living for generations. That’s why I didn’t know this part properly.

“Of course, as automatic looms become more advanced in the future, it won’t matter if you don’t know how to weave, but for now, you must know.”

“okay.”

“The gods were short-sighted.”

In the end, the agenda that came up from Yejo ended up being nothing.

* * *

In April, screening to appoint teachers began.

Men and women who passed the employment examination had to come to Hanseong for an interview. During the interview process, the examiners carefully examined the applicant’s tone of voice and body language to evaluate his or her personality.

Because there were many people, a spacious space was needed, so King Sejong showed an unprecedented move by giving up Changdeokgung Palace.

“majesty! “For you to give up your palace is absolutely unfair!”

All the ministers rose up against King Sejong’s decision, but King Sejong did not back down.

“Who are they electing now? These are the people who will teach the children of Joseon! So who are the children they will be teaching? These are the people who will be responsible for the future of Joseon! “This is the beginning of such an important event, so why not give up the palace for a while?”

The ministers could not continue to oppose King Sejong’s strong words.

The ministers who had withdrawn gathered in Uijeongbu and put their heads together. The first to speak was Maeng Sa-seong.

“Rather, let’s use this as an opportunity to turn things around.”

“A phone call?”

“Among the criteria for selecting teachers now, the most important thing is academic knowledge, but can’t personality also be overlooked?”

“That’s true…”

The ministers nodded at Maeng Sa-seong’s words. This was because King Sejong emphasized ‘character’ when setting the selection criteria.

‘The most important thing for a teacher is character! If there is no significant difference in knowledge and talent, give preference to those with good character!’

Meng Sasheng continued to speak.

“But isn’t it something you don’t know about after seeing it once or twice? And there are a lot of other things going on right now, so we can’t allocate a large number of people to appoint teachers.”

Kim Jeom, who was quietly listening to Maeng Sa-seong’s words, clapped his hands lightly and accepted his words.

“Right! “There are already many court ladies and eunuchs stationed at Changdeokgung Palace, so they can keep an eye on the applicants!”

“That’s what I said.”

The ministers who heard the conversation between Kim Jeom and Maeng Sa-seong immediately nodded.

“This could indeed be an opportunity for fortune.”

In this way, applicants had to stay at Changdeokgung Palace, go through a second interview process, and receive training.

Candidates who stayed at Changdeokgung Palace had to wear a number tag with large numbers written on their chest. The eunuchs and court ladies who ran Changdeokgung Palace dealt with the applicants and meticulously observed their lifestyles. And the reports written by the palace maids and eunuchs were promoted to royal rites and became a guideline for selecting those who were eliminated.

* * *

Yejo was not the only one who became busy with the Social Democratic Institute. Area 51 of the township has also become busy.

The reason Area 51 was so busy was because of textbooks to be used by the Social Democratic Institute.

The number of children entering social democratic schools nationwide was at least 200,000 to 300,000.

The criteria for joining the party were boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 7, but children up to the age of 12 could join the party if they wanted to.

Thanks to this, the lowest estimate was 200,000 to 300,000.

Printing the textbooks they would use was impossible with just a printing press. Because of this, the matter was handed over to Area 51.

“Why Area 51 again?”

Young government officials asked their superiors questions like the above. As he took on more and more work, he became wary of Area 51, which was growing in size and influence without knowing it.

The superiors’ answers to the young officials’ questions were simple.

“Because Area 51 is the only place that can afford the paper to print textbooks on.”

“There are many companies that handle paper.”

“It is impossible to supply with their capabilities. And the budget is also expensive.”

The young officials had to keep their mouths shut in response to the explanations from their superiors.

This was because there was yellow paper in Area 51.