Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 236
Episode 236: School starts. (3)
The Social Democratic Institute, which King Sejong started with strong will and leadership of the government, received a positive response from the people.
On the day of the opening ceremony of the Social Democratic School, it was not only children who flocked to the Social Democratic School. The children’s parents also gathered in front of the Social Ministries School and had a lot of conversations.
“You’re giving food to the kids?”
“I guess so. “I’m sure they give you one meal a day.”
The man who questioned the answer of his neighbor standing next to him breathed a sigh of relief.
“Whew, I guess it’ll save me an hour.”
“why? “Are you afraid the kids will starve?”
“That’s not it. “I was worried that the kids, the size of dogs, would eat like oxen, but I’m glad they ate at least one less meal.”
“Yekki! “With people!”
After a while, the door to the Social Democratic School opened and the teachers who would teach the children came out.
As soon as the teachers came out, the loud noise subsided immediately. People’s attitude toward the teachers was very cautious.
People’s attitudes became more cautious because they were polite in front of teachers, but the teachers’ attire also played a role.
All male teachers were wearing black Confucian robes (Note 1) and wearing Confucian hats (Note 2). There was a circular decoration made of gold on the forehead, and the Chinese character for ‘Gyo (敎)’ was engraved on the decoration.
The female teachers wore black skirts and jackets, both top and bottom, and also black Dansam (Note 3).
One characteristic was that the gache (加髢), which was a necessity for women of the royal family or noble families, was not used. Instead, he was wearing a black headgear, as expected, and in the middle of the headgear was a gold decoration with the word ‘Gyo’ engraved on it.
Lastly, both the Yubok and the Dansam had gold stripes on the sleeves, and a pear flower pattern was attached in gold leaf to the very center of the gold stripes.
* * *
As expected, all of this was Hyang’s idea.
“They say they don’t even step on their teacher’s shadow, but there are women too, right? There could be trouble. I need something to prove my authority. “What would be better?”
As Hyang was thinking about good items, a 21st century college graduation ceremony came to mind. I remember both professors and students wearing black gowns and square graduation caps.
“yes!”
Based on that memory, the appropriate transformation was the black uniforms that teachers are currently wearing.
When he first saw the uniform made by Hyang, King Sejong shared his impressions.
“Isn’t it too intimidating because it’s the ink color?”
In response to Sejong’s point, Hyang explained the reason.
“It’s not just about teacher authority. Ink is the heaviest color. This is a constant reminder of the seriousness of a teacher’s job. What is the Social Democratic Institute? A place that simply teaches letters and numbers? no! It is a place to teach children who do not yet know right from wrong and raise them as leaders who will support Joseon. “How could this not be important?”
“You are right!”
King Sejong shouted loudly at Hyang’s explanation and expressed his agreement. The ministers also had the same expression as King Sejong.
Even when compared to the teachings of the sage, Hyang’s words were unmistakable.
The words of thanks were distributed to social democratic schools across the country after a memorial work. The place where the framed pictures were hung was the teacher’s office.
The black teacher uniform created in this way became a common uniform worn by all teachers at social democratic schools as well as middle school schools.
This teacher’s uniform became the pride and tradition of those who worked as teachers in Joseon.
As time went by, changes in clothing were made, but the black uniform, Dansam Yugeon, and jokduri were the uniforms of teachers.
Of course, those who called for a ‘new era’ rejected these teacher uniforms, but most teachers did not abandon them, even if they made minor improvements.
“To throw away this teacher’s uniform means to throw away the sacred will of our great ancestors!”
In the end, a clash broke out between ‘oldies’ and ‘immature delusions’ across the teacher’s uniform.
* * *
Whatever the future holds, many parents in Joseon gained hope with the opening of the Social Democratic Institute.
“Our children should be in a better situation than us!”
Perhaps those hopes were overheated, and funny things happened in some places.
A village near Suwon, Gyeonggi-do.
“Were there this many children in our town?”
When a man tilted his head as he looked at the children filling up the front door of the Social Democratic School, the man next to him scolded him.
“Father Dolsoe, didn’t you hear that story?”
“What story?”
“Among the teachers at our village academy, there is Mrs. Kang from the village next door.”
“Who is Mrs. Kang?”
After hearing the story, Dadolsoi stood on tiptoe and looked at the teachers, and the man next door raised his hand and pointed.
“That’s the third one on the right.”
Father Dolsoe, who had looked for the female teacher in question at the words of his neighbor, shook his head.
“You seem to have some temper. Because of that teacher, the number of children attending social democratic schools has increased? why?”
“It is said that that teacher has three sons, and that he passed the state civil service examination for all three of them while single-handedly supporting his parents-in-law.”
“Huh?”
“That also means that he passed the exam by teaching himself without a writing teacher.”
“Huh!”
Dadolsoi’s eyes widened as he heard his neighbor’s words. As Dadolsoi’s father could not hide his surprise, his neighbor continued talking excitedly.
“Although they didn’t make it to the manor, all three of my sons passed the Dae-gwa exam with Gap and Eul-gwa at the age of 20! “And that doesn’t even have to go through Sungkyunkwan!”
“her! “That’s amazing!”
As the story continued, Father Dolsoe could not hide his surprise. The neighbor was excited by Dadolsoe’s reaction and continued the story.
“That’s why I heard the rumor… The king who heard the story asked me to teach at a middle school, but I said I declined.”
“why?”
The moment Dadolsoi expressed his doubts, everyone nearby had the same expression. Before I knew it, those around me were immersed in the story.
In response to Uncle Dolsoe’s question, the neighbor swallowed his saliva, cleared his throat, and continued speaking.
“The teacher answered, ‘The results came about because the children were intelligent, and he did nothing differently.’”
“You are humble!”
“yes? In response, the king said again, ‘Even if children are talented and intelligent, if there is no one to properly teach them, they will not sprout.’”
“As expected, you are the king! “Your eyes see differently!”
“So you refused even though he ordered it again? That’s why. ‘Those who have made it to middle school are those who came with the goal of passing the civil service examination, so they have to take care of it on their own. However, he said, ‘The Social Democratic School is for children who are just learning academics, so we need to let them know the joy of learning,’ and he remained as a teacher at the Social Democratic School.”
“Huh…”
Father Dolsoe, who had been amazed by his neighbor’s words, tilted his head again.
“I know that the teacher is great, but why are the kids flocking here? “If it’s the past, you have to go to middle school, right?”
The neighbor gave a simple answer to Dadolsoi’s words.
“You idiot! Look further! What did you hear earlier? Didn’t you say that those who come to middle school can take care of their own affairs? What is the most important thing to do on your own? You need to know how to study. But that teacher said, ‘You must let people know the joy of learning.’…”
“Ah!”
Even before the neighbor finished speaking, Dolsoe Man and everyone nearby listening to the story let out exclamations of exclamation.
* * *
Three months before the Social Democratic Institute started school.
“Sir, how about we move?”
“Moving?”
When his wife suddenly asked him to move, Saengwon Kim asked back with an expression of confusion.
To Kim Saeng-won’s question, his wife, Han, answered with more force.
“yes. “I want you to move to the next town.”
“Why?”
“It is said that Mrs. Kang is among the teachers at the social democratic academy that is forming in the neighboring county.”
“Who is Mrs. Kang?”
In response to Saengwon Kim’s question, Mrs. Han gave a detailed explanation about Mrs. Kang.
After hearing the story, Saengwon Kim still could not hide his doubts.
“She is a great woman, but I don’t understand why she wants to move…”
“Sir!”
Mrs. Han raised her voice.
“Look around! “The people of our village call you Seobangnim Saengwon and our house Saengwondaek, but if we follow the law, aren’t we just sheep people?”
Kim Saeng-won’s head bowed at Mrs. Han’s point. As King Sejong changed the law, Kim Saengwon lost his Saengwon qualification by a narrow margin. Therefore, Mrs. Han’s words were like pouring salt on Kim Saeng-won’s painful wounds.
In response to Kim Saeng-won’s reaction, Mrs. Han gently comforted Kim Saeng-won.
“Of course, I don’t have to worry because the West is preparing for the civil service examination again, but we must also think about the children’s future. Shouldn’t we lay a good foundation now so that children in the future can easily pass the civil service exam?”
To study well, you had to be smart, but you also had to be persistent and stick to your books.
The best thing to have this kind of persistence was to love studying.
Therefore, Saengwon Kim could only nod his head after hearing Mrs. Han’s words.
“Okay… let’s move.”
This didn’t just happen at Kim Saeng-won’s house.
* * *
The neighbor who saw the expression on Father Doldsoi’s face finished.
“That’s why the nearby families sent all their children who were just learning to read here.”
“Is that possible?”
“Didn’t you see that a lot of tile-roofed houses were built in the villages around our town not long ago? “If it’s Jeolla-do or Gyeongsang-do, it might be a problem, but if it’s nearby, it’s just a slap in the face.”
Dadolsoi couldn’t close his mouth at his neighbor’s words.
“Huh…”
For the first time in the history of the Korean Peninsula, a case of fake transfer after school district was created.
This didn’t just happen here. Similar things happened near social democratic schools where there were rumors that there were female teachers who were rumored to have educated children well, or teachers who had excellent grades on teacher appointment tests.
In the end, the report was also sent to Sejong.
After reading the report, King Sejong looked back at the local government and ministers.
“How should I handle this?”
To King Sejong’s question, the ministers answered with a look that said it was no big deal.
“There is also a saying, ‘The teachings of the Three Mothers and Three Heavens,’ so why not just ignore it? “Isn’t it to educate your children well?”
“is it? “That could be possible.”
When King Sejong nodded to the ministers’ words, a scent was released.
“We must stop it thoroughly!”
“why?”
“First, if you move like that, there will be problems with family registration. If the family register is messed up, everything, including taxes, will go wrong, so it must be prevented!
Second, if you chase after famous teachers, discord will arise among the teachers! This has a negative impact on children learning, so we must stop it!
Lastly, teachers are rotated every three years! “It would be a nightmare if something like this happened every time!”
The faces of the ministers, especially Kim Jeom, who had been making predictions while listening to the crown prince’s comments, gradually turned white.
In the end, the ministers quickly reversed their opinion.
“What the Crown Prince said is truly correct!”
In the end, under King Sejong’s strict order, a thorough investigation into the false transfer was conducted.
As a result of the investigation, the children who were found to have faked moving in had to be moved to the social democratic school they should have gone to, and the family that faked moving in had to pay a huge fine.
* * *
Note 1) Yubok image.
http://dh.aks.ac.kr/Encyves/wiki/index.php/%EB%B0%95%EC%84%B8%EC%B1%84_%EC%B4%88%EC%83%81 (%EC%9C%A0%EB%B3%B5%EB%B3%B8)
Note 2) Image of Yugun.
https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/detail/7137
Note 3) Dansam image.
https://theqoo.net/square/759337965