Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 291

Episode 291: Savior. (4)

“Where on earth is this place? Who am I?”

As Iwami’s silver mine was in full swing, Mochiyo could not escape the chaos.

* * *

The first thing that caught my eye was the difference between the residential areas where Japanese miners and Koreans lived.

The two residential areas, separated by a road leading up to the mine, looked completely different.

The residential area of the Japanese people was a common sight in the Japanese country.

You and the roof were built using dirt and wood and covered with wooden planks to protect against rain and sun.

However, the area where Koreans lived was made up of single-story buildings and warehouses made of an unknown gray dough.

It wasn’t just the buildings that made the difference.

What threw Mochiyo into chaos was that, except for the houses where the Japanese workers lived and the clothes the Japanese miners wore, everything had changed to Joseon style.

It started with work tools used for mining.

* * *

“Dig a mine with this? Wouldn’t you rather dig it with your bare hands?”

“Nigimi….”

“It’s a waste of metal. Steel….fuck.”

All Koreans who saw the tools such as shovels and pickaxes brought by the Japanese workers clicked their tongues and cursed.

“What are you saying?”

“Ah… that is…”

Mochiyo, who heard the Koreans talking, asked the interpreter, but the Japanese interpreter stuttered while sweating.

Mochiyo saw that and sighed softly.

“I pretty much know what you’re talking about. Phew~.”

A few days later, tools made in Joseon arrived via a transport ship sent from Joseon.

Joseon craftsmen unloaded the wooden boxes that arrived on carts, opened the lids of the boxes, and began to carefully examine each and every tool inside.

Seeing this, not only Japanese miners but also samurai gathered around to look at the ‘Made in Joseon’ tools.

“oh my god! “You can make shovels and pickaxes with such good iron?”

The samurai could not close their mouths when they saw tools such as shovels, pickaxes, and saws shining in the sunlight.

This was because the quality of the iron used in the tools used by the lowly people was so excellent.

At a glance, it can be seen that iron of similar quality to that used to make the swords prized by samurai was used.

The Japanese sword used by samurai was the pinnacle of Japanese steelmaking technology at the time.

The Japanese sword was so excellent that Ouyangsu, a writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, wrote a Chinese poem called ‘Nippon Sword Song’.

Wado Island reached its limit through numerous trials and errors in order to overcome the limitations of outdated steelmaking technology.

Therefore, waedo was also a precious item made with great effort by skilled craftsmen.

However, unlike the Japanese country, where the introduction of new technologies stopped after the Three Kingdoms period, steelmaking technology continued to develop on the Korean Peninsula.

With the intervention of incense, steel materials of improved quality were being supplied in large quantities.

The Japanese miners who looked at the tools in their hands and the tools in the hands of the Koreans were discouraged.

“What kind of pickaxe gets brighter the more you use it?”

“What about chisels? The chisels we use bend, break, or become blunt after hitting a rock a few times, but Joseon’s chisels don’t do that.”

The Japanese miners, who saw the difference in tools with their own eyes, soon conveyed their demands to Mochiyo through their supervisors.

“Can you please help me find Joseon tools?”

“yes. “With just those tools, we can increase mining volume several times more.”

After hearing the directors’ words, Mochiyo headed straight to Ahn Sang-taek.

Ahn Sang-taek, who was working at Yunotsu’s command center, looked slightly embarrassed at Mochiyo’s request.

“As far as I know, the tools used for the work are to be procured by both countries on their own?”

“The things from Joseon are so excellent…”

Ahn Sang-taek thought about Mochiyo’s words for a moment and came to a conclusion.

“I will send a message to Hanseong. “But you will have to pay.”

“I will pay. And…”

“Is there anything else you need?”

“I would like to import steel materials made in Joseon.”

“… I will write that part down and send it to you as well.”

“Please do me a favor.”

After completing her business, Mochiyo looked around and muttered with an absurd expression on her face.

“Is this Japan or Joseon?…”

The Yunotsu he knew no longer existed.

With the arrival of troops from Joseon to protect the mining engineers, their families, and the docks, Yunotsu quickly became Joseon.

The defensive walls, which were made only of bags of earth and sand, had been mostly replaced with walls made of the same materials as the buildings in the mine.

And houses made from a combination of unknown materials and traditional materials were built along roads trimmed like a checkerboard. And among the houses located like that, Joseon children with long hair were running around.

However, there were other buildings that caught Mochiyo’s eye.

“Seshintang (洗body bath) has appeared again.”

Like the origin of the name ‘Yunotsu (温泉津)’, there was a hot spring in Yunotsu.

The Koreans who built the residential complex drew hot spring water from this hot spring and built a public bathhouse called Seshintang.

Through public bathhouses created in this way, everyone in Joseon could enjoy bathing.

This was also true for Koreans working in mines.

Bathhouses were built in the Korean people’s lodgings, and after finishing their day’s work, Koreans washed off the dust in the bathhouse, changed into clean clothes, and enjoyed a rest.

And on his off-duty days, he visited his family living in Yunotsu and relaxed in the hot springs of the public bathhouse, relieving his fatigue and catching up with his family.

However, the buildings that attracted Mochiyo’s greatest interest were the monopoly office and the Joseon battlefield.

The monopoly office and Joseon battlefield, located in the very center of Yunotsu, were located in the same building.

On the battlefields of Joseon, the wages of Joseon craftsmen were paid, and at monopoly stores, all kinds of goods needed by Joseon people – not only craftsmen but also soldiers – were sold.

And at some point, most of the Japanese in Iwami – from mochiyo to miners – became customers of this monopoly.

If they had money, the Japanese could buy all kinds of useful Joseon items without having to go to Nagato.

What the Japanese who visited the monopoly shop looked for most were spices and vino.

As they became accustomed to this kind of life, even the Japanese in Iwami gradually became Korean.

As the situation progressed, Yunotsu’s monopoly store was gradually growing in size.

At Yunotsu’s growing monopoly, something surprising happened: the world’s first ‘cashless transaction’ was born.

* * *

The story began when a mining craftsman named Jang Hak-chul stopped by the battlefield.

While Hakchul was withdrawing money from his bank account to purchase items for himself and his family at a retail store, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

“Hey, Nari.”

“What’s going on?”

Jeonjang’s accountant, who was in the middle of recording the withdrawal amount and balance in his bankbook, looked up when Hakchul called him.

When Gyewon raised his head, Hakchul continued to ask questions.

“Sir, all the wages I receive are recorded in this battlefield bankbook, right?”

“yes.”

“And if you want to buy something at that reseller, you have to get money from your bank account, right?”

“yes.”

“And the money that goes into the monopoly comes back to this battlefield, right?”

In response to Hakchul’s question, Gyewon asked back in a voice full of irritation.

“Wow! “Why are you asking such an obvious question?”

In response to Gyewon’s irritated question, Hakchul shared his thoughts.

“Then wouldn’t it be a lot less work if you transacted using your bankbook at the cash register at the reseller?”

“huh?”

Hakchul’s proposal was as follows.

-Not only the monopoly official but also the battlefield cashier sits at the monopoly counter.

-When the person who purchased the item presents his/her bankbook, the battlefield clerk deducts from the bankbook the amount used for the purchase.

-This will save you the trouble of withdrawing money from your bank account, using it at the resale office, and then moving the money that went into the resale office back to the battlefield.

“How is it?”

“Hmm….”

“Definitely.”

Before I knew it, all the employees on the battlefield had gathered around Hakchul. Regardless of their status, employees who heard the story of school attendance analyzed the possibilities with serious faces.

“It will definitely reduce work. “Sounds like a good idea.”

“However, if done incorrectly, problems of theft may arise.”

When the issue of theft came up, Hakchul added.

“Atta! “Are you worried about how many Koreans are in this palm-sized Oncheonjin and Seokgyeonsan Mountain?”

“huh?”

“wait?”

The mood of the employees, who had been negative about the school release, changed drastically.

“It’s definitely not that much if you exclude the soldiers.”

“I know almost all the faces of those dispatched to Seokgyeon Mountain and their relatives.”

Kang So-hwi, branch manager of the Chosun Jeonjang Oncheonjin branch, stroked his beard and pondered the positive response from the employees.

After thinking for a while, Kang So-hwi soon came to a conclusion.

“Make a plan!”

“ancient!”

The employees at the battlefield responded excitedly to Branch Manager Kang’s order. If it went well, their work would be greatly reduced.

This was because it was quite difficult to verify the process of paying and receiving money again.

In the end, a detailed plan was created and experiments were conducted based on it.

After receiving very positive results, Manager Kang made a decision.

“Run! “I will write the report.”

* * *

The report on ‘transactions without currency’ conducted in Oncheonjin was immediately sent to Hanseong.

The report soon attracted the attention of King Sejong and his ministers.

This was because the costs consumed in the process of creating and distributing currency were considerable.

“I think it’s a pretty useful method, but I think it’s still too much to expand on it.”

The ministers all agreed with King Sejong’s assessment after confirming the report.

“That’s right. Since there are few people in Oncheonjin, we can block theft, but we cannot use it in crowded places.”

“It is very difficult to verify one’s identity with the identity cards currently used. “It would be unreasonable to expand Oncheonjin’s plan to other areas.”

Current Joseon Dynasty identity cards did not have faces like modern resident cards. So there was no way to verify my identity.

After seeing the reactions of the ministers, King Sejong looked back.

After hearing the unspoken question, Hyang immediately shook his head.

When even the scent showed a negative reaction, King Sejong tasted his appetite and came to a conclusion.

“It’s unfortunate, but let’s not expand the application.”

“I follow your orders.”

Bowing her head along with the ministers, Hyang grumbled inwardly.

‘Photography wasn’t my interest!’

* * *

As the Iwami Mine began operating in earnest and the number of Koreans staying in Yunotsu boasted a significant size, the government installed new facilities in Yunotsu.

What the government newly established was the ‘Social Minhakdang’.

When the ‘Social Min School’ was established, all the Koreans who settled in Yunotsu, both soldiers and civilians, breathed a sigh of relief.

“Whoa~. “I’ve been wondering what to do with my children’s education, but now I’m going to take my time!”

“That’s right!”

While the adults were sighing with relief, the children were in tears.

“The good days are gone!”

* * *

The rumor about the Social Democratic Institute reached Mochiyo immediately.

“Social Democratic Institute?”

“yes. “They say it’s a place to teach children academics.”

Mochiyo burst out laughing after receiving his subordinate’s report.

“Heh! You must be Korean indeed! Are you saying that even after coming all the way here, they will still provide education? By the way, even if Yunotsu were a world of Koreans, there wouldn’t be many of them with a high enough status to educate their children, right?”

When Mochiyo pointed out, the subordinate immediately pointed out the error.

“It is said that even girls are taught as long as they are old enough to learn, regardless of social status.”

“what!”

“It is said that it was named ‘Social Minhakdang’ because it was a place where children of all people came and learned.”

Hearing his subordinate’s report, Mochiyo got up from his seat.

“We must inform the lord right now!”