Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 403

Episode 403: Higher education institutions. (5)

King Sejong, who had been mulling over things in silence for a while, soon opened his mouth.

“We will establish professional educational institutions and research institutions that study the words of the sage and study the doctrine. So, ministers, please come up with a plan to deal with this.”

The ministers responded to King Sejong’s words by bowing their heads.

“I follow your orders.”

* * *

After the meeting at Geunjeongjeon, the ministers who left Geunjeongjeon moved to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Naturally, the topic of discussion among the ministers gathered in the Prime Minister’s Office conference room was the educational institution mentioned by King Sejong.

“What should I do?”

To Maeng Sa-seong’s question, Jo Gye-saeng answered with a natural expression.

“What should I do? “Your Majesty ordered it, so of course I have to make it.”

“Who doesn’t know that? How on earth will it be framed, what kind of people will the faculty be filled with, and who will be hospitalized? “Shouldn’t we decide on all these things?”

“Isn’t that something that should be done by making use of previous experience?”

Hwang Hee appeared frustrated at Jo Gye-saeng’s answer and joined the conversation.

“Is that what His Majesty the Lord wants?”

“….”

Jo Gye-saeng’s mouth closed at Hwang Hee’s point. Seeing that, Hwang Hee placed her hand on her forehead and said something.

“Do you still not know what the result will be if you proceed with such ease? “Would you feel at ease if you heard His Majesty the Lord click and click his tongue?”

“That’s not it.”

Hwanghee screamed at Jo Gye-saeng’s answer.

“You idiot! Then why do you say that! Have you experienced the Lord’s Majesty’s reign for a day or two? It’s gotten easier these days! yes! Every time you do that, my insides turn black! “Do you know?”

“Captain, please calm down…”

When Hwang Hee exploded, Maeng Sa-seong intervened and calmed Hwang Hee down.

“now. “Drink a bowl of cold water and cool off for a moment.”

“Whoa~. “I’m stuffy…”

While Hwang Hee continued to empty the bowl of cold water, Maeng Sa-seong continued the meeting instead.

“It makes sense for the Prime Minister to be angry. First of all, he told us to establish a professional educational institution that studies the words of the sage and the doctrine. “Don’t we know to some extent what you think of the Confucian scholars who will be responsible for this?”

The ministers nodded at Maeng Sa-seong’s words.

* * *

Unlike when he first ascended to the throne, King Sejong now looked at Confucian scholars and local noblemen with a very cynical gaze.

The reason why King Sejong’s perspective changed so much was not just because of the Giyu Rebellion.

The clash between Ryu Jeong-hyeon and King Sejong, which brought blood to the court that took place just before the start of the competition, ignited the spark. Afterwards, as the construction progressed, issues of corruption by officials and privatization of power by local noblemen came to the fore.

And it was the Giyu Rebellion that turned a problem that was at the level of a bonfire into a huge fire.

The Giyu Rebellion, which became a huge fire, reduced Joseon’s local noble society to ashes.

And it would have been nice if it had ended there, but a significant number of the surviving local noblemen were still showing a passive attitude and rebelling against King Sejong.

Because of this, King Sejong’s gaze toward the local magistrate was like ice.

Until now, most of those who had been educated enough to use it properly were noblemen, so it was a situation that was just overlooked. However, when educational institutions began to function properly, the first to be eliminated were the local noblemen.

* * *

Most of the ministers who had worked beside King Sejong for a long time and had become familiar with him were well aware that King Sejong was not friendly towards this matter. Because of this, Jo Gye-saeng, who spoke carelessly without understanding the situation, was criticized.

“Let’s live while paying attention to that. a little! As soon as he relaxes a little, he starts to wake up…”

“Keuhum! ” “I’m sorry!”

Jo Gye-saeng apologized with an uncomfortable expression on Hwang Hee’s face.

Once the small uproar was over, Minister of Justice Cho Geuk-kwan spoke.

“But there is a need for a professional educational institution. “If you look at the number of lawsuits that have increased rapidly since the U.S. Tribunal was created, many problems arise because the world is changing, but common sense is outdated.”

* * *

As the case progressed, the sentencing team was divided into the Ministry of Justice and the Public Safety Agency.

With the division of ministries, litigation and public security duties were separated from the duties of local officials.

Criminal cases were handled by the Public Safety Office up to the provincial government, and from smaller counties to prefectures, the land and navy light troops (current military police) were dispatched to maintain public order.

The trial of lawsuits and criminal cases taking place among the people came to be handled by the Tribunal.

The judges of the tribunal were first appointed by local officials or those who worked in the police department and were renowned for their fair rulings.

The plan was to lay the foundation with these people and then have properly educated and trained people take over.

* * *

All kinds of lawsuits flooded into the umpire created in this way.

Most of the lawsuits that flocked to this area were related to ‘intellectual property infringement.’

“… Until Gyeongjang, there was no idea that knowledge was wealth, right? “Weren’t we like that too?”

The ministers nodded to Justice Minister Cho Geuk-gwan’s point.

* * *

Until the introduction of the new system, intellectual property rights were a concept that did not exist.

If there was a precious book containing the words of an old sage or a collection of works by a famous nobleman, he would go and borrow it or copy it, but no payment was made. Rather, it was natural to think that receiving such compensation was a menial task that would tarnish one’s reputation.

This was also true among the general public.

“Good is good! Oh my! “What a narrow-minded person!”

In most cases, people would hear comments like the above when they asked for something in return for providing knowledge or talent that only they possessed.

Of course, I could never say that in front of blacksmiths or pottery craftsmen.

However, even if the technology was not shared, copying the results was common. Therefore, when a rumor was heard that a craftsman had created something unique and was popular, it was common for nearby craftsmen to produce items made exactly like that product.

Therefore, there was a lot of opposition when the law on intellectual property rights was first promulgated.

“Good knowledge should be shared widely! “How can you put value on something as intangible as knowledge!”

“Wow! It’s good if we eat well and live well together! Why are you being so mean! no way! “It’s the end of the world!”

Complaints and complaints arose from all directions, but due to strong law enforcement, the complaints gradually died down.

However, these infringements of intellectual property rights took place in increasingly sophisticated ways, and the tribunals were overwhelmed with people filing lawsuits related to them.

* * *

“It is true that people’s thoughts must change as new things pop up that did not exist in the past, such as intellectual property infringement cases. However, it would be reasonable for changing thoughts to be directed in the right direction.”

The ministers nodded to Jo Geuk-gwan’s point.

While the ministers were pondering Jo Geuk-gwan’s words, Jo Mal-saeng, who had been sitting quietly, opened his mouth.

“It is right to create an educational institution and to study the words of the sage in that educational institution and discuss principles appropriate for the changing times. Of course it’s something to do. But the problem is, isn’t it the teachers who will think and teach in that educational institution? Putting aside the words of ancient sages, how many of the sayings of Zhu Xi are far from reality if we adapt them to the present times? How much trouble have we had with that problem while working? Therefore, the most important thing is how to find professors. “If you do it wrong, you could end up having fun on the clouds in the sky.”

The ministers nodded to Jo Mal-saeng’s point.

Afterwards, in order to find a solution to this problem, the ministers furrowed their brows and pondered over and over again.

At that time, Kim Jeom opened his mouth.

“It is obvious that even if you save the faculty by using your might, you will soon be playing fresh games on the clouds. Even though scholars are worthy of their name, there are very few people who know the reality. No, the higher the value of the name, the more efforts will be made to return reality to the era of old sages. “Then why not take a different approach?”

The ministers’ eyes began to sparkle at Kim Jeom’s remarks.

“A different approach?”

“That’s right. Even if we find a new doctrine to suit the changing times, wouldn’t it be useless if we don’t apply it in practice? Therefore, let us establish it as a research institute, not an educational institute. And as members of that research institute, we will include people who have sufficient practical experience in the Ministry of General Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Finance.”

Hwang Hee shook her head at Kim Jeom’s words.

“There will be war.”

“It’s something you have to deal with. If those who sat in the living room and talked about Confucius and Mencius discussed morality, would they end up with nothing more than nonsense? As Captain Cho said, how much hardship have we suffered?”

At Kim Jeom’s words, the ministers were immersed in memories.

It reminded me of the memories of the late Goryeo and early Joseon Dynasty, when they first entered public office, excitedly shouting about creating an ideal nation in line with the ideology of Neo-Confucianism, but being blocked by the wall of reality and vomiting blood.

“The problem is that there will be quite a violent conflict.”

Kim Jeom snorted at Hwang Hee’s point.

“joy! “Who do you think will be the first to fall out of that conflict?”

“Probably scholars.”

Kim Jeom immediately responded to Maeng Sa-seong’s answer.

“In all likelihood, those prominent scholars will fall away first. Because the biggest weakness is not knowing much about reality. And are there one or two scholars in Joseon?”

Maeng Sa-seong pointed out a problem in Kim Jeom’s remarks.

“Have you forgotten that most of those scholars, not just one or two, are half-hearted?”

Since Neo-Confucianism was introduced into Goryeo, there have been many scholars studying Neo-Confucianism. However, many of them – especially famous ones – went into hiding or protested against Lee Seong-gye’s revolution, saying it was unfair, and were purged.

Kim Jeom did not back down despite Meng Sa-seong’s criticism.

“How many of those who went into hiding claiming that the founding of Joseon was unfair are still alive? And even if these people are still alive and well, would they want their disciples to live in seclusion and read only the scriptures? And are those disciples just one or two? If you can get your hands on just two or three of those disciples, you can fill the positions of scholars. After that, all you have to do is watch the fierce fight and take note of the results. “Isn’t this familiar?”

At Kim Jeom’s words, the ministers nodded strongly without even realizing it.

Making people with opposing opinions fight and then getting the results was Hyang’s specialty, and it was a tactic that even Sejong learned and used to great effect.

“But will you agree to come?”

Kim Jeom pointed out the reality as Maeng Sa-seong continued to react negatively.

“Look at these people who file appeals even now when something happens, do they really do so out of patriotism and loyalty? Isn’t this just a shallow tactic to get noticed and improve your career? There are too many people who will jump up and down when you tell them to come. So let’s live positively!”

“….”

When Maeng Sa-seong closed his mouth, Hwang Hee came to a conclusion.

“Then, let’s decide to characterize it as a research institution rather than an educational institution and draw up a plan accordingly.”

“Which ministry do you plan to entrust it to?”

“Everyone is busy these days…”

Hwang Hee got up from her seat and went outside in response to the reaction of the ministers who had a strong feeling of not wanting to take charge.

“Jongseo! You bastard! “Jump out now!”

* * *

Five days later, Hwang Hee submitted a plan to King Sejong.

“Hmm… It’s a research institution, not an educational institution… I think it’s more appropriate.”

“That’s right. “It is more appropriate to be a research institution rather than an educational institution because it seeks to study the doctrines of the sage and study new doctrines in line with the changes of the times.”

“The research center will be established three years later….”

“At least that much time is needed to find good talent.”

King Sejong, who was reviewing the plan while listening to Hwang Hee’s explanation, soon came to a conclusion.

“Permission. “Do it like this.”

“yes.”

“Oh and I have something to add to that. Add to this the study of Roman and Greek science and Christian Islam that existed in that land of the West called Europe.”

“Do you also mean their science and religion?”

“Now that Joseon’s footsteps have reached that far, shouldn’t we be aware of the difference? Shouldn’t we not just know the difference, but if there is something good, we should take it? “If necessary, I will even bring in a scholar.”

When King Sejong said that he would invite scholars, Hwang Hee cautiously asked.

“Are you here now?”

In response to Hwang Hee’s question, Sejong nodded silently. In response to Sejong’s answer, Hwang Hee quietly bowed her head.

In this way, the ‘Research Institute of Science’ was born.

The Institute of Science, later renamed the Institute of Sociology, was born in this way and boasted the most intense academic culture along with the Military Medicine and Medical Institute. The war of words between idealists and realists was literally a war. However, as a result, Joseon was able to guide society in the most healthy direction possible.

As a side note, the township was most responsible for the fact that the Department of Military Medicine and the Institute of Medicine developed an academic culture as intense as that of the Institute of Science.

“Read it all, study it, and think about it.”

Since only translated medical books were given along with short orders, the professors at the Medical Academy and the Department of Military Medicine had no choice but to begin research based on their knowledge of Oriental medicine.

During the research process, all kinds of theories emerged to resolve the differences between Eastern and Western medicine – representatively, the difference between coexistence and opposition based on yin-yang and the five elements and the theory of the four humors – and fierce debates broke out over whose theory was correct.

And Hyang watched with interest and occasionally gave advice.