Black Corporation: Joseon

While the administrative organizations, including the royal court, were quietly and steadily improving their constitution and strengthening their foundations, the common people were also continuing to change.

As mentioned before, the growing economy through reforms led more and more people to venture into commerce and industry.

Among those who took the plunge, there were some who jumped in recklessly, but there were also those who dove in with their own calculations and prospects of success.

Fierce competition arose between these newcomers and those who had already established themselves.

In the process of this competition, quite a few were weeded out and disappeared. Many of those eliminated were the newcomers. For those who jumped in with only enthusiasm, lacking experience and capital, the world of commerce and industry was a cruel place. Of course, there were also some long-standing merchant groups from the Goryeo era that failed to read the trends and fell behind, disappearing as well.

Among those who were eliminated from the competition, some returned to farming, while others left for frontier lands like Hamgil-do and Daeseol-do in search of new opportunities. Lastly, there were those who lost all hope and made extreme choices.

***

According to the laws of Joseon at the time, all incidents involving casualties, such as murder cases, suicide cases, or tiger attacks (虎患), were reported to King Sejong.

“Someone has taken their own life, you say?”

“Yes, and what’s even more unfortunate is that the entire family…”

“Oh my…”

As Minister of Justice Minister Jo trailed off, King Sejong exhaled with a face full of sorrow.

Seeing Sejong’s deeply furrowed brow, Hwang Hui asked Minister Jo on Sejong’s behalf.

“Why did they make such a choice?”

“They opened a shop, but it failed and went bankrupt. The creditors’ demands were severe, it seems.”

“Creditors? You mean they used private loans?”

“That’s correct.”

“Just how high was the interest rate?”

“Upon investigation, we found that the loan period was strictly one month, and the interest was twice the principal amount.”

“Twice!”

At the news that the interest on the debt of the person who committed suicide was twice the principal, the entire hall was in an uproar.

Hwang Hui, also with a shocked expression, asked Minister Jo again.

“It’s been years since His Majesty promulgated the ‘Interest Rate Limitation Law,’ yet there are still those charging such high rates?”

“That’s right. We’re currently pursuing the group that lent money at such rates.”

Listening to the explanation, Sejong strongly commanded Minister Jo.

“Order the officials in charge of the arrest to catch every single one of them without exception! Also, confiscate all their assets and secure a list of those who owed them money! We shall return the excess interest paid above the legal limit to those poor subjects!”

Minister Jo immediately bowed his head and replied to Sejong’s words.

“I receive your command!”

After giving the order to Minister Jo, Sejong closed his mouth and fell into thought. As Sejong’s silence lengthened, the ministers began to grow tense.

“Hmm, come to think of it… Why did the entire family of the person who took their own life make such a choice?”

“It wasn’t that they all committed suicide. According to the report, it appears the head of the household killed his wife and children before taking his own life.”

“Why did this head of household make such a choice?”

“It seems he feared leaving his wife and children to suffer alone if he died by himself.”

At Minister Jo’s answer, Sejong sighed and expressed his sorrow.

“Alas… No matter how much he was the head of the household, a couple is inseparable, and children are not livestock but human beings. How could he make such an arbitrary decision! It’s truly heartbreaking! This is my oversight!”

As Sejong blamed himself, the ministers all bowed their heads and responded.

“No, Your Majesty! This is the responsibility of the one who committed the act, not at all Your Majesty’s fault!”

“That’s right! This is not something Your Majesty should blame yourself for! It was just an unfortunate subject who made a wrong choice until the end!”

“No, the fact that these incidents keep occurring means that I have not been observing matters properly. This is indeed my oversight.”

“No, Your Majesty! This is the mistake of those who took their own lives! They used high-interest private loans despite the existence of the royal treasury. This is their responsibility!”

“Sigh…”

After a long sigh, Sejong asked Kim Jeom.

“Minister of Finance.”

“I await your question, Your Majesty.”

“Why did they use private loans despite the existence of the royal treasury? As far as I know, one of the duties of the royal treasury is to provide seed money to subjects who want to start a new permanent business, isn’t it?”

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

Answering Sejong’s question, Kim Jeom searched through the pile of documents in front of him and pulled out a relevant report.

“When we created the Business Evaluation Department, we recruited officials from the Ministry of Personnel to form the department. And as Your Majesty mentioned, we evaluated those who wanted to start new permanent businesses and lent them seed money.”

“Then why did they use high-interest private loans?”

“It seems those who were notified of rejection by the Business Evaluation Department did not give up their intentions.”

“So they borrowed from private lenders because they couldn’t borrow from the royal treasury?”

“That’s correct, Your Majesty.”

“Hmm…”

After pondering Kim Jeom’s answer for a moment, Sejong spoke.

“Then how about slightly relaxing the evaluation criteria?”

“That’s not possible, Your Majesty!”

Suddenly, Heo Jo, who had been listening quietly, shouted his objection.

“Why not?”

To Sejong’s question, Heo Jo explained the reason for his objection.

“The money lent by the royal treasury is the money that the people have entrusted to it. Even now, not a small number of those who received loans and started businesses are closing down, and the loans are not being properly recovered. If we relax the loan criteria, there will be even more loans, and the amount of unrecoverable funds will increase! If the royal treasury’s losses grow, the people will lose trust in it! Distrust in the royal treasury will lead to distrust in state affairs! Relaxing the loan criteria is absolutely not possible!”

Faced with Heo Jo’s strong opposition, Sejong turned to Hwang Hui.

“What does the Prime Minister think?”

“I also believe it’s not possible, Your Majesty.”

“Oh…”

With even Hwang Hui opposing, Sejong’s expression became troubled.

Once again closing his mouth and pondering an appropriate solution, Sejong made another proposal.

“Even if we can’t help those who attempted to start businesses and failed, as it was their own choice, their families are also a problem. The inheritance of wealth is an issue, but isn’t the inheritance of poverty also a problem?”

“That is true, Your Majesty.”

“So, isn’t it also the country’s duty to provide opportunities to escape from this cycle of inherited poverty? What do you think about relocating them to frontier lands like Daeseol-do and other areas that will be developed in the future? Of course, we would need to provide tax reductions and support for at least 3 to 5 years, but I think it could work.”

At Sejong’s proposal, the ministers calculated the pros and cons, considering various scenarios.

“It could be a good opportunity for the discouraged subjects, but it might be a burden on the finances, Your Majesty.”

To Kim Jeom’s point, Sejong immediately replied.

“Let’s release more of the gold and silver we’ve mined and stored. With Joseon’s current capacity, don’t you think we can manage even if we release a bit more of our reserved gold and silver?”

After considering various scenarios based on Sejong’s additional explanation, Kim Jeom bowed his head.

“I will soon prepare and submit a proposal, Your Majesty.”

“I look forward to it. And…”

Having resolved one problem, Sejong began to pour out various policies like a flowing river.

“Thinking about policies to help those who failed in their business ventures and their families, I’ve noticed that there are quite a few disabled people in Joseon. While many became disabled while working or fighting for the country, there are also many who became disabled due to unexpected accidents or congenital conditions. We’re already implementing veterans’ policies for the former, but the latter is the problem. Let’s think about ways for them to become self-reliant. Shouldn’t we move away from this situation where we treat those who became disabled due to accidents as ‘unlucky,’ and those with congenital disabilities as if they’re bearing ‘heaven’s punishment,’ treating them like criminals when they’re not?”

“That may be true, but…”

The ministers looked troubled at Sejong’s suggestion.

Sejong’s intention was certainly not bad. Rather, it was an idea worthy of endless praise.

After all, one of the king’s duties was to embrace the pain of his people and give them hope.

Therefore, the ministers put forth various opinions and continued their debate.

After a long discussion, Sejong’s proposal began to take shape. However, the ministers’ faces didn’t easily relax.

“For those who are disabled in only one part of their body and have sound minds, there are many options, but the problem lies with those who are not of sound mind, or those who are blind and deaf. These people need care rather than self-reliance.”

Following Hwang Hui’s point, Maeng Sa-seong immediately added.

“The problem is that because of this, they are either abandoned and die at birth, or become beggars, wandering and begging for food.”

“This is indeed a difficult issue…”

Listening to the ministers’ conversation, Sejong’s face became troubled.

“Let’s take a break for now.”

Declaring a recess, Sejong left Geunjeongjeon and took a walk around the palace. As he moved his steps to clear his stuffy mind and observed the scenery, Sejong’s eyes caught sight of monks heading towards the Queen’s quarters.

As he watched them without any particular thought, Sejong broke into a smile.

“It reminds me of the old days. Wasn’t it the Crown Prince who rushed in and said, ‘Let’s do business’?”

Smiling at the old memory, Sejong suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Wait a minute!”

Sejong suddenly halted and fell into deep thought. Standing still like a statue, he nodded his head for a while and then shook it side to side. Then, with a brightened face, he turned his steps.

“If we do it right, we might have a good solution!”

***

Returning to Geunjeongjeon – as the reforms progressed, the spatially limited Sajeongjeon, which was the king’s private office, was pushed back, and Geunjeongjeon became the main place for state affairs – Sejong addressed the reassembled ministers.

“I have a good idea. How about mobilizing monks to prevent congenitally disabled people from dying at birth or wandering and begging?”

“Monks, Your Majesty?”

The ministers asked with slightly skeptical expressions at Sejong’s proposal. Sejong nodded and explained his thoughts further.

“Isn’t one of the monks’ duties to help sentient beings? So, let’s entrust them with the protection of these abandoned disabled people. In return, we’ll allow them to add 12 branch temples to the current 36 main temples, and we’ll differentiate between the Seon and Gyo sects based on their performance. And if necessary, we’ll provide appropriate amounts of food and resources.”

At Sejong’s explanation, the ministers once again started calculating various scenarios in their heads.

‘Oh my, even though our national policy is to respect Confucianism and suppress Buddhism… But they are indeed suitable for this kind of work…’

‘If we provide goods instead of farmland, it wouldn’t be bad.’

‘When I was a local official, I saw how one disabled person in a family could make the whole family suffer. No wonder they abandon them…’

After considering all sorts of possibilities and calculating the pros and cons, the ministers soon began to nod.

“If it ends with adding 12 branch temples, it doesn’t seem to be a big problem.”

“If we provide goods instead of farmland, we can prevent the evil practices of the past.”

“Good. I hope the General Affairs Department will refine this plan and report back to me.”

At Sejong’s order, Heo Jo bowed his head.

“I receive your command, Your Majesty.”