Black Corporation: Joseon

With the reforms underway, Six Ministries Street had changed significantly. Existing buildings underwent various expansions and renovations, while new buildings were constructed.

The first newly constructed building was the Office of Records, which earned the terrifying nickname “Written with the Bloody Tears of Writers.”

Later, a communal dining hall for officials and overnight duty rooms – infamously known as the “Chief Culprit of Marital Breakdowns” – were built.

These buildings gradually expanded over time.

The Office of Records grew as the volume of records requiring organization and storage increased, while the dining hall and overnight rooms expanded rapidly as the number of officials increased.

These buildings grew so quickly that the sound of hammering and sawing never ceased on Six Ministries Street.

These expanding buildings had become famous sightseeing spots in Hanseong.

“My word! Growing like summer gourds, they are!”

The passing farmer’s assessment was no joke.

And for the officials staying in these buildings, heaving long sighs had become a daily routine.

“For heaven’s sake! The number of people keeps increasing! Why don’t the overtime and night duties ever decrease!”

***

“Another night in the duty room…”

Walking along the lit corridor, the young official muttered with a gloomy expression. The dark circles under his eyes clearly showed his exhaustion.

“I’m going to die at this rate…”

Worrying about his survival, the official crossed the threshold of the raised entrance gate bearing the sign “Night Duty Station.”

Past the main gate lay a small courtyard. On either side of the courtyard stood two small gates facing each other. Each gate bore a plaque reading “Male Officials” and “Female Officials” respectively.

Looking at these plain plaques, the official let out a snicker.

“Heh! Every time I see them, I think how utterly unpoetic these names are…”

Usually, when naming buildings, it was common to use symbolic and meaningful names with layers of implications. For buildings distinguishing between men and women, it was customary to carefully select Chinese characters representing yin and yang.

However, the plaques on this duty station were the epitome of simplicity and plainness.

Passing through the male officials’ gate, the official continued grumbling.

“Whoever named this must have been really annoyed… Well, is that really the issue right now?”

As the official grumbled, Sejong and Hyang simultaneously scratched their ears.

“Why are my ears itching?”

Hyang had chosen the names, and Sejong had approved them without question.

***

Entering the male duty station, the official examined the walls on either side of the entrance.

“Let’s see… Empty rooms…”

On both walls at the entrance were square sections numbered from Building 1 to Building 4. Small nails were packed closely within these squares. Room markers hanging on these nails indicated occupied rooms.

“Hmm… Building 2 still has space.”

After checking the occupancy status, the official hung his marker in Building 2’s section and went inside.

Beyond the entrance lay a courtyard larger than the previous one, with four large buildings surrounding it. All these buildings were connected by corridors, thoughtfully allowing officials to move around without getting wet during rain or snow.

Entering Building 2, the official again checked the walls on either side of the entrance.

“Which room… Ah, there!”

Finding a room with vacancy, the official hung his marker on his chosen room number and entered.

Thus, the official’s place for a night’s rest was determined, and another world of officialdom began.

***

Entering his chosen room, the official searched for an empty spot among the double-decker beds lining both sides.

“That spot’s still available!”

The official brightened upon finding an empty bed one space away from the window.

The spot right next to the window meant suffering from sunlight at dawn, while spots near the door meant disrupted sleep whenever it opened. Therefore, a bed at a suitable distance from both was prime real estate.

Having chosen his spot, the official removed his official robes and spread them on the upper bunk.

Then he muttered quietly.

“Hah… When will I ever get to use the lower bunk?”

***

There were unspoken rules for using the duty room beds. The more comfortable lower bunks were exclusively for higher-ranking officials.

While this didn’t affect traditional senior officials – or Administrative Officers under the revised system – who were provided private rooms, junior officials had to share rooms regardless of rank. This long-standing situation had given rise to these implicit rules.

Consequently, lower-ranking officials had to choose rooms that were less than half full. And if work seemed likely to end too late, it wasn’t uncommon for them to simply lay out bedding in their offices.

***

The official, dressed in casual clothes, headed to the communal bath.

“Ah… Now I can live!”

Returning from the bath where he’d relieved his fatigue, the official brightened at seeing another official placing his robes on an empty spot.

“Who do we have here? Isn’t it Brother Sin?”

The official who turned at being called responded with delight.

“Brother Seong! It’s been so long!”

The two men expressing their joy at seeing each other were Seong Sam-mun and Sin Suk-ju.

***

Having somewhat relieved his fatigue in the bath, Sin Suk-ju engaged in casual conversation with Seong Sam-mun across a small desk in the duty room.

“How is work at the Ministry of Education?”

At Sin Suk-ju’s question, Seong Sam-mun answered with a bitter smile.

“Noisy as ever. There’s endless debate between those insisting we should teach more of the sages’ words and those arguing we should focus more on practical matters. Things got so bad that the minister suggested settling it with a stone-throwing match!”

After answering with a bitter smile, Seong Sam-mun sighed.

“Hah… If I’d known this would happen, I should have gone to the Board of Audit and Inspection as I originally wanted. I shouldn’t have fallen for Minister Jo’s persuasion back then…”

In the Muo Year (1438, King Sejong’s 20th year), Seong Sam-mun had passed the civil service examination with excellent marks.

During the subsequent training period, his continued excellent performance caught the eye of ministers and vice ministers, and soon persuasive overtures – or rather, fishing attempts – came from various directions.

“I want to join the Board of Audit and Inspection! I want to do my utmost to eliminate corruption and make Joseon more beautiful!”

Though Seong Sam-mun’s resolve was firm, Education Minister Jo Gye-saeng was persistent.

“That’s truly a noble intention, but setting education right is also important. Doesn’t the old saying go that if you’re planning for a hundred years, raise people?”

Finally yielding to Jo Gye-saeng’s persistent persuasion, Seong Sam-mun applied to the Ministry of Education.

And when he started actual work, Seong Sam-mun looked up at the sky and wept.

“I must have been crazy…”

***

After answering with a sigh, Seong Sam-mun asked Sin Suk-ju.

“How about you? Is life at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs manageable?”

At Seong Sam-mun’s question, Sin Suk-ju replied with a miserable expression.

“My wife says I now sleep-talk in four languages. It was three languages until recently, but now that I’m learning Latin too…”

“Oh dear…”

The friendship between Seong Sam-mun and Sin Suk-ju had formed during their training period.

Both had passed the Muo Year civil service examination with excellent grades and continued to stand out during training.

Ultimately, both were caught by the ministers’ and vice ministers’ fishing attempts – Seong Sam-mun went to the Ministry of Education, and Sin Suk-ju to Foreign Affairs.

***

As the two chatted, a gruff voice called out.

“I thought I heard familiar voices, and here’s Ginbo (Seong Sam-mun’s courtesy name)!”

Hearing his courtesy name called, Seong Sam-mun quickly rose from his seat.

“Section Chief Gwon!”

Gwon Ram, receiving Seong Sam-mun’s respectful greeting, took a lower bunk position and addressed Sin Suk-ju.

“You seem to be acquainted with our Ginbo?”

“I am Sin Suk-ju.”

“Ah! So you’re the one I’ve heard about! They say you’re proficient in languages?”

“You flatter me. I only know a little.”

As Sin Suk-ju was responding modestly, another voice interrupted.

“If that’s just a little, your seniors wouldn’t be getting so much criticism, would they?”

Sin Suk-ju turned toward the unexpected voice and immediately bowed his head.

“Section Chief Han, you’re here?”

“Yes, indeed.”

Han Myeong-hoe, after giving a brief response, immediately addressed Gwon Ram, who was sitting on the lower bunk.

“My! Our distinguished gentleman is occupying the lower bunk! When did you get promoted?”

“I just sat down for a moment because I was tired. Just a moment! Why nitpick? How petty!”

“Petty? That’s rich coming from someone who started kicking as soon as we met, complaining about their work!”

“I was dragged in out of nowhere to take on work – you should be grateful it only ended with kicks!”

Watching Han Myeong-hoe and Gwon Ram exchange sharp glances and words, Sin Suk-ju and Seong Sam-mun seriously pondered:

Should we stop them or not?

Whether aware of their concern or not, the two who had been exchanging hostile words suddenly had their arms around each other’s shoulders as they headed out.

“Let’s go wash up!”

Sin Suk-ju and Seong Sam-mun were left dumbfounded watching the two disappear while laughing together.

***

Returning from their bath, Gwon Ram and Han Myeong-hoe immediately joined the conversation.

“This is a good opportunity for a chat.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Relax. We won’t eat you.”

Though Gwon Ram said this, Seong Sam-mun and Sin Suk-ju absolutely couldn’t relax.

The two men before them had been specially appointed after catching the eye of the king and crown prince. Though similar in age, they outranked Seong Sam-mun and Sin Suk-ju. To be precise, while Seong Sam-mun and Sin Suk-ju were Assistant Section Chiefs, these two were Section Chiefs – just one rank higher – but they were soon to be promoted to Bureau Chiefs.

And since Bureau Chief and above could rise to high-ranking officials barring any major mistakes, the gates of promotion were wide open for them.

Eventually, the conversation fell under Gwon Ram and Han Myeong-hoe’s lead.

As they discussed various recent events, Han Myeong-hoe asked Gwon Ram:

“I hear Gangjoong (Seo Geo-jeong’s courtesy name) is doing well these days?”

When Han Myeong-hoe mentioned Seo Geo-jeong, Gwon Ram shook his head slightly.

“He works well, but his reputation isn’t good.”

“Reputation isn’t good? How so?”

“It’s good that he entered government service young and mastered practical work, and his abilities are excellent… But his temperament isn’t good.”

“Temperament?”

“It’s terrible…”

After this brief answer, Gwon Ram glared at Han Myeong-hoe and grumbled.

“That innocent and kind child now has nothing but venom and curses constantly… Why did you have to drag even that young child in…”

At Gwon Ram’s words, Han Myeong-hoe clutched his chest in protest.

“I’m wronged! I merely answered when His Majesty asked who my classmates were! I’m innocent!”

“We’ll discuss that well later. Since he’s scheduled for promotion to Secretary of General Affairs in the next personnel appointment…”

I can’t bring myself to tell you that he grinds his teeth just hearing your name.

Gwon Ram looked pitifully at his classmate whose future somehow seemed destined to be gloomy.