Black Corporation: Joseon
Chapter 177

By February of the twelfth year of King Sejong’s reign (1430, the year of Gyeongsul), the distribution of household registration plates was nearing completion not only in the three southern regions but also throughout most of Joseon.

Upon reviewing the situation, King Sejong issued two edicts:

• For this year only, emancipation of slaves will be allowed even during the spring hunger period. However, the conditions for emancipating slaves remain the same.
• We are recruiting those who wish to cultivate the farmlands confiscated from traitors. The land rent will be the same 30% as the palace fields, with preference given to those who have established families.

These two royal decrees issued by King Sejong triggered a massive population movement across the entire nation.

***

The first significant change was the emancipation of slaves.

Landowners, who had been required to pay high taxes in the fall of the Giyu year due to their possession of slaves, began to emancipate their slaves hastily following the issuance of King Sejong’s special order.

However, the process was not entirely smooth.

“How exactly should we go about emancipating someone…?”

According to the edict issued by Sejong, the criteria for emancipation were as follows:

• If the slave to be emancipated has a family, they should be emancipated as a unit. However, adult children should not be included in the family unit.
• Upon emancipation, a sum sufficient for three months of living must be provided.
• Emancipation is not to be carried out during the spring hunger period.
• Slaves over the age of 60, both male and female, are not to be emancipated.

“Hmm… Since it’s allowed to emancipate during the spring hunger period just for this time, that shouldn’t be a problem…”

Those who owned slaves began to struggle with the dilemma of whom and how to emancipate.

Of course, those who were pondering this were landowners who had survived the recent rebellion.

This issue was a concern for those who owned between 20 to 30 or more slaves, while households with only four or five slaves found the decision relatively straightforward.

In the courtyard of a modestly sized tile-roofed house of an aristocrat in Chungcheong Province, barely exceeding 20 rooms, the house owner, Scholar Song, was discussing with his slaves.

“This time, your children have come of age, haven’t they? I’ll grant them their freedom.”

“Oh, thank you so much, my lord!”

Sitting next to Scholar Song, his wife addressed the slave couple with a gentle expression.

“You two are of age as well, so just grow old with us.”

“Thank you, madam.”

It was common practice to prioritize the emancipation of adult children among the slaves.

Among those observing the changing times, some took a more proactive approach.

In the tile-roofed house of Scholar Kang in Haenam, Jeollanam-do, he made a groundbreaking announcement to the gathered slaves.

“I’ll grant freedom to all of you this time! It wouldn’t be fair if some were emancipated and others remained slaves, would it? I’ll free everyone!”

At Scholar Kang’s generous decision, the slaves bowed deeply in gratitude.

“Thank you, my lord!”

“From now on, you’ll continue the farming and household work you’ve been doing, but you’ll be paid for it.”

“Thank you, my lord!”

While the slaves repeatedly bowed in thanks, Kang’s family was filled with worry.

“Dear, are you sure this is okay?”

“Father, about this decision…”

Seeing his family’s concern over changing all the slaves to paid workers, Scholar Kang rebuked them instead.

“Wife! Do you not see how the world is changing? And you, you call yourself the eldest son of this household, yet lack such foresight, how can I trust this family to you?”

At Kang’s scolding, his eldest son, Kang Jun-man, had no choice but to prostrate himself on the floor.

“I am deeply ashamed!”

“These are times of great change. To survive, our family must stay a step ahead of others!”

“I will bear that in mind.”

“You say the right things at least…”

Scholar Kang, looking disappointed at Jun-man, explained why he had made such a decision.

“The king has made such a decision primarily to secure tax revenue, but also to weaken the power of landlords like us. It’s likely that the kings following him will only strengthen these policies, not reverse them. So, what should we do? Should we rise up like those fools last autumn?”

“No, we shouldn’t.”

Disappointed by his eldest son’s response, Scholar Kang clicked his tongue.

“Tsk! Think before you speak!”

***

Throughout the nation, many slaves from large and small aristocratic families were emancipated and ventured outside.

The first place the emancipated slaves visited was the local government office.

In Gijang County, Gyeongsang Province,

“Have you come here having been emancipated?”

“Yes, my lord.”

After hearing the slaves’ stories, the magistrate of Gijang County called an official from the Ministry of Taxation.

After listening to the stories, the official from the Ministry of Taxation looked at the slaves.

“Follow me.”

“Yes, my lord.”

After issuing orders to the slaves, the official from the Ministry of Taxation respectfully bowed to the magistrate.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

“We are all serving the nation together. Cooperation is natural. Take care.”

“Thank you.”

After exchanging pleasantries, the official from the Ministry of Taxation led the slaves to the Ministry’s building.

After the Ministry of Taxation official left, the magistrate of Gijang County’s expression turned grave.

“Look at those dark circles under that nobleman’s eyes… Hmm…”

The magistrate rose from his seat and walked towards the clock mounted on the pillar of the main hall. Looking at the time and the calendar beside it, his expression grew anxious.

“My term isn’t much longer… What noble should I send a gift to now? These days they don’t seem to accept gifts… Who should I send it to so I can avoid the Ministry of Taxation’s scrutiny…”

The magistrate of Gijang County was deeply worried, pondering over his connections.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Taxation official who had led the slaves into the adjacent building looked at them as they sat down.

“So… you’ve come after being emancipated?”

“Yes, my master said we need to update our identification tag as well…”

“Of course! Tell me your names, birth years, and whose household slaves you were.”

“Yes. I was a slave at the house of Oh Saeng-won in Baenamugol…”

After hearing the personal details of the slaves, the official rummaged through the bookshelves for the family registry books and pulled out the relevant one.

“Here it is.”

After verifying the registry, the official wrote down the date in the remarks column and added the word “emancipated.”

“Hand over your identification tag.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The official received the identification tag from the slave and passed it to a craftsman in the back.

The craftsman skillfully dismantled the identification tag’s frame and took out the metal plate. Placing the plate on an anvil, he positioned a steel stamp on one side of the plate and struck it hard with a hammer.

Bang!

After ensuring a proper imprint, the craftsman reassembled the frame, resealed it, and handed it back to the official.

“Here you go. Hmm… Do you have a job?”

“No, my lord. I was considering tenant farming, but… there are no available positions.”

Upon hearing the slave’s response, the Ministry of Taxation official began to fish for information.

“Is that so? Hmm… This spring, there will be road construction projects across Joseon… I heard that work on the road from Dongnae to Hanyang is starting. How about it? Why not go and work there? Until spring, you could work at the port. Why sit idle?”

The slave eagerly took the bait offered by the Ministry of Taxation official.

“Is that so? I’d like to go! I will do it!”

Pleased with the slave’s response, the official continued.

“Really? Just wait a bit. Traveling alone can be dangerous and lonely, right? If there are enough people, we can arrange transportation, so it’ll be safe and convenient, won’t it?”

“Yes, I’d like that!”

Hearing the slave’s eager response, the official glanced over the faces of the other slaves standing behind. Noticing that most of the young male slaves had similar expressions, the official internally celebrated.

‘Yes! A big catch! A full haul!’

With the anticipation of mass emancipation, the court had already devised a plan.

“This is a situation we anticipated, so proceed as planned.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Following King Sejong’s orders, couriers were dispatched to all Ministry of Taxation offices and the Joseon Textile Factory.

The command sent to the offices and the textile factory was straightforward:

• Evacuate as many people from the rural areas as possible and absorb their assets into the textile factory.

Following the court’s orders, the Ministry of Taxation officials began to lure the newly emancipated commoners.

Having successfully sent the emancipated male slaves to the construction sites, the official now turned his attention to the female slaves.

“So… Have you found a place to work?”

“Not yet, sir.”

“Do you know how to weave?”

“At our age, who doesn’t know how to weave?”

With a triumphant smile at the women’s responses, the official made his pitch.

“There’s going to be a large spinning mill opening in Daegu and Gyeongsan soon. They’re looking for skilled weavers. How about it? Interested?”

“It’s a bit far…”

Seeing the women hesitate, the official gently waved the bait.

“Staying here, you said there aren’t proper job opportunities, right? Then what will happen? You’ll end up living day by day as a day laborer, or worse, fall into destitution, won’t you?”

“That is true…”

When the Ministry of Taxation official pointed out the harsh reality, the female slaves nodded gravely. Many of them had already endured harsh treatment simply for being female slaves. Although such acts were illegal according to the law, there was often a gap between the law and reality.

In the end, the women had no choice but to take the bait offered by the official.

“We will do as you say, my lord. But…”

“It seems like a good opportunity, but the journey to Daegu is long…”

Seeing the women hesitate at the last moment, the official confidently reassured them.

“Indeed! Would I send you women alone on that long and perilous journey to Daegu! If there are enough of you, I’ll arrange transportation! What do you say?”

Eventually, the women agreed to the official’s proposal.

***

With their identification tag updated to show their status as free commoners, the emancipated slaves were approached by another individual.

“Listen, everyone, shall we discuss our future together?”

“Eh? The future?”

“Just hear me out for a moment. I’ve come from the textile factory. Have you heard about it?”

“Yes, we’ve heard it was established by His Majesty…”

“Exactly! I work for the establishment set up by His Majesty, so no need to doubt, just follow me for a bit.”

Following the textile factory employee, the slaves crossed the threshold of the factory, their faces showing a mix of curiosity and bewilderment.

***

Upon entering the textile factory, the factory official led the slaves into a large meeting room – formerly the parlor of the original owner – on one side of the factory.

“Please, take a seat.”

“Wow…”

As the slaves awkwardly found their seats, the factory employee began to get to the point.

“Now, what do you see outside the window?”

Prompted by the employee’s question, the slaves turned their heads. As they looked through the wide-open windows of the meeting room at the landscape of the mountain beyond, they responded in unison.

“We see a mountain.”

“Right. So…”

The employee closed the window. With the paper-covered window now shut, the employee asked the slaves.

“Then you can’t see anything, right?”

“Yeah…”

“That’s your future. Nothing visible… In other words, if you go out like this, you’ll be at a loss.”

“Really?”

As the slaves looked puzzled, the employee reopened the window and continued.

“Seriously, think about it! You’ll leave this place and go elsewhere to work, right? And when you work, you’ll earn wages, won’t you? What will you do with that money? With cash in hand, all sorts of peddlers and opportunists will flock to you. After a few days of excitement, you’ll be left with nothing. You’ll live penniless until you receive your next wages. Won’t you?”

Hearing the employee’s words, the slaves nodded involuntarily. They had experienced this themselves when they first became emancipated and left their master’s house, only to be swarmed by various traders.