※ Traditional Life History Series

We will discover, reconstruct, and introduce one by one the hidden cases in various historical sites and figures of Korea's traditional era.
By closely examining the daily lives of people at the time, it conveys to the public a variety of previously unknown or lesser-known material in an interesting way.
In particular, it contributes to understanding the living historical facts of each region by reproducing the content through records produced by the private sector rather than central government-centered materials.
Every year, we select experts in the field as authors and improve the quality of the manuscript through continuous feedback.
I hope that this series will lead to a revival of the boom in life history, microhistory, and new cultural history.

There seems to be a prejudice among modern people that Joseon society was a weak society based on civil service.
The very understanding of the Yangban class also generally brings to mind the literati.
However, civil service is different from the ‘weakness in writing’ that people think of.
In other words, civil service rule refers to governance based on systems and laws.
In this respect, it shows a similar context to the rule of law in today's terms.
However, the specific content and scope of the laws and systems are different from today.
Yet, where does the perception that Joseon society was so uniquely weak originate? Contrary to our perception, even in Joseon, the perceptions of the importance of civil and military affairs diversified over the course of history, and the perception of their necessity also diversified.
At times, 'Moon' was revered, and problems arose as military service examinations were administered indiscriminately during various wars.
This book reconsiders the balance between the civil and military branches of Joseon, which experienced such diversification, and the correct perception of Joseon society.
The Joseon yangban were not biased towards ‘civil affairs’, but both ‘civil affairs’ and ‘military affairs’ coexisted.
It seeks to promote a correct understanding of the Joseon yangban, who were skilled in both civil and military affairs.

As mentioned above, King Jeongjo basically recognized the civil and military arts as the same, but in reality, he recognized the military arts as having practical value more actively.
Based on this recognition, King Jeongjo actively sought to recruit people from the northwestern region, which is today Pyeongan Province, who excelled in martial arts.
--- p.25

In 1583, just before the Imjin War, Yi I, the Minister of War, began to significantly expand the number of military service examination candidates and increase the number of irregular examinations, including special examinations, in response to the Jurchen tribe's Nitanggae (泥湯介) rebellion that attacked the six garrisons of Hamgyeong Province.
The trend of significantly increasing the number of military service examination candidates and frequently conducting various special examinations continued during the Imjin War in the late 16th century and during the reign of King Gwanghaegun in the early 17th century to cope with external difficulties.
The emergence of the so-called Man-gwa (萬科), which is pointed out as an evil of the military service examination in the late Joseon Dynasty, is one of them.
--- p.44

The fact that Yi Sun-sin's family moved to Asan, where his maternal family lived, also played a significant role in his transition to a military officer.
Yi Sun-sin's father, Yi Jeong, moved to Asan, where his wife's family lived, because Asan was a remote rural area at the time, and a proper noble society had not yet been formed. Confucian influence was not as strong as in other regions.
Instead, it can be said to be a favorable region for learning martial arts.
--- p.89

The anecdote is about a man who does not even know the meaning of the basic Confucian etiquette of honjeongsinseong, that is, watching over his parents at night and asking about their well-being early in the morning.
Also, the following example, in which three warriors give nonsensical answers during the military examination, shows a part of the academic level of the warriors at the time.
--- p.124

Jeong Yak-yong's plan to improve the military service examination was to significantly add the Gangseo subject to the existing martial arts subject.
The subject of Gangseo was designed to be tested by focusing on content related to 'martial arts'.
This measure was intended not only to verify that the applicants for the military service examination possessed martial arts skills, but also to confirm that they had a sufficient understanding of tactics and strategy to actually solve national defense problems.
He organically linked the selection of military service examination applicants, the selection of successful candidates, and their advancement to government posts into the 'Siknyeonsi'.
By limiting the number of successful candidates and examinees in proportion to the number of government posts, the government attempted to guarantee at least a minimum opportunity for competent local nobles and commoners to advance to government posts and be appointed to high-ranking public offices.

--- p.167