Culture Focus

The first thing the king did upon waking up was to hold a morning assembly with high-ranking officials. The morning assemblies of the Joseon Dynasty consisted of sangcham (informal morning audience), jocham (formal morning audience), and joha (congratulatory ceremony on happy occasions). For each part of the morning assembly, specific formalities existed. Jeong Do-jeon explained that such diverse forms of morning assembly were necessary to consolidate the strict hierarchy between the ruler and the ruled. Indeed, the morning assembly formalities for sangcham, jocham, and joha were carried out for the purpose of establishing a firm order between the sovereign and subject. The space where sangcham was held in the royal palace was the king's office and the courtyard of the king's office. During sangcham, the king was seated in the office and officials were seated in the courtyard of the king's office. Therefore, the king had to move to the office from his bedroom immediately upon waking up, to hold sangcham. That is why the king's office was located in front of the king's sleeping chambers in the royal palace. In Gyeongbokgung Palace, Sajeongjeon Hall, which was located in front of Gangnyeongjeon Hall, was the king's office.

After paru, the king woke up and left his bedroom to participate in sangcham at dawn. The bedroom door was the first boundary the king had to cross, transforming himself from a natural human being into a majestic being. When the king went through the door of his bedroom, he adjusted his attire. His clothes and his hat were decorated with colors and patterns that symbolized the king's authority. Palace matrons and eunuchs were waiting for the king outside his room, and they escorted the king wherever he went. The purpose of all those symbols and attendants was to emphasize the king's prestige.

Kings wore the ikseongwan (the royal winged cap) and gollyongpo (the royal robe) for sangcham. A black ikseongwan was a cap that looked like a samo (a black gauze cap worn by government officials) with two horns on top of it. The two horns symbolized the wings of cicadas. Cicadas were picked as the model for a king's life because they lived only on the morning dew and in this way symbolized frugality and integrity.

A gollyongpo was a red overcoat with patterns of golden dragons embroidered on both shoulders, the chest, and the back. The dragons on a king's coat had five talons, and the dragons on that of a crown prince had four talons.

The second boundary for a king was outside the main entrance of the bedroom: the pyeonjeon (the king's office). From the moment when the king exited his bedroom to go to his office, he was covered by a red and blue san (umbrella) and seon (fan). A san was a silk or fabric screen that protected kings from rain or sunlight. Round ones were called daesan, and square ones were called bangsan. A seon was a fan, invented by the first king of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty and woven from the feathers of pheasants. The seon was used to block out the sun, the dust, and the wind. Seon with dragon patterns were called yongseon (dragon fan), seon with phoenix patterns were called bongseon (phoenix fan), and seon with Jujak (Vermilion Bird) patterns were called jakseon (Vermilion Bird fan).

The pyeonjeon (the king's office) was also decorated with a variety of ornaments that symbolized the king's authority, and these had to be in place before the king arrived. The most visible decorations were the eojwa, the royal seat, and the hyangan, an incense burner. When the king sat on the eojwa in his pyeonjeon, officials who were lining up in the courtyard made two deep bows. Guards of honor holding colorful banners surrounded the courtyard to signal the king's prestige.

An entourage and guards also escorted the king. The bigger the entourage the king brought with him, the stronger was his inviolable power in the eyes of the people. For example, in the process of the king moving to the main gate ofjeongjeon, the royal audience hall, to hold jocham, more and more symbols and a bigger entourage were added to the routine. Sangcham and jocham were different in many aspects. Sangcham was an informal morning audience attended by only some officials, while jocham was a formal morning audience attended by all officials. Jocham took place on the fifth, eleventh, twenty-first, and twenty-fifth days of every month, unlike sangcham, which took place every day. More and fancier symbols and decorations were used for jocham than for sangcham. As such, jocham had a larger scale and was held less frequently, so it was held at the main gate of jeongjeon (the royal audience hall), not in pyeonjeon (the king's office). Those formalities of sangcham and jocham raised the king's prestige and consolidated a firm order between the sovereign and subject.

After the morning audience, the king came back to his living quarters to have breakfast. The king had breakfast in the ondol room. The Korean people have lived in ondol rooms for a long time and they dined on steamed rice and side dishes set on the table using a spoon and chopsticks, while seated on the ondol floor. Everyone sitting around the same table had his own bowl of rice and the types of side dishes differed for every meal. The quality of the table depended on the number of side dishes.

Sura, the king's royal meal, basically consisted of a bowl of steamed rice and side dishes, and kings also used a spoon and chopsticks. For sura, however, the best indigenous ingredients collected from nationwide to be offered to the king or government agencies were cooked by royal cooks in the best taste and form, to be served on the best dishware. The king's meals were different from those of ordinary people, as the king had to follow special procedures.

King's meals consisted of two types: daejeon-eosang (the royal banquet menu) and sura (daily meals). Daejeon-eosang was a table offered to the king in a variety of royal banquets. Kings of the Joseon Dynasty held royal banquets to welcome a royal envoy from China or to celebrate royal weddings or the sixtieth birthday of a dowager queen. For those occasions, all sorts of delicacies were spread on the table.

josura, morning sura), lunch (jusura, main sura), and dinner (seoksura, evening sura), as well as occasional snacks in between meals. Other than that, kings also had a bowl of light rice porridge (juksura, porridge sura) before breakfast. The types and number of side dishes differed according to the king's tastes and eating habits. However, any variations had to fall within the basic rules and formalities.

There were two types of cooked rice for a king's meal: white rice, cooked only with water, and red rice, cooked with water in which red beans were boiled. Kings could choose between white rice and red rice, according to their tastes. The best rice, which was produced in towns famous for the quality of rice produced there, was used for king's meals and cooked in Korean traditional cauldrons made of cast iron over a charcoal fire. Side dishes might include thin soups, stews, kimchi, sauces, steamed meats or vegetables, and casseroles.

dongchimi (watery radish kimchi) first. He would then take a spoonful of rice with a spoonful of soup. Then he would eat the rice with the other side dishes. After finishing a bowl of soup with some rice mixed in, the king replaced the spoon and chopsticks with new ones before continuing with his rice and side dishes. Then the king put the bowl of sungnyung (scorched-rice water) in the place of soup, to finish his meal after eating it with a spoon of rice put in it.

As such, every royal meal required many people's hard work. Rice and dishes on the king's table were made from ingredients produced through the toil and moil of farmers and fishermen, with substantial hard work from royal cooks. The reason why kings were provided with the highest-quality meals was so that he would rule well and the subjects live peacefully. When people starved because of severe drought or flood, the king reduced the number of side dishes in his meals and moved to a humble place of residence, to express that he shared the joys and sorrows of his people.

After breakfast, the king went back to his office to do sisa. Sisa literally meant "doing the work," a series of procedures necessary to handle government affairs. The king wore his ikseongwan and gollyongpo when he carried out sisa. When government officials were having an audience with the king, they talked while on their hands and knees with their faces down. If they wanted to see the king's face, they had to obtain permission. Royal audiences began with four deep bows by officials for the king, and the officials did not directly face the king but kneeled down in two lines, one on the left and one on the right, facing the center in front of the king. It looked as if one line of officials were bowing to the other. After bowing in this manner, the officials gave the king a formal greeting and then briefed him on national affairs.

The most important part of this briefing was a report from the seungji (royal secretary-transmitter) of Seungjeongwon (Royal Secretariat). Seungji was the king's secretary and he collected official documents, sangsomun (written memorials to the king), and petitions from nationwide to review them in advance. Seungji was responsible for deciding what the king had to know and reporting it, returning any documents that were thought to be inappropriate for reporting. They summarized and simplified long documents to assist the king's understanding and even added guidelines at the end of reports dealing with ordinary issues. Kings usually followed the advice of their seungji and the king's approval was given in only one or two letters on those documents: yun (允, approved); euiyun (依允, permitted); jido (知道, understood); and so on.

Seungji sometimes requested reexamination when he believed the king had given the wrong order to the central government agency or a local administrative body. That was possible because all the king's orders were given through Seungjeongwon, just as all reports to the king went through Seungjeongwon. Since seungji's role was so important, only talented officials who passed the civil service examination with honors could be appointed as seungji.

It was not easy for the king to write his decision down on every official document with a writing brush, so he usually stamped documents with a black seal called a gyejain (啓字印). "Gye" (啓) meant that the king clearly understood what was reported. The king stamped gyejain right after he read official reports, and when the volume of reports that he had to review was too high, the king's eunuch stamped gyejain on those documents instead of the king. Those documents stamped with gyejain were understood as approved and were sent on to the government agency in charge on the king's behalf.

The king used different stamps for different types of affairs. For example, he used a stamp called a simyeongjibo for gyoji (office warrants); a stamp called a gwageojibo on test papers for the civil service examination; and a stamp called a gyujangjibo on personal writings such as books or poems. In addition, they used a stamp called a daebo on diplomatic documents sent to China and another stamp called ideokbo on diplomatic documents sent to Japan.

Other than the review and approval of official documents, discussions on national affairs with government officials and yangban (aristocrats) were also important. High officials of Uijeongbu (state council), dangsanggwan (palace-ascendable officials) from Yukjo (the Six Ministries), officials from Samsa (the three censors' offices), as well as other government departments that faced critical issues asked for a meeting with the king on demand. The king met those officials and had discussions with them, listening to the officials' reports on national issues and public opinion before making the final decision. On the other hand, there were many occasions where the king requested a meeting with officials to consult with them on urgent issues. As such, the king went to his office every day, to get briefed by seungji, to review and approve public documents by stamping their seals, and to handle national affairs on time by discussing and making decisions on those affairs with government officials.

sisa, kings engaged in yundae. Yundae meant "taking turns to have one-on-one meetings with the king." In a yundae procedure, each administrative department took turns sending officials one by one, in a predetermined order, to meet with the king. The officials sent to the king for yundae waited until the end of the sisa and then met the king to report on the work of their respective departments. The number of officials for a day's yundae was restricted to five or less. Among mungwan (civil officers), officials with ranks higher than sixth grade and among mugwan (military officers), officials with ranks higher than fourth grade, were selected as the ones to be sent for yundae. The king met with these officials to listen to public opinion before making final decisions. Kings also summoned state councilors, ministers, or officials from the three censors' offices on urgent occasions that called for immediate consultations with officials in charge.

Those government officials also had to bend down and speak with the king on their hands and knees, with their faces down. If they wanted to see the king's face, they had to obtain permission. If they raise their heads and looked at the king without permission, they would be severely punished for showing such disrespect. Meetings with the king began with a procedure in which officials gave four deep bows to the king. After making four deep bows, the officials offered a formal greeting to the king and then reported the issues. When the king finished yundae, it was midday. Therefore, the king ate lunch right after yundae. Conventionally, a gyeongyeon (royal lecture) followed lunch.

gyeongyeonwas study of Confucian books or books on Chinese or Korean history. The syllable gyeong (經) in gyeongyeon (經筵) referred to scriptures, and yeon (筵) referred to studying. "Scriptures" meant "teachings of ancestors"; so, gyeongyeon referred to a class where the teachings of the ancestors were studied. In principle, there were four times of gyeongyeon in a day: jogang in the morning, jugang in the day, seokgang in the evening, and yadae in the night. As jogang, jugang, and seokgang were carried out at designated times every day, they were called beobgang (mandatory lectures). A gyeongyeon was normally held in the king's office, as it was for sangcham (the informal morning audience). It was recommended for kings to participate in all four gyeongyeon a day, but that was difficult for a busy king, who usually had gyeongyeon just once a day or once every few days. Some kings even had gyeongyeon reluctantly once every few years. Therefore, the job performance and sincerity of kings of the Joseon Dynasty used to be evaluated by how frequently they participated in gyeongyeon.

Gyeongyeon basically consisted of reading and debate on Confucian classics and Chinese and Korean histories. The teaching method was similar to that of seodang (private school for elementary education). Government officials who participated in gyeongyeon were the king's instructors, but they also had to bend down and approach him on their hands and knees, as they were still courtiers at the same time.

When gyeongyeon began, the king had to read what he had learned from the previous class, and then learned new chapters. For each class, the king learned three to four lines from the books. Gyeongyeon instructors read the lines out loud first, and then the king repeated them. Then the instructor explained the sound and meaning of the lines, and all the people in the class took turns stating their opinions on the subject of the day's class.

When the teaching for a day's gyeongyeon finished, the king or instructors debated national affairs. If a problem was discovered in the course of the debate, a solution would be suggested during the discussion. Through such debates, kings could enhance their knowledge of Confucianism and politics. As such, gyeongyeon was an academic debate in theory, but it was like a political debate in reality.

The king had many things to do even after jugang (class in the day). He had to receive officials who were leaving the central government after being appointed as local officials and other officials who were coming to the central government after promotion. Gwanchalsa (governors of eight provinces) and suryeong (local magistrates) of important regions were granted special audiences with the king, as kings had to meet those officials directly to give instructions and to discuss issues in their respective regions. After meeting a few officials in such a way, it was already evening.

One important task of Joseon Dynasty kings was checking the lists of military forces and officers in charge of guarding the palace during the night as well as the officials on night duty, and to designate a password for the night. That measure was necessary for the safety of the kings and the kingdom.

That was not the end of the daily routine for the king. The king had to attend seokgang, evening Confucian study class, before sunset. After seokgang, the king had dinner and took a rest for a while, then went back to his night work. Then the king had to go and say goodnight to his seniors in the royal family, including the dowager queen and great dowager queen.

Infokorea 2016
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