Transcription
[Music] [Music] Hello viewers, welcome to Ham Jae-bong's "The Birth of Koreans." Last time, we specifically examined how the common people of Joseon lived in the 19th century. Why did Joseon people not mourn the fall of Joseon, but rather dream of a new nation, not Joseon, if national sovereignty were to be restored? We looked at what the lives of the common people were like in the 19th century. This time, we will examine why Joseon pursued a policy of seclusion. Because Joseon pursued seclusion, it devolved into "Hell Joseon" by the 19th century. So, what we need to understand is why Joseon pursued seclusion. And especially the ideology of "Wijeong Cheoksa" (loyalty to the orthodox and rejection of the heterodox). I chose the pro-China Wijeong Cheoksa faction as the first of five types of Koreans. We will examine how this Wijeong Cheoksa ideology was formed, how the seclusion ideology of Wijeong Cheoksa was formed, and what historical and ideological backgrounds, and experiences led to the creation of such an ideology and system. Ham Jae-bong's "The Birth of Koreans" will now begin. [Music] Why did Joseon pursue seclusion? Although we say Joseon opened its doors through the Treaty of Ganghwa in 1876, in reality, it continued to have a "non-opening" for a long time afterward. However, even by 1876, as mentioned last time, Joseon was opening its doors very late compared to China and Japan. And the most powerful force and ideology that blocked this opening was precisely the Wijeong Cheoksa ideology, the Wijeong Cheoksa faction. So, why did figures like Hwaseo Yi Hang-ro, Myeonnam, and the scholars of our country at the time, in fact, almost all of the civil officials, pursue seclusion? There must have been something they were trying to protect by pursuing seclusion. We must understand that part to know why the Wijeong Cheoksa faction was inevitable in our history and how we can overcome the Wijeong Cheoksa ideology. So, why did they pursue seclusion? We learn from history books that Hwaseo Yi Hang-ro is the one who created the Wijeong Cheoksa ideology. That is correct. But the root of the Wijeong Cheoksa ideology, which Hwaseo himself considered his conscious root, was Uam Song Si-yeol. We need to understand how Uam Song Si-yeol's ideology was formed. Therefore, I believe that seclusion did not begin in the 19th century. The 19th-century seclusion did not arise because of the Wijeong Cheoksa faction; rather, Joseon had already been in a state of seclusion much earlier, from the time of Uam Song Si-yeol. We must understand it this way. Because Joseon went into seclusion due to the Imjin War and the Byeongja War. Think about it. Joseon was founded in 1392. In 1368, the Ming Dynasty was founded. So, Joseon was founded just over 20 years after the Ming Dynasty was founded. And Joseon established its nation with the most advanced ideology of the time, Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism. Joseon quickly followed suit. It's like a country like the United States was founded in the 18th century with ideas from John Locke and Montesquieu, which emerged in the 17th century. And a neighboring country, seeing the United States founded with such new ideals, followed suit within 30 years. So, the Ming Dynasty adopted Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism, the most advanced ideology of the time, rejected Buddhism, and organized a new nation with completely new ideals, expanding powerfully. Joseon also followed suit, thinking it had to do the same. In fact, for the first 200 years, until the Imjin War, Joseon expanded powerfully, just like the Ming Dynasty. It expanded greatly. Then, after experiencing the Imjin War, the country was devastated. Two-thirds of the arable land was lost. From then on, Joseon never recovered. The area of arable land that Joseon had in the time of King Sejong before the Imjin War was never recovered until Joseon was destroyed in 1910. It developed significantly from the time of King Sejong. However, in such a situation, it received all its culture and learning from the Ming Dynasty, including Neo-Confucianism, Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism, and built a new nation. In the process of building this new nation, by the late 16th century, figures like Toegye and Gyeokam emerged, and the nation stabilized ideologically and legally with the completion of the Gyeongguk Daejeon (National Code). Then the nation prospered. But at that time, the Imjin War broke out. The Imjin War broke out, and the nation's economy faltered. So, what did Joseon do then? It closed its doors to Japan. During the time of King Sejong, Japan, which had repeatedly requested it, was allowed to open three ports. These ports were Yeompo in Ulsan, Jinhae, and Busan. So, Japanese people could come and trade there. Then, when the Imjin War broke out, what happened? Of the three ports, only Busanpo (Dongnae) and Choryangpo were left open, and the rest were closed. And only 20 ships, called "Segyeonseon" (ships for limited trade), were allowed to enter and trade each year. So, in fact, it was a policy of seclusion from Japan. It closed its doors to Japan. But then the Byeongja War broke out. So, when the Qing Dynasty invaded, Joseon closed its doors to the Qing. So, what happened to Joseon? If Joseon closed its doors to Japan and China, what would happen? It would be complete seclusion. From then on, seclusion began. Let me explain this background in a little more detail. In 1637, the Qing Emperor Taizong invaded Joseon. At this time, the Qing had not yet conquered the Chinese continent. At this time, there were Jurchen tribes living in Manchuria. There were the Jianzhou Jurchens living in the Baekdu Mountain region, and the Yain Jurchens living in the Hamgyong region. But you know, the closest friend of King Taejo Yi Seong-gye was Tongdu-ran. Later, he changed his name to Yi Ran and became a complete Joseon person, and was enshrined in the Munmyo (Confucian shrine) alongside Yi Seong-gye's tomb. This person was a Jianzhou Jurchen. These Jianzhou Jurchens, living in the Baekdu Mountain region, did something interesting: they cultivated ginseng. Goryeo ginseng was very famous, and Chinese people began to buy a lot of it. As the supply of ginseng from Goryeo decreased, the demand for ginseng in China exploded. So, the Jurchen tribes living in the Baekdu Mountain region would dig up ginseng and sell it to China. They would sell it at the Great Wall. So, Nurhaci, who founded the Qing Dynasty, was a ginseng digger. It is said that he led ten thousand ginseng diggers and dug ginseng. They traded by selling ginseng. So, these people were actually very similar to Joseon people, and they always fought with Joseon. They fought over who could dig ginseng in the Yalu River region. If ginseng couldn't be dug on this side, they could cross over and dig it on the other side. Then they would catch each other and fight, saying, "Why are you digging our ginseng?" They always fought like that. So, these Jurchens, who lived so close by, were the Jurchens. So, the Jurchens, who had been close friends with King Taejo Yi Seong-gye, became powerful by 1637. So, a person named Nurhaci emerged, united all the Jurchen tribes, subjugated the Mongols, and attacked the Liaodong Peninsula, reaching a population of 1.5 million. But before attacking the Chinese continent, they first attacked Joseon to secure their rear. Thus, the Byeongja War was initiated in 1637. So, they invaded Joseon. At that time, King Injo hastily tried to flee to Ganghwa Island. We know that from the Mongol invasions, when they reached Ganghwa Island, the continental armies were weak in the water, had no navy, and couldn't cross. So, they thought they couldn't cross and tried to flee to Ganghwa Island. But the Manchu army invaded with such surprising speed that they couldn't reach Ganghwa Island and went into Namhansanseong Fortress. So, after fighting in Namhansanseong Fortress, they eventually surrendered. They came out and went to Samjeondo, where they bowed to Emperor Taizong of Qing. This was the "three bows and nine kowtows," which meant kneeling three times and bowing one's head to the ground three times for each bow, drawing blood. This was a ritual to show loyalty to the emperor. King Injo performed this ritual. And thus, Joseon became a vassal state. So, this was in 1637. But in 1644, despite suffering such humiliation, the Ming Dynasty still existed. So, they thought they had to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty to somehow defeat these Jurchens and eliminate them, these barbarians. They thought they had to defeat Qing. But what happened? In 1644, the Qing army crossed Shanhaiguan Pass. Shanhaiguan Pass, as you can see in the pictures, is the end of the Great Wall. The Great Wall extends from the northwest and then comes down. When it reaches here, it ends at the sea in the Liaodong Peninsula. Joseon people had to pass through Shanhaiguan Pass to go to China. Those amazing fortresses and walls were there to prevent the Jurchens and others outside the Great Wall from invading. But they attacked Shanhaiguan Pass. So, in 1644, Shanhaiguan Pass was opened. Emperor Taizong of Qing had already died, but his brother, Dorgon, led the Qing army, crossed Shanhaiguan Pass, and entered the Forbidden City. And in the Forbidden City, he summoned Shunzhi, the son of Emperor Taizong of Qing, and performed the ceremony of enthronement on the Altar of Heaven in the Forbidden City, becoming the emperor. So, he became the emperor of China. So, think about it, the shock of the people at that time. I believe that when I look at the records of the Chinese people and Joseon people at that time, the fall of the Ming Dynasty to the Jurchens was an unthinkable event. It was truly unthinkable. The Jurchens entering the Forbidden City was like North Korea entering Washington and occupying Washington. I believe it was that kind of shock. So, the Chinese people experienced a shock of the fall of the Ming Dynasty, calling it "heaven collapsing and earth splitting," an unthinkable event. They thought, "We, just 200 or 300 years ago, 200 years ago, the Mongols invaded and established the Yuan Dynasty, and Emperor Hongwu of Ming barely drove them out and established the Ming Dynasty. How could we, in just 200 years, lose the Forbidden City and the continent again to the Jurchens from east of the Great Wall?" They were deeply remorseful and shocked. Joseon, I think, was even more so. Joseon and the Ming Dynasty had an unbreakable relationship. You know, Joseon survived the Imjin War precisely because of the Ming Dynasty. At the time of the Imjin War, the Japanese army sent 300,000 troops. The Ming army sent 70,000 troops to fight. But these numbers are astonishing. Because around the same time, the Spanish Armada invaded England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The Armada consisted of 30,000 ships. And the entire English population rose up to defend the country, numbering 20,000. But during the Imjin War, 300,000 Japanese troops crossed the sea, and the Ming Dynasty sent 170,000 troops. The Ming Dynasty spent 17 million taels of silver and supplies on this war, which was 50% of the Ming court's annual revenue. This shows how thoroughly the Ming Dynasty helped. That's why the phrase "Jaejo-ji-eun" (the grace of rebuilding the nation) was used, meaning the grace of rebuilding the nation was bestowed by China. So, we received "Jaejo-ji-eun" from the Ming Dynasty. But that Ming Dynasty was destroyed by the Jurchens, whom we knew as barbarians from our border. So, what about China? As I mentioned earlier, Joseon had already closed its doors to Japan, leaving only Busan Choryang open. In the picture you see, it's an old painting of Choryang, surrounded by fences, with Japanese ships entering on one side. Japanese people were not allowed to go outside the fence. Only a few designated Joseon people could enter to exchange goods and trade. That's how it was closed. But it also closed its doors to the Qing Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, something called the "Yujo-byeon" (willow palisade) was created. This was a willow palisade stretching for hundreds of miles. Where was it built? It was built in Manchuria, to prevent even Chinese people from entering. Not to mention Joseon people. Because Manchuria was the homeland and sacred land of the Manchu people. So, they left it completely empty. And the Qing emperors had palaces in places like Rehe, where they would spend their summers. The term "piseo" (summer retreat) comes from this. The summer palaces were where the emperors would go for their summer retreats, hunt, and meet the spirits of their ancestors. So, they completely closed it off. That was the willow palisade, the Yujo-byeon. Through this, no one could enter Manchuria. For example, if Joseon envoys were to go to Yan'an (Beijing), they would go through Uiju, along the coast, cross Shanhaiguan Pass, and go directly to Beijing. They would return the same way, without passing through Manchuria. So, it was completely closed off from China. It was completely closed. This geographical isolation occurred first. Not only geographical isolation, but the beginning of seclusion was Crown Prince Sohyun. Crown Prince Sohyun is a tragic figure in our history, one of the most unfortunate. He was the eldest son of King Injo. And when the Byeongja War broke out, he was taken hostage. As mentioned earlier, when the Byeongja War broke out, King Injo tried to flee to Ganghwa Island but was blocked in the middle and entered Namhansanseong Fortress. Then, after the king surrendered at Samjeondo, the princes were also captured. At that time, 500,000 people were captured. When they were captured, Crown Prince Sohyun and his younger brother, Prince Bongrim (later King Hyojong), were also taken. They were taken to Fengtian (Shenyang), which was the capital of Qing at the time, and lived as hostages for eight years. During these eight years as hostages, Crown Prince Sohyun was in a difficult position. Because after the Qing took them, they kept demanding more women, more soldiers, and more provisions from Joseon. Crown Prince Sohyun had to convey these demands to his father. Then his father, King Injo, would scold him, saying, "You were sent there, but you only convey the Qing's demands to us. What are you doing?" And if he didn't send them, Crown Prince Sohyun would be scolded by Emperor Taizong of Qing and have to perform the "seokgo-daeje" (three bows and nine kowtows) every time. He lived a life of hardship there. During that time, Crown Prince Sohyun became close with Emperor Taizong of Qing and Dorgon. He was the same age as Dorgon. So, they became very close. Emperor Taizong of Qing and Dorgon would always take Crown Prince Sohyun with them when they went hunting. And when the Qing began to attack the Ming Dynasty in earnest, they took Crown Prince Sohyun with them to major battles like the Battle of Songshan. Crucially, when Dorgon crossed Shanhaiguan Pass and entered the Forbidden City, Crown Prince Sohyun was with him. When the Qing army entered the Forbidden City after crossing Shanhaiguan Pass, Crown Prince Sohyun was by his side. While staying there, he was sent back. At that time, there was Father Adam Schall, a Jesuit Catholic priest, in the Forbidden City. Because Jesuit priests had come since the Ming Dynasty, they made calendars like the "Chon-ryeok" (celestial calendar) and observed the universe. Because observing the universe and calendars was so important for an agricultural country, they were given high official positions. They were also proselytizing. So, he met Father Adam Schall there. He had conversations with Father Adam Schall. The records of this are preserved. In the first year of Shunzhi (1644), the Crown Prince of Joseon was held hostage in Beijing. Hearing that Adam Schall was accomplished, he visited the Church of the Heavenly Lord from time to time to inquire about and learn astronomy. Adam Schall also had conversations with him, and it is said that the two had a deep understanding. Adam Schall repeatedly spoke of the correct path of Catholicism, and the Crown Prince enjoyed listening and asked many questions. When the Crown Prince was to return to Joseon, Adam Schall sent him several books he had written, such as "Cheonmun Sanak Seonggyo Jeongdo" (Treatise on Astronomy, Geography, and the True Religion), and "Yeojigu" (Geography of the Earth). The Crown Prince received these with gratitude and sent a letter of thanks. So, after conquering the Forbidden City and pacifying the continent, Dorgon told Crown Prince Sohyun, "You can go back to your homeland now." So, he returned home after meeting Adam Schall and others. You know, he died a month after returning. Do you know how Crown Prince Sohyun died? He was poisoned. He was poisoned by his father. King Injo killed him. This is recorded in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. In the Annals of King Injo, Year 23 (1645), June 27th and July 20th. "His whole body was black, and blood flowed from all seven orifices of his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Only half of his face was covered with black cloth, but those beside him could not distinguish his facial features, as if he had died of poisoning." However, foreigners did not know this fact, and the King also claimed not to know. But I believe the King ordered it. Do you know what happened next? It wasn't just Sohyun. A year later, Sohyun had a wife, the Crown Princess, and three sons. A year later, King Injo gave poison to his eldest daughter-in-law, accusing her of rebellion, and she died. And his three grandsons were exiled to Jeju Island. Two of the eldest grandsons died there of illness. At that time, even the Qing general Yonggoltai asked King Injo, "My eldest son, Seokcheol, is there. Please give him to me. I will raise him. Don't kill him. Sending him to Jeju Island will only lead to his death." But he refused and sent them anyway. Only the youngest grandson survived, and later, Crown Prince Sohyun's younger brother, Prince Bongrim, who became King Hyojong, pardoned his nephew. I think, why did King Injo kill Sohyun? Why did King Injo kill his eldest son, his daughter-in-law, and his grandsons? I think King Injo feared his son Sohyun. He must have seen him as a political rival. Because Sohyun had seen too much of the outside world. He spent eight years in Manchuria, witnessing how this Jurchen tribe, which was only a few tens of thousands, developed its economy, raised its army, created the Eight Banners, the best military organization of the time, and gradually grew, crossed Shanhaiguan Pass, and conquered the continent. He saw it all from the beginning. And what else? He was very close with Emperor Taizong of Qing and Dorgon, and Shunzhi. He was on intimate terms with the highest imperial family members. He even met Father Adam Schall and probably thought about Western Catholicism and Christianity. So, as soon as he returned home, he was killed. And then his younger brother, Prince Bongrim, became king, Hyojong. As I mentioned earlier, Hyojong pardoned his brother's youngest son. So, this son survived, and later, when the famous debate over the "Yesok Nonjaeng" (debate over succession rites) occurred after the death of the renowned Hyojong, it was due to this issue. This last son was alive, and the question of who was the legitimate successor, Hyojong or this son, led to disputes among the scholars. I will discuss this famous Yesok Nonjaeng if I have the opportunity later. But for now, this is the situation. Prince Bongrim became king. So, Prince Bongrim came to the throne. He had seen what happened to his brother. So, Prince Bongrim did not talk about learning about the outside world or embracing Catholicism like his brother. And when he became king, while he was still a prince, his teacher was Song Si-yeol. So, he called Uam (Song Si-yeol) again. He called Uam and said, "Teacher, I have somehow become king. I don't know how to rule the country, so please teach me and assist me." At first, Song Si-yeol repeatedly refused. But eventually, he submitted a memorial called "Gichuk Bongsa" (Memorial of the Gichuk Year). He submitted the "Gichuk Bongsa" and said, "If you do as I have written in this document, I will assist you." So, what is this Gichuk Bongsa? It is the root of the seclusion policy. Let's briefly look at a part of its content. "But how can heaven continue to send disasters, and how can the rebellious barbarians commit atrocities again?" What is this? We suffered such humiliation during the Byeongja War, the humiliation at Samjeondo. We thought we would somehow drive out these Jurchens, these barbarians, with the Ming Dynasty. But instead of driving them out, they committed atrocities, meaning they replaced the Ming Dynasty. "All beings under heaven, under the sun and moon, who possess the name of humanity, must have the righteousness that cannot live under the same sky with them." This means they are irreconcilable enemies. It is impossible not to know that one cannot live under the same sky with these irreconcilable enemies. Moreover, our country received the grace of Emperor Shenzong. Emperor Shenzong is the one who sent troops during the Imjin War. Was it not because of Emperor Shenzong's grace that the Joseon Dynasty, which was already devastated by the Imjin War, was rebuilt and the people, who were almost wiped out, were revived? The grace of rebuilding the nation was received from Emperor Shenzong and the Ming Dynasty. But these people destroyed the Ming Dynasty. If they committed such atrocities, how can we live under the same sky with them? They are irreconcilable enemies. Every blade of grass, every tree, every strand of hair of our people has been stained by them. So, what did this person say? "Let us grit our teeth, close our country, and never compromise again." Of course, outwardly, they would cooperate, because they had to survive. But inwardly, they would uphold the Ming Dynasty to the end. Thus, they entered the "Sukmyeong Bancheong" (upholding the Ming and opposing the Qing) policy. Even though the Ming Dynasty was gone, they would uphold the spirit of the Ming Dynasty, the ideology of Zhonghua (Chineseness). They believed that since the ideology of Zhonghua had disappeared from the Chinese continent due to the barbarians, only they were the last bastion of civilization. They had to preserve the civilization of Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism from the Ming Dynasty without any change, and to do so, they had to close their doors to everything and protect themselves from any influence from Japan or the Qing Dynasty. This led to the seclusion policy. What exactly was seclusion? Geographically, it was isolated, as explained earlier. So, how did they preserve the Neo-Confucianism and Zhonghua ideology of the lost Ming Dynasty? What was a concrete manifestation of this? One was the issue of "shiljeol" (loss of chastity). As you well know, during the Byeongja War, hundreds of thousands, at least 500,000 people, were captured. Among them were many women. At that time, among those captured after fleeing to Ganghwa Island, there were many high-ranking individuals. One of them was Jang Yu, who was the Second State Councilor, had served as the king's teacher, and was the father-in-law of Hyojong. Jang Yu had a son, Jang Seon-jin, and Jang Seon-jin's wife was Madam Han. Madam Han was captured by the Qing army while in Ganghwa Island. She was taken to Shenyang and released after a year. When she returned, Jang Yu petitioned the court, saying, "My daughter-in-law has lost her chastity. She has lost her chastity during her year of captivity. Therefore, she cannot uphold the ancestral rites of our family. I request permission for a divorce." But Madam Han's father was Do Ji-ye, the Chief Secretary to the King. He said, "What are you talking about? My daughter has lost her chastity? After enduring all sorts of hardships, she returns, and you say she has lost her chastity and will be cast out? How can such a thing happen? Absolutely not." So, the Ministry of Rites had to make a judgment. The Ministry of Rites said, "This is a dispute between very high-ranking officials. We cannot make a decision. Let's hold a royal court meeting." So, they held a royal court meeting, and the highest officials gathered to discuss it. At that time, Choi Myeong-gil, who was the Chief State Councilor, said, "When I went to Shenyang before, many people followed me for private reasons. When husbands and wives met, they embraced each other and wept as if they had met someone from the underworld, and those who saw them on the road shed tears. Those who could not afford to ransom their parents or husbands would be ransomed in turn. If there is a decree that divorce is permissible, then no one will want to be ransomed. This will cause countless individuals to become ghosts in a foreign land forever. If one person achieves their wish and the other harbors resentment at home, will that not be enough to disrupt harmony? After repeated consideration and deliberation, I cannot find it right to divorce." So, Choi Myeong-gil strongly opposed it, presenting very realistic arguments. He even went so far as to say, "What would have happened during the Imjin War? If women were captured during the Imjin War and released, what would have happened then?" So, they checked the Annals of King Seonjo. The historians checked the records of that time, and when they looked, King Seonjo had also strictly forbidden divorce. So, Choi Myeong-gil brought up that precedent and said, "Divorce is impossible." However, in the Annals of the Dynasty, there is a record from that time. The historian, who records the Annals, sits next to the officials as they debate and records their discussions. There is a section where he can insert his own opinion. He inserts the following: "The historian argues: A loyal subject does not serve two rulers, and a virtuous woman does not serve two husbands. This is because righteousness is related to the state and is the principle of the universe. Although the captured women did not do so by their own will, they did not die in the face of adversity, so can it be said that they have not lost their virtue? If they have already lost their virtue, their ties with their husband's family are already severed. Therefore, forcing them to reunite and defile the traditions of the scholar-official family is absolutely impossible. Choi Myeong-gil, with his distorted views, cited the events of King Seonjo's reign and made a foolish argument that it is difficult to sever ties, which is a grave error." Song Si-yeol also recorded precisely the opinion on whether Jang Yu's son, Jang Seon, should divorce Madam Han. Let's hear Song Si-yeol's opinion. "I have also inquired and found that Master Zheng (Zheng Yi-chuan, one of the founders of Neo-Confucianism) said: 'If one takes a woman who has lost her chastity as a spouse, it is as if one has already lost one's own chastity.' In the chaos of the Jeongchuk year, it was taught that a husband should not abandon a wife who had lost her chastity. This is teaching the loss of chastity. Even if the law is justly enacted, there is still concern that it may be misused. If laws are made in this way, how can the people be prevented? I have heard that there is an offspring of the lost chastity wife in the Jang Seon-jin household, and the minister is discussing marriage with them. This is extremely vulgar." Song Si-yeol said that although Joseon women were considered to have lost their chastity and should be divorced, if they were not divorced, it was vulgar. I discovered something truly interesting while writing this book. It is the book "Yangju Sibgi" (Ten Days in Yangzhou). What is Yangju Sibgi? After Dorgon and the Qing army crossed Shanhaiguan Pass and entered the Forbidden City, they conquered the continent. At first, the people of the Ming Dynasty welcomed the Qing army. There had been rebellions like Li Zicheng's and great chaos. When the Qing army entered and established order, they were actually welcomed. But the problem was that the Qing people, at that time, Dorgon issued an order called "byeongbal" (queue hairstyle). What is byeongbal? Chinese people, the Han Chinese of the Ming Dynasty, wore topknots. Joseon scholars wore topknots for the same reason as Chinese people. But the Qing people came and ordered them to cut off their topknots and adopt the Manchu hairstyle. What is the Manchu hairstyle? As you see in Qing Dynasty movies like "Once Upon a Time in China," they shave the front of their heads and braid the long hair in the back. That is the Manchu hairstyle. So, they ordered people who wore topknots to shave their heads and adopt the Manchu hairstyle. This caused the entire Chinese population to revolt. So, the Chinese people, who could have been easily pacified, revolted everywhere due to the queue order. Thus, the Qing army was constantly suppressing these rebellions. Then, Yangzhou also revolted, and the Qing army went to attack Yangzhou. When the Qing army arrived in Yangzhou, the Qing court decided, "This is not going to work. We must make an example. From now on, if any city rebels, when it is captured, all men, women, old and young, and even animals will be killed. We must set an example. No one will be left alive." So, they attacked Yangzhou and captured it. Then, a massacre occurred for ten days. So, they killed everyone thoroughly. However, one person survived by hiding for ten days and wrote a book about what he saw and experienced. This book, "Yangju Sibgi," contains astonishing content. It talks about Joseon women. What does that mean? This person, while hiding, would hide in this house and that house, in closets. One day, he hid in the closet of a house. Before he could hide, Qing soldiers brought Chinese women into the room and began to rape them. He watched from behind, hiding. The Manchu soldiers said to the people, "When we conquered Goryeo Joseon, we captured tens of thousands of women. But not a single one of them lost her chastity. Why do the women of a great nation like China have no shame?" So, the Qing soldiers themselves said that the Joseon women captured during the Byeongja War had not lost their chastity. But the Joseon men, the Joseon officials, said they had lost their chastity and should be divorced, even without evidence. This kind of thing began to happen. And thus, Joseon society began to oppress Joseon women to an unspeakable degree, by starting to establish the concept of chastity for Joseon women and closing themselves off. Where did this manifest? Yi Jeong-am, a scholar, wrote this after experiencing the Imjin War. "A scholar is born into the world, reads the writings of the ancients, and yearns for the principles of the ancients. In everyday life, he speaks loudly, saying he would rather die for righteousness than live a life of shame. But when the nation is in danger and faces a difficult war of plunder and pillage, there are not even one or two out of a hundred who would sacrifice their lives for righteousness. However, among wives and virgins, there are occasionally those who can do so. I consider this to be superior to the three virtues of my family." He said that even women at that time were more virtuous than the great officials. However, the oppressive structure of Joseon women began. Women were not even given names. They lost their property rights, which they had held, and were married into men's families, becoming like ghosts. This began to happen. At this time, Sister Isabella also wrote about the plight of Joseon women: "The tradition of confining women began 500 years ago with the current dynasty. At that time, it was said to have started to protect families from a corrupt society. The reason this tradition continues to this day is, as a Joseon person frankly confessed to Mr. Herbert Jones, a missionary, not because Joseon men do not trust their wives, but because they do not trust each other. This may be natural. Because the immorality of the urban people and the upper class in Joseon is beyond imagination." And there is another record. You will be surprised by this record. According to Father Dallet, if a daughter accidentally or intentionally touched an unrelated man, she was killed by her father, and wives were killed by their husbands, or committed suicide. Recently, a maid was found to have not even attempted to save her young mistress from a fire, and she was left to die. When asked why, she said that in the chaos of the fire, an unrelated man had touched her mistress, so there was no need to save her. You see, if daughters or wives lost their chastity, their older brothers would kill them, right? This is called honor killing. This happens in countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Joseon women had to wear veils that only showed their eyes when they went out on the street. This was the reality of a closed society. Creating such a suffocating world by catching innocent people was the reality of that time. So, not only the hellish lives of the common people, but even the women of the yangban families and scholar-official families were oppressed under the guise of preserving chastity. This was the structure of Joseon. The contribution of the Wijeong Cheoksa ideology is this. Let's briefly explain the logic. Song Si-yeol, Uam Song Si-yeol, and Hwaseo Yi Hang-ro, who inherited Song Si-yeol's ideology, thought like this: Confucianism is the ideology that Confucius and Mencius defended against the ideas of the various schools of thought during the Warring States period. When Buddhism entered during the Sui and Tang dynasties, it was Zhu Xi who re-established Confucianism by repelling Buddhism. When the Ming Dynasty fell and the world was in chaos, Song Zi (Song Shi-yeol) and Hwaseo Yi Hang-ro, who called themselves Zhu Xi, saved the flame of Zhonghua ideology by bringing it to Joseon and preserving it as "Little China." Then, what should we, the successors, do? This time, it is not the Eastern barbarians, the Jurchens, but the Western barbarians, the Western learning, Catholicism. We must protect our "Little China." This is the logic of the "Daotongron" (lineage of the Way) in Confucianism, the idea that we must preserve the Way. For this reason, in this context, after experiencing the Byeongja War and witnessing the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the intellectuals of Joseon responded to that turbulent period by closing the country and entering a state of seclusion, and by strengthening internal control, which led to the oppression of women and others. This is how the seclusion policy and seclusion ideology arose. And Hwaseo Yi Hang-ro, in the era of the arrival of Catholicism and the West, reconfigured it to create the Wijeong Cheoksa ideology. Today, we have examined why Joseon pursued seclusion and what the specific content of that seclusion was. Next time, we will examine why Japan, during the period of this seclusion policy, underwent rapid modernization. We will discuss why Japan succeeded in modernization. We will conclude today's "The Birth of Koreans," which traces the process of the birth of Koreans through people and events. Thank you for watching. [Music] [Music]