Book IX 569The East Gate (Tongdaemun) is located on low terrain, so layers of rocks
were first laid down, and a foundation and the walls were built on top of
them. Therefore, twice the manpower was needed to finish the construc-
tion of this section than for other parts of the wall. The construction was
carried out by the people from Andong and Sŏngsan,^15 but they did not
finish it.
Sim Hyonsaeng, governor of Kyŏngsang Province, issued a request to the
king: “Please let the workers in charge of the East Gate construction stay for
ten more days so that they can finish their work now and not have to resume
their work later.”
However, Chŏng Hŭigye, chief magistrate of Hansŏng [Seoul], said to the
king, “We cannot deceive the people. Recently your royal order was issued
saying, ‘Since it is time to sow and cultivate fields, the wall construction
workers should be released to take care of their farming.’ Those who heard
of your royal order were all overjoyed. Under the circumstances, if you have
only the people of Andong and Sŏngsan continue to stay and work, how will
they feel about it? Furthermore, the reason that they were unable to finish
their work in time was because the terrain on which the walls were built was
very low, not because they were negligent in their work.” Finding this argu-
ment persuasive, the king also ordered that the people from Andong and
Sŏngsan be released to go home.
3rd Month
4th Day (Sinyu)
The king ordered the Privy Council to hold a banquet for the officials of
both central and local governments who supervised the construction of city
walls [of the capital].Malgŏn, the son of An Paek, attendant royal guard, became so drunk on the
street that he recklessly seized the possessions of others. His outrageous act
was discovered by Hwang Kŏjŏng, discussant of the Security Council, who
was passing by. When Kŏjŏng ordered his servant to stop Malgŏn, the latter
suddenly jumped on Kŏjŏng, shouting insults at him and pulling him down
from his horse.- Andong and Sŏngsan are the districts in North Kyŏngsang Province.