580 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
6th Day (Imsul)
The Board of Rites repeatedly made requests to the king: “From now on, the
candidates who take the examination should be required to answer only one
question (ŭi) and provide interpretation (ŭi) on one subject, and their number
should be limited to a hundred. Based on the precedents of literary licenti-
ates established by the previous dynasty, the names of successful candidates
should be posted in front of the examination site and they should be allowed
to stroll in public for three days to promote the people’s zeal for learning.
The tribute students (kongsaeng)^33 who take the examination should first
recite the books they mastered among the Four Books and Three Classics at
the Righteous Records Office (Chŏngnokso) of the National Academy and
register their names before they take the actual examination.” The king
granted the request.The king had Mun Kyejong, minister of punishments, and Kim Kudŏk,
third minister, and others imprisoned in the Capital Constabulary Prison.
A female servant of Yu Wŏnjŏng, Lord of Sŏsŏng, ran into armed sol-
diers who were transporting timber on the road. A soldier named Yi Pugae
sexually harassed her and she was accidentally crushed to death under the
vehicle. The Board of Punishments put Pugae in prison and tried to punish
him physically, while making him pay for her funeral expense as well as the
price of a dead person.
Having heard of it, the king said, “The way the officials handled the
case was not fair.” Because of the king’s remark, [Yi Pugae] was released a
little later.7th Day (Kyehae)
The king decided to send Nam Chae, left director of the State Finance Com-
mission, to Punghae and Kangwŏn Provinces, and the Northeast and North-
west Regions, as well as Kim Hŭisŏn, assistant director of the Security
Council, to Ch’ungch’ŏng, Chŏlla, and Kyŏngsang Provinces, so that they
could look into the condition of the people. In response, the Office of
the Inspector-General submitted a memorial to the king, saying: “It is not- “Tribute students” here refers to those who took the civil service examination, but they
were originally the students admitted as nominees of local Confucian schools for advanced
study and subsequent admission to the civil service. (Hucker, p. 295)