CENTRAL BUREAUCRACY 627Since the nomenclature and tasks of service personnel in Chou times could not
easily be adopted without some modification, Yu substituted his own terms and
definitions for Chou terminology: the chief clerks (Noksa), clerks (Sori), run-
ners (chorye), and boy servants (Sosa). A fifth official called attendant (Chong' in)
was assigned in restricted numbers to accompany officials to lead horses for those
authorized to ride carriagesY
Yu criticized the present Korean system because support staff for capital offi-
cials was recruited from the general population as part of their unpaid labor ser-
vice obligation to the state. Uncompensated service, was unrealistic because clerks
and runners nceded income for support. Not paying salaries to them removed
human dignity from their occupations by forcing them to earn income by fees,
gratuities, and bribes. As the prestige of their posts declined, there was a decrease
in the work performed and the efficiency of their government offices.
Ch' iu Chiln of the Ming period commented that the clerks and runners of Chou
times supposedly werc limited in number and paid salarics to compensatc for
income lost by giving up farming, and thc Han system continued this practice
to grant the clerks some dignity and a sense of self-worth. They had become so
numerous in later dynasties. however, that the government lost its ability to con-
trol and support themY
To ensure the efficiency of government operations Yu sought to put the bureau-
cratic service personnel on a regular basis, require regular work assignments at
specific hours of the day, and guarantee a full staff on duty in every office of the
government. He believed this would correct the inadequacies of public offices
because in many instances they were conducted more like a private than public
operation. Officials as well as service personnel either had no public office, or
if they did have one, might choose not to attend it on a regular basis when there
were no tasks to perform. "Generally. officials stay at home and very infrequently
conduct business. The lower clerks also stay at home and do not go to work to
receive orders on a daily basis."53
The system lacked both rotating service and permanent duty for civilian staff
primarily because there were no specific duties for clerks and runners and no
duty hours at specific offices. Yu wanted an official building established for each
office, the assignment of a head official to serve on duty in the building, and a
schedule of duty for clerks and runners in each government office, even when
there was no business to conduct. Capital bureaus, in other words, would have
to function like provincial officials and clerks, and the latter would be given
time off on rotation. Finally, service officials would all be put on salary and
subject to periodic testing of qualifications to permit promotion or demotion.
The highest irregular officials would be the chief clerks (Noksa), who worked
in the State Counci I and Six Ministries to take charge of the handling of offi-
cial documents. They were currently assigned as assistants to regular officials,
but Yu wanted to attach them to an office, presumably to separate them from the
control of individual officials and create a more professional system of gov-
ernment clerks. Since they were to be the most talented of all clerks, he intended