 WonHyeng-YolMyo-JungLi-Kye, hereafter referred to as 'WYJK', is the record of the 22nd king's, King JEONGJO, trip to celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother, the Queen Mother Hae-kyung Hong. The destination was WhaSung, in the present city of Suwon. Almost 6,000 people and 788 horses companied him on his trip. No king has ever made such trip since the foundation of the JOSEON dynasty.
JEONGJO, known as a good and wise king, carried out many reformatory measures for his people. To consider why he made a trip to Suwon with so many retainers for his mother, we have to look into the history and background of his family.
In WhaSung, there was the grave of his father SADOSEJA. SADOSEJA was a tragic character who died at the age of 28, in the prime of his life. He was starved to death when he was placed in a small rice container by order of his own father, YEONGJO (21st king), for 8 days. This event is recorded as being the most astonishing incident ever to happen to date, and is regarded as a result of SADOSEJA's insanity. In reality, the incident was largely due to the conflicts amongst the powers. That is, this tragedy was brought about by the conspiracy amongst opposing powers to SADOSEJA's reforms.
When King JEONGJO was crowned, he began his reign with the yoke of having his father accused of insanity and treachery. 13 years after his ascension to the throne, and after stabilizing his power, King JEONGJO restored his father's honor and moved SADOSEJA's grave to WhaSung. This too was earlier tried for Hyojong, the 17th king, but was not successful.
Seja respected Hyojong who tried to expand JOSEON's territory northward. When Seja was alive, he made several trips there and thought on how he must govern his people by recalling the memory of one of his forefathers, Hyojong. It is for this reason that King JEONGJO decided to rebury his father's grave there, thinking to undo what was done to his father.
The trip to WhaSung, which was in 1795, was 6 years after he moved the grave and 19 years after his inauguration. He justified his trip with the excuse of wanting to celebrate the Queen Mother's 60th birthday. Since the Queen Mother was also of the same age as his father, his trip also implied commemorating SADOSEJA as well.
The reason behind the WhaSung trip was to not only pay his respect to his parents but also to realize their will. At the same time, he also intended to proof that his father tried to do good for his people instead of evil, and also to ascertain the legitimacy of his father's guilt and subsequent death. |
 WYJK contains descriptions of the Queen Mother's carriage, which she rode for the trip, design and colors of it, the name of the person who made it, the description of the half day work by the carriage maker, and the names of those who danced during the trip (Keisa).
The daily expenses of 103,061 Ryang (as $) was recorded openly and in detail. Surprisingly, it contains even the costs of materials used for each meal of the king himself. It seem that the emphasis of the WYJK was the expenses of the trip. It took 6 months to complete WYJK because it tried to cover all aspects of the trip in detail. The enormous detailing of the trip filled 8 books.
WYJK is a total report of the WhaSung trip. The records described all aspects of the trip without leaving anything out, even revealing the costs of the king's meals. There may be a deliberate intention behind the details. King JEONGJO's details in the WYJK trip created a real name system (Silmyeongje) on governmental affairs, that is, to see "Who, How and What is done by Whom" and to identify the persons responsible with the expectation that his doings would be evaluated by following generations.
There were many kings who tried to bring about reforms during the JOSEON dynasty. In King JEONGJO's case, however, the reasons why we pay particular attention to him and evaluate him so highly are because: Firstly, he did pay attention to his people, not in formality but in reality. His obvious political aim was to try to apply the voices of the people; Secondly, he had actually carried out reforms on a step by step basis for 24 years; and, lastly, he openly recorded the processes of his reforms.
The Hyohyang park in Suwon is busy every October to celebrate the recreation by Suwon City Hall of King JEONGJO's trip. The event, which several thousands participate in each year, has become a traditional festival for the people of Suwon. Though it is not a perfect representation of what occurred 200 years ago, what makes it possible is the fact that we have a record of it in the WYJK.
A record, especially in politics, requires openness and transparency of actions. One who is not confident of his doings will be fearful of revealing himself and tend to try to avoid leaving records. Having these memories of JEONGJO, it is recommended that today's politicians should also adopt these recording spirit from our ancestors, with openness and transparency on actions taken, and they should also be held responsible for what they do. |
