Great ruler remembered on Hangul Day (KOR)

SHIN BOK-RYONG
The author is a former chair professor of history at Konkuk University.

I don’t feel comfortable writing about King Sejong the Great (1397-1450), who has already become like a saint to Koreans. But the hero must be known. Why teach about him if our children cannot keep up?

King Sejong, the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), was not even in line to become a king. Nor was he born with the physical strength needed for being a monarch, as he had been unhealthy as a prince. All he could take pride in was his hard work.

The king was constantly sick because he would read books until the eunuchs asked him to sleep, then woke up early to study more. It is said that he read the Four Books and Five Classics on Confucianism a hundred times and read the Book of History 30 times.

He suffered from an eye disorder all his life. When he passed away, the official historian wrote in his obituary, “He never put a book down from his hands all his life.”

King Sejong thought it would be easier to govern if people were educated. The most dangerous people are the ones who are ignorant yet diligent. He thought that people fell into sinning out of ignorance. The most controversial part when evaluating his life was the rule that subordinates cannot sue their superiors. His agony over approving the rule in the stringent class-based society shows well his depth of thought about the people and governing.

As food mattered most to the people, King Sejong put a lot of thought into the land system. He had collected opinions of 173,000 people over 14 years before deciding how the tax should be imposed — whether to base it on the size of the land or the amount of the harvest. The king decided that the land tax should be imposed based on the yield.

What is more surprising is that pregnant slaves were given 100 days of postpartum leave and their husbands were also allowed to take care of their wives during that period.

As the royal family of the Joseon Dynasty was mostly short-lived, King Sejong was no exception. He died at age 53. The historian recorded that the “wise king of the East” had passed away.

As we celebrate Hangeul Day on Oct. 9, I cherish the wise king whose many accomplishments have been overshadowed by his invention of the great Korean alphabet in 1446.

노비에게도 출산휴가,세종 "남편도 도와라"
신복룡 전 건국대 석좌교수

이미 성인(聖人)으로 굳어진 세종을 쓰기에는 마음이 편치 않다. 그러나 영웅은 우리 곁으로 내려와야 한다. 우리 아이들이 따라갈 수도 없는 인물이라면 왜 가르치는가. 세종은 왕이 될 서열도 아니었고, 그만한 체력도 타고나지 못한 세자로 병약했다. 그가 내세울 것이라고는 열심히 공부한 것밖에 없었다.

세종은 내시들이 "주무시라"고 성화할 때까지 책을 읽고 새벽닭이 울 때(四鼓) 일어나 다시 공부하니 잔병치레가 많았다. 그는 평생에 사서오경(四書五經)을 백 번 읽고 사서(史書)를 서른 번 읽었다. 평생 안질로 고생했다. 세종이 붕어(崩御)하자 사관은 “평생 손에서 책을 놓지 않았다(手不釋卷)”고 조기(弔記)에 썼다.

세종은 백성을 가르쳐야 다스리기에 편하다고 생각했다. 세상에서 가장 위험한 사람이 무식하며 부지런한 이다. 사람이 죄에 빠지는 것은 무지한 탓이라고 그는 생각했다. 그의 생애를 평가하면서 가장 시비가 엇갈리는 부분이 부민고소금지법(部民告訴禁止法), 즉 아랫사람은 윗사람을 고소할 수 없다는 것이었다. 세종이 백성과 통치 사이에 얼마나 고민했는가 하는 점이 여기서 잘 나타난다.

'백성에게는 밥이 하늘이다(食爲民天).' 따라서 세종은 토지 제도에 많은 고민을 쏟았다. 백성에게 세금을 물릴 때 면적을 기준으로 삼아야 하는가, 소출의 풍흉(豐凶)으로 따져야 하는가를 놓고 14년에 걸쳐 17만3000명에게 의견을 물어 풍흉으로 과세하기로 결정했다. 더욱 놀라운 사실은 임신한 노비에게 100일의 산후 휴가를 주고 남편이 산모를 돕게 했다는 점이다.

가문이 본디 단명해 세종도 54세의 중년에 붕어하니 사관은 '해동요순(海東堯舜)'이 세상을 떠났다고 기록했다. 한글날을 맞이하면서 세종에 대한 추모의 정이 더욱 새롭다. 그 허다한 위업이 한글에 가린 것이 안타까워서.