Like Father, like Son, in Joseon

The majority of students don't like to learn about history because history is difficult. So, the Pharos wants to inform students about Korean history with interesting episodes that are related to the kings of Joseon. First, let's look at Kings Sejong and Munjong who exhibited love for the nation and people more than any other kings.

#1 Kings Sejong & Munjong: the resemblance in childhood

King Sejong was a real bookworm who couldn't stop reading his book even for a moment from the time he was little. One day, King Taejong, who was Sejong's father, saw Sejong reading books when he had a bad cold. Because he worried about his son's health, he took away all his books. Nevertheless, Sejong managed to discover one book and read it repeatedly numerous times.

King Munjong, who looked just like Sejong, his father, memorized the order of events in a ceremony that elders often had trouble remembering at that time and carried out the complicated ceremony without a mistake when he was young. Munjong enjoyed learning from the time he was little like Sejong, and he was especially interested in astronomy. So he asked Sejong a lot of questions about the weather. One time, several years later, when Sejong had to go out, he asked Munjong about the weather of the day and Munjong predicted it well.

#2 Kings Sejong & Munjong: the resemblance in achievement

First of all, Sejong expanded the maternity leave of official slaves from 7 days to 100 days and commanded that the slave who would soon be experiencing labor pains could rest for a month before giving birth. Plus, he commanded that husbands be given 30 days leave because Sejong thought that the couple should help each other. He didn't discriminate against people according to their status.

At that time, it was very inconvenient to farm since the rain didn't come down constantly in our country. It was a problem that was related to the weather, so Munjong created a rain gauge that measured the rainfall for the people. Do you know who created the rain gauge? Sejong? Jang Yeong-sil? No. The rain gauge was a masterpiece of Munjong, who loved the people as much as Sejong did.

#3 Kings Sejong & Munjong: the resemblance as father and son

Sejong liked meat so much that he didn't have a meal without meat. Taejong, his father, knew it and ordered his servants to feed meat to Sejong after his death. Because of his eating habit, Sejong lived with obesity and adult diseases for much of his lifetime. Munjong resembled Sejong in body size and his body was so prone to illness that he often suffered from boils. Nevertheless, the greatest resemblance between the two kings was in the love they received from the people because of their love for the people.

We hope Kyonggi University students will be interested in our history

and that foreign students will want to learn about Korean history and kings

through our magazine.