During the Joseon Dynasty, were there only great things like Hangul, made by King Sejong? No! In the Joseon Dynasty, there were extremely cruel punishments compared to current punishment standards. The standard of punishment was called Gyeongguk daejeon. It continued for 250 years and criminals were punished according to this law. Now, we are going to learn about the cruelty of punishment in the Joseon Dynasty.

Death by boiling (Paenhyeong)

It was called the eternal death of honor in Cheoljong during the Joseon Dynasty. Other countries killed criminals by putting them in boiling water. However, Joseon's punishment was to put a criminal in lukewarm water and then take him out of it. Once a criminal entered the pot, he actually was treated as a dead person. He had to hold a funeral and he couldn't meet anyone until he really died. He became invisible. Most people who got this punishment committed suicide themselves or lived a terrible life. Joseon's yangban put a priority on honor, so most of them killed themselves.

Dismemberment of the body (Neungjicheosa)

This punishment came from China. "Neungji" refers to something that gives physical pain for a long time and then kills. There was a record of this punishment being carried out by King Gongmin of Goryeo. Six martyred ministers in the early Joseon Dynasty and Park Doo-un, who attempted to kill Lee Bang-won, received this punishment. This punishment was executed when criminals committed heinous crimes. The bodies were cut into six pieces and the pieces were sent to several places. This punishment was stopped by King Injo, and abolished by King Gojong.

Disinterring and beheading corpses (Bugwanchamsi)

This punishment was commonly conducted in Yeonsan. It was punishment for criminals whose crimes came to light after death. First, the grave was dug up and the coffin pulled out. After that, they cut up the corpse and hung the pieces beside a street, so many people could see the criminal's body parts. It ruined one's honor and was shameful for the family.

In addition to these punishments, there were cutting a person’s heels and castration. The Joseon Dynasty had many cruel punishments. We usually get wisdom from history; however, we must be wise enough to only accept good things and throw away bad things. Currently, Korea doesn’t give severe punishment to criminals.

Why don’t we choose an intermediate attitude?