Eojeonghwan (Fish Oil Pill)
It was Friday for Eojeonghwan (Fish Oil Pill). I worried briefly about the smallpox outbreak in Buyeo County in Munjong's Joseon. But this wasn't modern Korea where I could hop on the KTX, get off at Cheonan-Asan Station, ask how the smallpox situation was going, and head back. News from Buyeo wouldn't arrive until the weekend at the earliest. Of course, I'd still have to go to the hospital even on the weekend, but the arrival of Friday lifted my spirits a little anyway.
Munjong seemed in a good mood too.
Kim Jong-seo, Supervisor of the Office of Annals Compilation, and others presented the newly compiled Goryeosa Jeolyo [abridged].
Got it. The massive 139-volume Goryosa, completed in Munjong's first year of 1451, had been condensed into the 35-volume Goryeosa Jeolyo for brevity. Think of it as a core summary of Goryeo history.
The Office of Annals Compilation was already at work on the 163-volume Sejong Annals, yet right after finishing the 139-volume Goryosa, they had to produce this 35-volume Goryeosa Jeolyo. And Kim Jong-seo was in charge.
Kim Jong-seo is making waves everywhere. If Munjong lives a long life, he'll end up like Hwang Hui...
Munjong hadn't mentioned it to me, but on the 6th of that same February, Kim Jong-seo had stepped down from supervising the Sejong Annals citing old age. The annals probably portrayed it flatteringly. Like Hwang Hui, he'd likely requested retirement from his post as Supervisor of the Office of Annals Compilation. The outcome was the same as under his father Sejong: Munjong beheaded Kim Jong-seo in an audience at the drill grounds. Kim Jong-seo, age 69. He'd endured a lifetime of overwork and stress. The strain from the northern expeditions alone probably exceeded anything I'd face in my life.
He wasn't entirely free of pursuing a sin-gwang-wang-yak dynamic—strong ministers, weak king—but given Munjong's situation before his life was extended, Kim Jong-seo might not have had much choice.
I checked that day's annals again.
Kim Jong-seo resigned from supervising the Sejong Annals due to old age. The king said, "All matters have a beginning and must have an end. As you are an old retainer of Sejong, it is as if the beginning is already set. Sejong's affairs are now complete, so you must properly compile the annals to bring them to a fitting close."
Like father, like son, I thought. If I ever worked under Sejong or Munjong, I should never submit a resignation letter. It'd get rejected outright. I'd have to just run away—somewhere they couldn't find me, like Ming or Japan.
Yesterday, confirming Prime Minister Hwang Hui's sad tale as a fellow wage slave, it didn't feel like someone else's business. Joseon didn't have reading glasses, after all—could Kim Jong-seo even see the draft records clearly? Thinking of his health brought omega-3 to mind.
This is it!
Consistent omega-3 intake reduces vascular inflammation, lowers triglycerides, and cuts risks of heart disease and stroke. It might protect cognitive function to slow memory decline and even prevent age-related vision loss.
I thought of yesterday's Hwang Hui and today's Kim Jong-seo. Quickly searching omega-3 production methods, I brainstormed Joseon-friendly substitutes while sending a Gatong message to Munjong.
Separate the innards and belly fat from fresh mackerel, clean thoroughly. Extract the oil using a water bath at a gentle warmth you could touch with your hand. Mix with oak charcoal powder and kaolin clay, let sit a day, then filter repeatedly. Rinse again in ginger juice and cinnamon decoction to fully remove fishiness. Use honey as the base, coat with a tiny amount of beeswax, and form into pills.
I detailed the recipe for Munjong. Joseon couldn't do modern chemical extraction, nor low-temperature supercritical extraction at around 30°C. Water bath was the best feasible method, though purity would be lower. Charcoal, clay, ginger, and cinnamon would deodorize. Since fish oil floats, skim it off. Capsule-like with beeswax for easy intake and preservation—Joseon's existing miltwan style. Fish oil lacks the viscosity of herbal powders even with honey, so the wax coating prevents fishiness and adds benefits.
Huh? Jeon Sun-ui had been with the Bureau of Physicians for general care, while the Royal Infirmary handled the royal family. Commoners went to the Office of Humane Benevolence. Now Jeon Sun-ui would oversee Munjong's health more directly.
I searched the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty against my backup.
Yi Sa-cheol was appointed Senior Minister of Personnel, Yi Seon-je Learning Scholar of the Office of Special Counsel [abridged], and Jeon Sun-ui to a special seat in the Royal Infirmary.
I hesitated. Should I leave the naming to Jeon Sun-ui again? But with his imminent long-term dispatch to Hamgil-do for prototypes, would he have time? From production in mackerel territory, delivery to Hanseong, Kim Jong-seo's two-month trial—it'd take three or four months for results. So I named it myself.
A honey pill gathering the essence of fish: Eojeonghwan.