Joseon Certified Products: The Dawn of Royal Luxury
"Joseon Certified Products. Does Your Highness know of Hokkaido?"
King Munjong seemed ignorant of Hokkaido.
"It is a large island at the northern end of Japan. The people called Ainu live there. Even the king of Japan has not yet extended his hand to it. Rice does not grow on that island. But wheat and barley do. And its fisheries yield more than anywhere else in all of Japan."
There was a long silence. King Munjong appeared to be deep in thought.
"If it is land the Jurchens have not claimed, do you mean we could seize it first?"
"Yes, exactly."
Munjong fell silent again for a long while.
"Joseon's navy is insufficient. Even if we sought to expand it, we lack funds and grain—how could we? And even if we had them, Ming would not stand idly by."
He was already concluding the constraints on venturing into Hokkaido.
Of course, expanding armaments required financial resources. And regarding those resources, something from yesterday's eobyeong discussion had come to mind.
The butterfly effects from Gatong were still few in number, yet in the modern day, "Joseon palace style" had already become quite the brand. "Let's make Joseon a brand."
Modern luxury brands targeted loyal customers with high price points, yielding tremendous profit margins. It was time to launch the project of turning Joseon into a luxury brand.
"What if we sell top-grade products certified by the king of Joseon to Ming and Japan?"
Munjong said nothing. He hadn't grasped it yet.
"Does Your Highness know of suksam?"
"I know of it."
"When ginseng is steamed and dried, its color turns red, so suksam is also called hongsam."
It was a lie. The term "hongsam" likely didn't exist yet. In the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, "hongsam" only appears in King Sukjong's era. Goryeo's suksam was somewhat known, but fresh ginseng was still the mainstay.
"The Chinese love the color red, so hongsam is a more fitting name than suksam."
It could drain Ming's coffers to build our navy and even sway opposition to the Hokkaido campaign.
Records from the Goryeo era already mentioned steaming ginseng for storage. The steaming and drying technique existed even in Munjong's Joseon. But mass-producing and exporting hongsam came much later. Around King Sunjo's time, the Uiju merchant Im Sang-ok earned enough from hongsam brokerage trade to match three years of the nation's taxes. That was 400 years from now.
Joseon's ginseng was originally prized in Ming.
"Red is a color of good fortune, so the people of Ming will like it even more."
Once again, Munjong had precisely grasped my intent.
"Fresh ginseng rots easily and is hard to ship far, but hongsam can be stored for years. If stamped with certification from the Joseon royal house, trust will rise. Ming's nobles won't quibble over price."
"We set the price."
He understood ten from one hint.
"How about certifying it as Joseon Certified Products?"
"Good."
"Continue distributing ginseng as before, but make hongsam a government monopoly."
"There is a skilled artisan in Pyeongan Province, where ginseng grows most abundantly. Hong Dal-son, the Uiju Dosun-gun Chamjeoljesa."
Hong Dal-son? Where have I heard that name...?
I quickly used my internet search chance.
Hong Dal-son. One of the top contributors to Grand Prince Suyang's Gyeyu Coup, aiding Sejo. Suyang's military man.
I mentioned Pyeongan without knowing where ginseng grew most, and one of the top coup plotters happens to be there?
The Gyeyu Coup was already averted, but it felt like the world revolved around Munjong.
Suyang, Kwon Ram, and Hong Dal-son were now tied to the Utilization Institute, but that made plotting—whether the coup or anything else—difficult. Kwon Ram was pressing mackerel oil in Hamgil Province, and Hong Dal-son would be steaming hongsam in Pyeongan. Even if Suyang tried to meet them, it'd take at least a fortnight.
Anyway, we couldn't just pick Ming's pockets. Japan's too.
"Your Highness, do you remember sigeum-ran-machae?"
"Of course."
"It was one of the gaeeudeuk from the clan banquet."
"What is gaeeudeuk?"
"Princess Jeonghye, having tasted fried chicken and sigeum-ran-machae, called them delicious dishes beneficial to all—hence gaeeudeuk, all gain."
I chuckled, clutching my belly for a moment.
"I told you that pairing dried squid or pollock roe with baek-yu-jang is delicious. The Japanese will love pollock roe with white sauce."
"Understood."
It was Sunday, so I searched the internet for hongsam production methods and pollock roe mayonnaise recipes, then sent them to Munjong.
A few days later.
I had just finished my shift and was about to head home when Chief Resident Young-seok senior called out to me.
"Lee, next month is already Teacher's Day. Want to get something for the professor together?"
"Sure. Got anything in mind?"
"How about Joseon Certified Products Eosam? Everyone loves it, and it's classy."
Eosam? What's that...?
I mustered my unparalleled acting skills once more.
"Sounds great! Should I pick it up over the weekend?"
"Yeah, that'd be perfect."
"Alright, I'm heading out then."
"Good work."
The moment I stepped out of the hospital, I pulled up Wikipedia in the parking lot.
Eosam (Royal Ginseng) is a hongsam and hongsam product brand operated by Joseon Luxury Corporation, a South Korean public enterprise manufacturing and selling them. It holds the No. 1 market share in the global hongsam market.
'Eosam' refers to ginseng offered up to the king. The packaging stamped with Joseon royal certification continues as its iconic design to this day.
In April 1452, King Munjong of Joseon established the Samjeong-gwa within the Utilization Institute, which managed increased production and commercialization of agriculture, livestock, and fisheries—its origin.
After Samjeong-gwa's establishment, it was managed as a key export via state monopoly, passed down to the Republic of Korea.
Joseon Luxury Eosam exploded in popularity among Ming nobles, causing massive silver outflows from Joseon and shaking Ming's national finances in the Hongsam Silver Calamity.
It worked.
Unlike Britain's Opium Silver Calamity, sucking silver from Qing via opium, this time Joseon was picking Ming's pockets.
I looked up photos of Eosam. It resembled Munjong's design. Hongsam wrapped in silk inside a premium wooden box.
Probably a box of kkmgangsong wood engraved in Prince Anpyeong's Gyeong-o script: "Joseon Certified Products Eosam," stamped with certification. Open it, and red silk lining cradles the hongsam.
Just imagining it, I could hear the silver scraping from Ming.
I checked the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty I'd overlooked while organizing documents for Munjong and standing duty.
Annals of King Munjong, Volume 13, 2nd Year of Munjong (April 26, 1452), Gyechuk
The king issued an edict to the Ministry of Taxation: "Salting methods vary by county, making salt amounts inconsistent for curing fish—much rots or becomes too salty and discarded. Have the Utilization Institute set salt amounts by fish type and distribute to all provinces."
Minister of Taxation Lee Sa-cheol replied, "Your Majesty's command is most appropriate. We shall immediately set standards with the Utilization Institute and distribute them."
Salt standardization. The Utilization Institute's first mission.
The annals mentioned only fish, but since I'd sent much data on salting, Joseon's food storage would noticeably lengthen.
Annals of King Munjong, Volume 13, 2nd Year of Munjong (April 28, 1452), Sinmyo
The king issued an edict to the Office of Royal Decrees: "Products from the Utilization Institute shall be named Joseon Certified Products and sold under government auspices. Establish the Samjeong-gwa under the Utilization Institute, appoint Uiju Dosun-gun Chamjeoljesa Hong Dal-son as its director to oversee hongsam production. Also, have the Utilization Institute produce pollock roe white sauce by mixing pollock roe with white sauce."
Joseon Certified Products for export—the Utilization Institute's second mission. The Samjeong-gwa, established in 1899 under the Korean Empire, had been pushed back to 1452.
Suddenly, I thought Prince Suyang might die from overwork.