The Chill of Jeonsi-byeong
My whole body ached with chills after scrubbing my hands vigorously over the weekend. I arrived at work a bit early, brewed some coffee, and was preparing for the day when a message arrived on Gatong. Chills hit me. No cough. I set down my coffee mug. Have you eaten? My appetite was fine. If tuberculosis had relapsed, the cough would have come first. Appetite normal. But chills. Jeon Sun-ui reported no particular abnormalities. It made even less sense.
Please keep warm and avoid overexertion. Today is the second round of queen selection. 'Already ten days have passed.' Your Highness, I hope you meet a good match. I'd sent that message several times. The day Munjong would meet a good person wasn't far off. After finishing my Gatong chat with Munjong, I opened the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty.
'Frost in the fifth month?' I checked the original Annals of King Danjong, not the altered version of Munjong's. No record of frost there either. 'Strange weather?' I thought I should look into countermeasures for the Little Ice Age soon. It wasn't precisely delineated, but analyses of natural disasters in the Annals suggest Joseon's Little Ice Age peaked from around 1490 to 1750, spanning about 270 years.
There's research claiming that during the Gyeongsin Great Famine of 1670-1671 under King Hyeonjong—lasting two years—20% of Joseon's population perished. King Jungjong first established the Relief Agency in 1511, implying disasters had been frequent even before then. While I had the originals open, I read through the remaining June entries.
"I have heard that a disease among the people of Hwanghaedo suddenly broke out in the villages and spread in all directions, reaching northward to Pyeongando and southward to the capital counties, sweeping away households one after another in death." [Omitted hereafter]
It was a record nearly 1,500 characters long. 'If we can eradicate the root of Jeonsi-byeong, it would be a great fortune for the entire nation.' That was the annals' closing line. Jeonsi-byeong—meaning "disease transmitted by corpses"—was named after observations that when one person died, the illness passed to the next. A name I'd seen in the Donguibogam: pulmonary tuberculosis. 'Munjong, the king himself, enters latent tuberculosis, and now pulmonary TB is spreading?' History's coincidences sent shivers down my spine. 'I've given Munjong so much information; he'll handle it well.'
It was dawn, nearing the end of my night shift. I couldn't focus on work all night. The annals kept coming back to me. Something felt missed. I read it again. 'Suddenly broke out in villages and spread in all directions...' Tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease. It doesn't spread like that. It takes months from one person to the next. Wiping out a village would take years. Sudden outbreak, rapid spread sweeping households—that wasn't TB's pattern. Sitting in the on-call room, I opened PubMed.*
Searched: 'typhoid fever outbreak epidemiology waterborne transmission.' Typhoid fever epidemics and waterborne spread. Papers poured in. Transmitted via contaminated water and food, rapid spread. Simultaneous onset in groups sharing sources, fatality 10-20%. In Joseon, it could be half. No records of acute fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or constipation.
Lee Seon-je's memorial fixated on superstitious interpretations—like the plague from moving Dangun's shrine to Pyongyang. Five days later, another memorial said Jeonsi-byeong had already reached southern Pyeongando and northern Gyeonggi-do. Spread too fast. Might be too late. 'Unlike Heo Jun's era, maybe Jeonsi-byeong here means epidemic in general? Typhoid spreads not by air, but water. We must seal the wells.'
Second, hands must be washed before meals and after using the latrine.
Third, upon patients appearing, isolate them with barriers as for smallpox, and seal village wells.
Munjong paused briefly before replying.
This was Munjong turning my information into action. I said nothing.
In that short time, Munjong was applying Taesan-dang hygiene standards to the epidemic. I hurriedly added one more.
As I pocketed my phone, another message came.
'What does that mean?'
I closed Gatong and compiled the soap recipe. Saponification: heat potassium hydroxide with fat. For distribution to commoners, low cost: lye with animal fats like pork or beef tallow. I also noted premium soap: less saponification but add vegetable oils, mugwort, iris root, etc. As I left the on-call room to end my shift, I suddenly recalled what I'd forgotten. 'Were the chills from the frost?'
That afternoon was Munjong's second queen selection. Munjong's uncles—Hyoryeong Daegun Yi Bo, brothers Suyang Daegun Yi Yu, Anpyeong Daegun Yi Yong, Yeongung Daegun Yi Yeom, Hwayi-gun Yi Yeong, Gye-yang-gun Yi Jeong, Hannam-gun Yi Eo—all gathered. Yeonguijeong Hwang Bo-in, Jwauijeong Nam Ji, Uijeong Kim Jong-seo, and pansers from the Six Ministries attended.
Hyoryeong Daegun spoke. "Judging people should not be rushed. Virtue and family must both be examined thoroughly."
Suyang Daegun added, "Uncle Hyoryeong's words are most fitting. Yet state affairs press urgently. If Your Highness has decided, needless delay may invite trouble."
Munjong replied, "I seek one who possesses the qualities of nation's mother and crown prince's own."
Doseunji Gang Maeng-gyeong reported. "First is the daughter of Ijo Champan Yi Gye-jeon: Hangsan Yi-ssi."
Hangsan Yi-ssi entered. Hyoryeong Daegun eyed her briefly and nodded. Munjong gazed calmly.
"Next, daughter of Gyeongsang-do Dosa Hong Gyeong-son: Namyang Hong-ssi."
Namyang Hong-ssi entered. Proper and composed. Hyoryeong Daegun nodded again. Munjong's expression unchanged.
"Daughter of Pyeongtaek Hyeon-gam Sa Ui-dam: Pyeongtaek Sa-ssi." That was Yu-ae Wanghu.
Pyeongtaek Sa-ssi ascended quietly to the hall. In that instant, Munjong's eyes wavered. A breath-holding moment. Hyoryeong Daegun turned, saw Munjong's gaze, and showed faint surprise. He'd watched his nephew half a lifetime, but never such eyes. 'How is she identical to that portrait from Do-yun...' Munjong's gaze drifted lower... then withdrew. Nothing more to see. For it was all he'd see for life.