r/HistoryAnimemes

Legend of Deokjin bridge(Yeong-am city)

A local governor suddenly died and went to the underworld. King Yama admitted it wasn’t his time yet, but told him he couldn’t leave without making a charitable offering to the underworld first.

In the underworld, there are storehouses where one’s mortal good deeds accumulate; however, the governor’s storehouse contained nothing but a single bundle of straw.

The Grim Reaper suggested borrowing from the overflowing storehouse of a man named Deokjin, making the offering, and repaying him after returning to the mortal world.

The governor followed the plan.

Upon his resurrection, he tracked down Deokjin, who worked as a tavern servant near the Deokjin River.

When the governor explained everything and tried to repay him with 300 sacks of rice, Deokjin firmly refused, claiming he knew nothing about it.

Instead of forcing the rice on him, the governor built a bridge over the river for the locals and named it “Deokjin Bridge.”

This is folktale

In the Jeju epic myth Chasa Bonpuri, a low-ranking mortal official named Gangrim travels to the underworld and arrests King Yama, the Lord of the Dead, to bring him as a witness. Impressed by his sheer audacity, King Yama later recruits him as a Grim Reaper.

Taehyeong (flogging) was applied to minor offenses, and local governors had the authority to punish convicts directly. However, Janghyeong (caning) was for major crimes; local governors had to draft and report the case files up to the Ministry of Punishments for royal approval before carrying out the sentence.

"In the winter, October 942, Khitan dispatched an envoy and sent 50 camels.

However, the King considered that Khitan had previously maintained long-standing harmony with Balhae, yet suddenly harbored suspicion, broke their alliance, and destroyed them.

He deemed them too brutal and lawless to be befriended as a neighbor.

Consequently, he severed diplomatic ties, exiled the 30 envoys to an island, and tied the camels under Manbugyo Bridge, where they all starved to death."

— History of Goryeo (Goryeosa)

As the absolute superpower of ancient East Asia, China required neighboring states to recognize it as an Empire, forcing them to style themselves as subordinate kingdoms.

Despite this, many nations practiced Outer King, Inner Emperor—acting as kings externally, but maintaining imperial titles and systems within their own borders.

"Huihui Pavilion (Huihuigwan):

The people of the Huihui nation all have deep-set, blue eyes. (...)

Previously at a tavern, I saw a man from the Huihui nation drinking.

When a side dish made of pork (Jeoyuk) was served, he shook his head, refused to eat it, and said: 'I originally do not eat pork.'

Presumably, the tribe of the Huihui nation takes Zhu Bajie (Jeopalgye) as their ancestor.

Therefore, whenever they encounter pork in their food, they never let it near their mouths."

— Gyesangijeong, Volume 3, January 12, 1804

The King ordered the report from the Ministry of Punishments (Hyeongjo) to be burned.

In the streets near Hyejeonggyo Bridge, children named Gwak-geum, Mak-geum, Mak-seung, and Deok-jung were playing Tagu (polo/hockey).

They named each ball after the royals: one was the King, one was Prince Hyoryeong, one was Prince Chungnyeong, and another was a servant.

As they were hitting the balls, one rolled under the bridge into the water, and a child shouted:

'Prince Hyoryeong just fell into the water!'

Prince Hyoryeong's nanny happened to overhear this, chased them down, caught them, and reported it to Chief Inspector Jeong Yeok, the Prince's father-in-law.

Jeong Yeok handed them over to the Ministry of Punishments, where they were imprisoned and interrogated. (...)

Since they were only about 10 years old, the King stated, 'It is unjust to charge these children with fabricating treasonous rumors.

Even if it were considered a satirical street song, there is no law in our statutes to punish children for such songs.' He immediately ordered the Royal Secretariat to burn the case files along with the Ministry of Punishments, adding:

'Never speak of this matter again.'"

— The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, February 30, 1413

link to the meme

"The King said, 'Since Lee Sok has a son, I wished to marry off a daughter born of a palace maid (Gungin) to his family and sent someone to ask for his son's birth year profile (Saenggap).

However, Lee Sok replied, "My son is already dead.

But if she were the child of Lady Gwon (Gwon Gungju), my son might come back to life," and refused to submit the papers.

What kind of twisted mind is this? Though one side of her lineage is humble, the other side is the King himself.

What is his motive for trying to avoid a connection with the royal family?

Therefore, I ordered the Office of the Inspector-General (Saheonbu) to interrogate him.'

The ministers replied,

'This is an act of extreme disloyalty.' (...)"

"The Office of the Inspector-General requested that Lee Sok be punished for high treason.

However, the King merely ordered him to be flogged 100 times, stripped of his title, and demoted to a commoner."

— The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, September 2, 1417

The Governor of Buryeong, So Gi-pa—when Yi Jang-gon recently visited, the locals blocked the road, begging for So to stay longer in office.

Furthermore, he showed immense merit during the Northern Expedition under King Seongjong...

— The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, February 7, 1509

The military commander So Gi-pa drew his sword, stabbed the enemy’s chest, ripped out the gallbladder to eat, and smeared the blood all over his hands and face while casually drinking.

People called him ‘So the Yaksha (Demon).’

— The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, April 22, 1510

南蠻椒有大毒。始自倭國來。故俗謂倭芥子。今往往種之酒家。利其猛烈。或和燒酒以市之。飮者多死。

Southern Barbarian pepper (chili pepper) contains a potent poison.

Because it first arrived from Japan, the common people call it Waegyeja (Japanese mustard).

Today, people occasionally cultivate it, and taverns weaponize its extreme spiciness.

Some even mix it into Soju to sell, but many who consume this end up dead.

— Jibong Yuseol, Volume 20

According to the section on Interrogating and Sentencing Prisoners in the Criminal Code of Daejeon Hoetong, it was mandatory to hear either a confession (Jabok) or a statement of non-admission (Bubok) before punishing serious criminals facing penal servitude, exile, or the death penalty. Consequently, this legally permitted judicial torture (Gosin).

In practice, however, punishments were carried out even when no confession was made (for instance, Kim Mun-gi during the early reign of King Sejo). Furthermore, due to the abuses of judicial torture, suspects were frequently beaten to death (Jangsal), necessitating regulations to curb these actions.

— Daejeon Hoetong, Criminal Code: Interrogation and Torture