Author Archives: Jool Education

By LH

Birth of Joseon Dynasty: Lee Sung Gei, Founder of Joseon Dynasty

What do you know about Korean history? Are you interested in Korean history? Here’s a series I plan to write about Joseon Dynasty, one of kingdoms used to be before Modern Republic of Korea! In fact, Hangul, Hanbok, Kimchi, Bibimbop and many well-known Korean cultural products are from Joseon Dynasty!

Lee Sung Gei is Taejo(Founder) of Joseon dynasty. He was born in 1335, far northern area of Korea where is now North Korea. He was very brave and smart from the young so soon became a general of Coryo Dynasty (A nation just before Joseon dynasty. “Korea” name came from Coryo dynasty!) The king fo Coryo was not wise enough to be a king so he got scared of Lee Sung Gei as Lee had got political power and military power at the same time. Lee became more and more powerful, even more powerful than the King. Finally the king yielded his crown to Lee and Lee established Joseon Dynasty in 1392. Lee spent 6 years as a King and decided to yield his crown to his 2nd son as he saw that his 7 sons killed each other to become crown prince. What he saw made him in deep sorrow and angry. He left the capital, Hanyang (now we call Seoul) and lived in far-northern Korea. His second son became the second King, Jeongjong.

If you would like to read more about the Joseon Dynasty and want to see who invented Hangul, please wait until I come back with my next article!

Environmental: This is easy. The Earth could flourish as humans were dramatically lowered in numbers. The human population would be 49.5% smaller immediately. That would mean far less global emissions, far less consumption, far less environmental hazards, and more unoccupied space for nature to rewild. Oh my goodness, this is simply positive in every way, shape, and form. However, it could be a bit less lovely!

Social: If humans can only live to the age of 30 and know that this is a reality, they may become massively depressed long before then and do two things. Firstly, they may give up on life and become hermits. Without a long life ahead of them, the purpose for life would seem to vanish. Secondly, they may consume much more and become complete hedonists, not caring about consequences (because who cares?), and generally being total rotters! A significant breakdown in social values would take place as humans lost a powerful reason to be model citizens and pay taxes – old age.

Economic: If humans failed to live past  30, the tax income would disappear, too. However, a huge amount of tax goes toward paying for healthcare, so that might not be a negative effect. Any wealth held by those over 30 would be passed on or released back into the economy. Wages and salaries would sky-rocket and the quality of life would also increase rapidly. Cash and money would flood the world for the under 30s. Savings for a retirement or a rainy day would become quite pointless and the moment would become the focus. For those who continue to contribute to society, life would become a constant cycle of consumption of entertainment, cuisine, and knowledge. With a time limit, people would not sleep in and become much more efficient and productive. Or, they’d give up and do nothing all day. 

Political: Brilliant! 25 year old presidents and ministers. No experience, some may cry, but who cares! Politics is traditionally dominated by people over the age of 40. Those over 40 tend to have enough money, and advantages (and back pain), and don’t want to alter that. Younger people tend to not have much, so it’s possible that younger politicians could enact lots of dramatic change. Or, just do nothing all day.