I'll give you a vacation, so read a book!

 Reading heat is spreading throughout society as it has recently been revealed that reading paper newspapers and books not only increases the probability of going to good schools and workplaces, but also helps a country's economic development. Last month, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education trained 400 elementary school principals and vice-principals to read books for young students who had "reading golden time (a time when brain development due to reading is very effective)."Refer to "Read Revolution" on page A1 of March 4 and page A1 of page 29 of this paper.

It is said that there was an atmosphere that encouraged reading socially not only today but also during the Joseon Dynasty. They even built a dedicated building for young and talented tattoos so that they could take time off to read, and that they could visit their friends if they read at home. Let's take a look at how they read.

◇ Scholars who took a vacation to read.

In December 1426, King Sejong called in Gwonchae, Sinseokgyeon, and Namsumun. The officials who stood in front of the king were young graduates with less than five grades, who were evaluated as talented and good behavior. "The reason I gave you the government post of a house porch was to improve your skills by reading because you are young and have a future. But…"

The three servants were nervous wondering what order the king would give. I was just waiting for the next word with a nervous mind to see if I had done. However, each job has no time to concentrate on reading in the morning and evening, so from now on, don't go to work at Jiphyeonjeon Hall and read hard at home to show results and do as I please. As for the norms of reading, be guided by Daejehak Byeon Gye-ryang." "Phew, the Holy Spirit is honored."

The three unknowingly breathed a sigh of relief and stepped down from the front of the king with a happy look. After that day, these three did not go to work at Jiphyeonjeon Hall in the palace, but only focused on reading at home. The system that allows young tattoos to take time off to concentrate on reading at home is called Saga Reading (giving them a vacation to read). Tattoos selected for the Saga Reading System were given at least one to three months of vacation. I didn't record the period separately, but there were times when they gave me a longer "long vacation" when needed.

In 1442, King Sejong also gave reading leave to six servants, including Shin Sook-ju and Seong Sam-mun. From this time on, I was asked to read at Jingwansa Temple (a temple inside Bukhansan National Park in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul), not at home. This was called Sangsa Reading (Go up to the temple and read it). If you read at home, customers can come and get disturbed, so you let them enter a temple where they can focus only on books.

◇ Make room to focus only on reading

King Munjong gave 11 students a leave of absence from reading the boss in 1451, King Danjong in 1453, and King Sejo, who ascended the throne in 1455. However, when the scholars of Jiphyeonjeon participated in the Danjong Restoration Movement, King Sejo eliminated Jiphyeonjeon in 1456, and the Saga reading system was temporarily abolished.

In June 1476, King Seongjong revived the Saga Reading Festival by giving reading leave to seven officials. After that, King Seongjong created an opportunity to further activate the Saga reading system. King Seongjong, who thought it was not desirable to have young scholars reading books written by Confucian scholars in a temple in Joseon, a Confucian country, issued this order. "Pick a good land outside the castle and build a place to read." Today, Uijeongbu, which is equivalent to the Prime Minister's Office, has been abandoned with a hermitage in Yongsan belonging to the government office, so if you fix it well, it will be a good place to read and rest.

In 1492, King Seongjong built this place to build the first reading hall. The size of this reading hall was about 20 bays (a space surrounded by four pillars), which was not so large considering that commoners' houses were usually built up to 5 bays at the time and 99 bays at the time for well-off noblemen. However, it was a pretty good environment to read because it had both a cool Daecheongmaru and a warm ondol room.

In 1517, Jungjongdo Island had a new reading hall built in Dumopo, the current Oksu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Since then, Yongsan's reading room has been called "Namho Reading Center" and Dumopo's reading room as "Dongho Reading Center."

During the Joseon Dynasty, the southern Han River toward Yongsan was called Namho, and the eastern Han River toward Oksu-dong was called Dongho. According to the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, 320 people were selected over a total of 48 times from King Sejong in 1426 to King Yeongjo in 1773, and received reading leave.