Preferential treatment for the disabled during the Joseon Dynasty

 Homer, Aesop, Cervantes, Helen Keller, Beethoven. They have overcome physical disabilities and achieved outstanding achievements in literature and art. Homer and Helen Keller were blind, Aesop and Cervantes were retarded, and Beethoven were deaf. As such, there are many disabled people left in history in the West. On the other hand, it has not been easy to find disabled people in our history so far. This is the result of negligence in academic interest and research. However, according to a study by Chung Chang-kwon, a visiting professor at Korea University, it was found that in the traditional era such as Goryeo and Joseon, disabled people entered society more actively than today. In addition, a systematic support policy for the disabled was prepared, such as establishing and operating an organization for the disabled in the mediation. Professor Jeong will present a paper containing this content at an academic conference hosted by the Korean Society of Social History held at Hallym University on the theme of "Koreans, Social History of the Body" from the 22nd to the 23rd. According to Professor Jeong's thesis, "Awareness of the Disabled in Joseon," the disabled in the traditional era were called "Vulnerable", "Strap" and "Toxic". The types of disabilities were also diverse, including the so-called blind, one-eyed, one-legged, lame, sitting, hunchback, dwarf, Eoncheong, deaf, and mute. In addition, mental disorders such as schizophrenia and epilepsy were also considered disabilities. In the traditional era, the policy of the disabled was a principle of supporting families. If the family was unable to support the disabled, village communities such as relatives and neighbors provided support. However, the government did not just sit on its hands for the disabled. During the reign of King Taejo of the Joseon Dynasty, taxes, servitude, and miscellaneous work were exempted for the disabled. They did not impose punishment, but instead received it in place of Bero, and were excluded from the sit-down system. In particular, the governments of Goryeo and Joseon arranged jobs such as fortune-telling, reciting Buddhist scriptures, and musicians to participate in social activities for the visually impaired. King Taejong of the Joseon Dynasty formed an organization for the blind called Myeongtongsi to support the activities of the blind. In Myeongtong-si, blind people gathered once a month on the first and fifteenth of every month to pray for the safety of the country by memorizing the scriptures, and also held a ritual for rain during a drought. The government supported slaves in Myeongtong City and offered rice and veggies to the blind. Some of the visually impaired were in charge of playing instruments at the Government Music Center, the head of the country's music hall. Among the blind people who were engaged in fortune-telling, they also entered the government position of "Myeonghak" belonging to the ornamental sense. As such, disabled people in the traditional era were not greatly discriminated or alienated because they had disabilities. In the case of aristocrats, they were able to rise to high office through the past. Heo Jo, a politician in the early Joseon Dynasty, suffered from rickets and was bent, but he was a Myeongjae-sang who entered the Jwauijeong Pavilion after passing through Ijo and Yejo. Cho Seong-gi, who lived in the 17th century, fell from his horse and became a spinal disabled person at the age of 20, but became a great scholar and left a collection of poems, "Jolsujaejip," and a novel "Changseongamrok." There are also many disabled poets, painters, and musicians. During the reign of King Jeongjo, the poet Jang Hon was lame, but he became an official of Gaminso, the printing office of the court, and corrected the books that the king had given him. He left 20 volumes of "The Silk Collection" in his anthology. In addition, Kim Seong-chim and Hong, who were blind couples in the late Joseon Dynasty, wrote poems well, and it is said that there was a law to manage the family and educate their children. Choi Buk, who lost one eye, is a representative painter for the disabled, while Ivan, Kim Bok-san, Jeong Beom, Kim Un-ran, and Baek Ok are cited as musicians. Professor Chung Chang-kwon said, "Until the middle of Goryeo and Joseon Dynasty, the perception of the disabled was not exclusive," adding, "The perception of the disabled seems to have retreated through the late Joseon Dynasty and modern times." In the traditional era, unlike today, if ability was allowed, Professor Jeong claimed that he had a job and maintained an independent life without caring about disability. "Jo Woon-chan, reporter sidol@kyunghyang.com Kyunghyang Shinmun"