Hello everyone,
When I first started this Substack, I imagined writing about a variety of topics.
But for now, I’ve decided to focus more intentionally on stories about Korea.
To reflect this shift, I’ve renamed the publication: Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time.
Thank you so much for being here and for reading my writing.
Ever complain about your kid’s homework load? Think those piano lessons and extra tutoring are a bit much? Well, buckle up, because we’re about to take a trip back in time to Joseon Dynasty Korea (1392–1910), where royal education made modern-day parenting look like a relaxing spa day.
Imagine being five years old and waking up in a palace. Servants at your beck and call, silk robes, and endless royal feasts—sounds like a dream, right?
Wrong.
If you were a prince in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, your childhood was less about playing and more about preparing to rule an entire kingdom.
And that meant studying. A lot.
Shaping a King: It Starts Before Kindergarten
In Joseon Korea, education didn’t begin at elementary school—it started practically at birth. Korean parents took the proverb seriously:
Before they even reached preschool age, royal toddlers received meticulous training in manners, speech, and Confucian etiquette. Every action was carefully observed and corrected by the sharpest scholars of the kingdom. Imagine having professors from Harvard following you around, patiently correcting how you bowed, how you spoke, even how you walked.
By age four or five, things got real. Princes were enrolled in the Ganghakcheong (강학청), a royal academy where they dove headfirst into Confucian classics and history. Think of it as the most intense prep school imaginable, taught by the kingdom’s top scholars—guys who’d aced the notoriously brutal civil service exams.
And if you thought that sounded demanding, just wait—it gets worse.
Welcome to Sigangwon (시강원): The School of No Rest
Once officially named Crown Prince—the heir to the throne—he entered Sigangwon (시강원), a special institution staffed by a dream team (or nightmare team, from the prince’s perspective) of over twenty of Korea’s greatest minds.
These weren’t just any teachers. We’re talking top government officials, potentially including the Prime Minister himself. Imagine having the President or Vice President personally grilling you on your homework every single day. That was the life of a Joseon crown prince.
The Sigangwon staff had fancy titles like “Left Guest (좌빈객)” and “Right Guest (우빈객),” and they were all chosen from the elite ranks of scholars who had passed those grueling civil service exams. And they took their jobs very seriously.
These tutors rotated staying overnight at the palace, ready to teach at a moment’s notice. Prince can’t sleep at 3 AM and wants to review Mencius? No problem—his tutors were there, fully dressed and ready to lecture.
Talk about an extreme version of 24/7 customer service!
A Day in the Life: Endless Lessons and Exams
A Crown Prince’s daily schedule was astonishingly brutal:
- Before dawn: Wake up, greet royal parents respectfully (because Confucian virtue was as important as breathing).
- Morning Lectures (Jogang, 조강): Intense memorization and recitation starting at sunrise. Mistake a single character? Face immediate criticism from stern-faced tutors.
- Afternoon Lectures (Jugang, 주강): More detailed discussions on Confucian philosophy and history after a quick lunch—no breaks allowed.
- Evening Lectures (Seokgang, 석강): Thought you were done? Think again—nighttime studies continued with more memorization drills.
- Extra Night Classes (Yadae, 야대): Because evidently three classes a day weren’t enough.
Twice every month, princes faced terrifying oral exams called Hoegang (회강). Picture yourself standing nervously before twenty stone-faced scholars, reciting dense philosophical texts perfectly from memory. One slip-up could result in harsh consequences—not just for you but sometimes for your attendants too.
Not Just Books: Warrior, Poet, Farmer?
But wait—there’s more! Joseon princes weren’t simply trained to be scholars. To become effective future rulers, they were also forced to master a dizzying array of practical skills:
- Martial Arts: Swordsmanship, horseback riding, archery—all necessary for leading armies.
- Arts and Music: Poetry, painting, calligraphy—mandatory for cultivating refined royal sensibilities.
- Etiquette: Mastery of every microscopic detail of courtly conduct was non-negotiable.
- Hands-on Experiences: Princes even learned basic farming rituals like plowing fields (Chingyeongrye [친경례]) —symbolically experiencing the hardships of commoners.
Essentially, their young minds were relentlessly stuffed with knowledge, skills, etiquette, and the weight of a kingdom’s expectations, from dawn until well past dusk.
Finally King: Does It Ever Get Easier? (Spoiler Alert: Nope)
You might be thinking, “Surely, when they finally became king, life got a little easier?”
Absolutely. Not.
A king’s “ideal” schedule still involved hours of study, endless meetings with officials, and reviewing mountains of documents.
The king was expected to participate in gyeongyeon (경연) – royal lectures where he debated Confucian principles and policy matters with his advisors. These weren’t just casual chats; they were high-stakes political battles fought with words and ideas.
Ideally, a king would wake at 5 AM, pay respects to royal elders, attend morning classes and handle affairs of state, then have lunch.
After lunch? More studying and more work. At 5 PM, he’d check on the palace night watchmen (essential for preventing, you know, coups and assassinations). After dinner, even more studying. And before bed, the king had to read all the appeals that had arrived – and because Joseon was practically a “nation of appeals,” this was no small task. Every complaint in the kingdom landed on the king’s desk.
And even after all that, there was no guarantee of a peaceful night’s sleep, as the queen and concubines were waiting, because, you know, producing heirs was kind of a big deal.
The stress took its toll. The Joseon Wangjo Sillok (조선왕조실록, “The Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty”) is filled with accounts of kings suffering from various illnesses and stress-related ailments. Many Joseon rulers died young, and those who lived longer often became increasingly irritable and erratic in their later years (can you blame them?).
A Nation Obsessed with Learning—For Better or Worse
So, looking back at Joseon from a modern perspective, you might think, “Wow, what a study-obsessed nation!” The entire population was fixated on the civil service exams, and even the king couldn’t escape the relentless grind. It seems almost crazy.
But here’s the thing—Joseon lasted for over 500 years. That’s longer than almost any dynasty in world history. Like people, nations eventually grow old, face challenges, and decline. Joseon met its end in tragedy, but its longevity raises an important question: How did it manage to survive for so long?
There are countless interpretations and explanations for this remarkable feat. Some dismiss the nation’s obsession with studying as excessive and futile, while others argue that it created a culture that prioritized education and intellectual growth.
This emphasis on learning wasn’t just a passing trend—it became deeply ingrained in the Korean psyche, leaving an indelible mark on the nation’s identity.
Whether you view this legacy as a curse or a blessing is up to you. My goal with this piece isn’t to say whether it was good or bad—it’s simply to show that Korea’s intense focus on education didn’t appear out of nowhere. The roots of today’s competitive academic culture stretch back centuries, to an era when even princes lived in a perpetual grind of study and exams.
Coming up next:
We’ll fast-forward to modern Korea’s most controversial educational phenomenon—the infamous “Elite Prep Scramble” for seven-year-olds (7세고시).
Get ready, because it’s a wild ride.
This article refers to the following sources:
- KBS History Special – Joseon’s Masters of Study: Crown Prince Education (KBS 역사스페셜 – 조선판 공부의 신, 왕세자 교육)
- “Joseon’s Crown Princes Who Lived Every Day Like Exam Candidates” #NakedKoreanHistory Crown Prince Episode (매일매일을 수험생처럼 살았던 조선의 왕세자들! #벌거벗은한국사 왕세자편)
- Korea National Heritage Administration Official Blog – What Kind of Education Did Joseon’s Crown Prince, the Highest (高) Student, Receive? (국가유산청 공식블로그 – 최고(高)의 학생, 조선의 왕세자는 어떤 교육을 받았을까?, 2023)
- The Birth of Koreans (한국인의 탄생, 2024) – 홍대선 (Hong Dae-seon)
