Post by ajk on Dec 12, 2008 15:29:58 GMT -5
(Note: This episode aired the day after #80; the identifying number was not shown. It is not #81 but actually #82. We were not shown #81.)
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Wang Zhen, who's visiting as an envoy (which answers the question at the end of Ep80), is furious because Sejong wants to put Youngsil on trial in Ming for what's been characterized as a treason-level crime. Ming, of course, was fully intent on trying him for stealing the astronomical technology. But Jo Malseng puts it to Wang in a manner he can't argue with: "How would your government deal with such a criminal?"
In the torture yard, we see Youngsil hanging from a bar, tied by his wrists. He's going to be branded--literally--a traitor. He stares impassively ahead as he hangs there. Hwang explains to those present, including Haishou and various Joseon ministers, "A crime against the king is a crime against the country. He must be branded a traitor and sentenced to a lifetime of forced labor." (At this point those of you with really good memories might have recalled that he was already branded once before.)
There's starting to be suspicion about this whole thing. Wang Zhen realizes that if Youngsil is sentenced to a Joseonese labor camp, it will "keep [him] and his valuable talent in Joseon."
We're shown a flashback of Jang being branded with the "enemy" mark in Ep10, by Han Younglo for loving his daughter Daion.
Jo Malseng and Gim Jongsuh are walking and talking. Gim is suspicious just like Wang is. "The king set this up," he says; it's a ploy to keep Youngsil here in Joseon. Jo tells him, "It's a waste of energy trying to second-guess the king at a time like this." But he agrees that Wang will see right through it.
Haishou walks in on Poongae and finds him taking pen to paper. Poongae looks a bit uncomfortable, and Haishou asks him what he's doing. Poongae shows him a sketch of Youngsil that he's drawn. He's making it just in case Youngsil tries to escape. Haishou likes the idea. Then Haishou leaves, and from beneath the sketch Poongae pulls out another sheet of paper, this one with writing on it. That is what he was actually working on.
Haishou has come to Jo Malseng, entourage in tow, to tell him that he wants to observe the hearing. That won't be a problem, Jo says. Then as Poongae leaves, we see Poongae quickly slip something into Gim Jongsuh's hand. It's the sheet of paper, all folded up.
Choi Manli, talking with his two suspicious-scholar buddies (Gim Mun and Jeong Changson) doesn't like the whole Youngsil situation either--but for an entirely different reason. He thinks it's all been staged to draw attention away from the writing system project.
Jo and Gim are reviewing Poongae's letter. It's a report on the envoys' opinions and intentions. "The king's degree of cruelty will be the key," Jo believes, to whether or not Sejong will get through this predicament.
At the torture yard, Youngsil is still hanging there by his wrists. We can see the "enemy" mark on him now, too. Sejong decides he will not brand him, since branding has been outlawed. Ministers fidget nervously; will this all become an obvious sham? The king continues, "He will not be sentenced to forced labor either." This sets Haishou to muttering about leniency. "Treasonous heart," Sejong has decided, "deserves a much harsher punishment. I am hereby sentencing Jang Youngsil to 100 lashes, the harshest flogging punishment allowed under the law." Ouch. Even Haishou looks surprised by that. And sentence is to be carried out immediately. The crown prince is shocked and protests, and the ministers present don't like it at all either.
At the Hall of Worthies, the scholars are horrified, because it's tough to even survive a beating like that.
The flogging begins, with two floggers taking turns. (They use boards, not whips.) It's tough for everyone to watch, but Sejong stares ahead rigidly.
In their quarters, Wang Zhen tells Poongae, "That's quite a move the king is making." Poongae suggests that he summon Choi Manli, because "He's the one who can give you what you need to one-up that move." Wang smiles at the suggestion; "You're a good judge of character."
Choi Manli, talking to Gim and Jeong, decides that they need to turn over their evidence of writing system research to Ming. It's the only way to put a stop to all this.
Jeong Inji is headed to the tribunal, assumedly to try to stop it. But prince Jinyang encounters him on the way and stops him from going, telling him he shouldn't be going there.
Choi Manli goes into a room and finds Jeong Inji burning a piece of paper. It's the incriminating page that he found in the cleaned-out basement office of the type foundry. (So now we know that he kept the page rather than giving it to Choi.) Jeong has been thinking about all of the debate and turmoil that occurred when the slave-class Youngsil was given his government position. "There were times," he tells Choi reflectively, "when we weren't afraid of such revolutions." Choi is furious. Screaming mad. He challenges Jeong point-blank: Will you support the writing system? I don't know, Jeong replies, but what I do not want is "stagnation--treading water in silence and indecision out of fear of change." Choi warns him, "If you turn against me now...you and I will become irreconcilable enemies." "I'm afraid of myself more than I'm afraid of anybody else," is Jeong's answer. Jang taught him that lesson, he says, and he walks away.
49...50...51...by now Youngsil's back is bleeding pretty badly. At 61 he blacks out; water is splashed on him to revive him. Hyang protests again; Sejong warns his son to restrain himself. Just then, someone runs in, grabs one of the paddles, and knocks the paddler and two guards to the ground. It's Choi Haesan. "This is insane!", he shouts at Sejong. "Is this how you return his 30 years of loyalty? You use him like a dog and now this?" He's seized by guards and hauled off.
Jeong Inji and a group of the younger scholars are accompanying the ganui and the astronomical research records (so THAT'S where the ganui went) as they're being transported to a new location. Of course, Yi Sunji, the astronomical specialist, is among the group. Jeong asks him if he'll resume the astronomical research at the new location, but Sunji refuses. He's emotional and frustrated about Youngsil's punishment and likely death. In fact, he wants to go back to the capital, even if it means "I'm going to die with him if there's nothing I can do." Well, there's nothing he can do, so he'd die. But he's so angry that he wants nothing more to do with the research. Okay, Jeong says, and then engages in a bit of brinkmanship. "Very well--go die with Jang Youngsil," he says, and he proceeds to order the records destroyed! They're all dumped on the ground in a pile; powdered charcoal is shaken over the pile, and a soldier moves toward the pile holding a burning torch. Suddenly Sunji starts backtracking; he reflexively blocks the soldier to protect the records, and now isn't so sure he wants to walk away from his work. This goes on for a bit, back and forth, and finally Sunji pushes the flame away, falls to his knees and begins shaking the charcoal off the flammable records. "Remember what you're feeling right now," Jeong advises (and there's that pop ballad again--yecch). Jeong and Sunji mourn over the imminent loss of "the noble heart of Jang Youngsil, who sought to protect the people, although the king could not protect him, and to serve the people who shall reap the benefits of his work for years to come." "That legacy," Jeong says, "is now yours to carry on, Yi Sunji." Sunji is in tears.
74...75...76...Youngsil is becoming a bloody mess...(and the inspirational pop ballad continues. Are you kidding me?)...As the final strokes are counted off, we hear Youngsil's thoughts as he looks at Sejong: "Hang in there, your majesty...I would have made the same decision in your shoes." 99...100. It's over. Hyang wants to rush out to him but Hwang holds him back and his father glares at him menacingly. The king walks away without emotion, as though it's all a piece of routine business. Youngsil was still alive after the final stroke, but we don't see the aftermath and are left to assume the expected worst.
Later, Sejong and Wang Zhen are meeting; Wang is about to go back to Ming. "Why did you do it?", Wang asks. "Why did you deal with Jang Youngsil yourself?" Sejong explains, "Out of courtesy to Ming, of course." His display of contempt for being sent to Ming, Sejong explains, was contempt against Ming itself. Will you give up the astronomical research? "I will have to wait until Ming becomes as magnanimous as the size of its land." (Good answer.) "Say away from dangerous ventures," Wang advises him. Sejong says with a smile, "I hardly have enough time to pursue ventures that will benefit my people." Then Wang says, You must give up the writing system project. Sejong laughs heartily. "Oh dear...I know you retired from Dongchang years ago, but you must be losing your political acumen." Wang's and Haishou's eyes widen, but Sejong continues, "Putting pressure on a neighboring state with groundless accusations? That's rather amateurish. You should be more careful." He stands, smiles at Wang and wishes him a safe trip home. But Wang is seriously pissed off--we can see it in his face. (Surely Sejong must be baiting Wang for a reason; at least that was my reaction.)
Wang goes back to his quarters with Haishou and Poongae, and throws one of his wrist-knives into a wall in frustration. "How dare he mock me. I am Wang Zhen, the man who practically controls the emperor! How dare the king of a minuscule country patronize me! He will pay for this!" (Bait taken, that's for sure.)
Nighttime: Choi Manli and Jeong Changson have gone to meet Haishou and Wang Zhen. Choi says he wants to stop the development of the writing system. Wang believes that doing so will mean replacing the king. "We are willing to give you full support if you decide." "First I need a guarantee that Ming will refrain from excessive interference in Joseonese domestic affairs." Wang nods and smiles: "He's a businessman."
It's late at night, and Sejong is back working on the writing system. We see the paper blurring in front of him. Then Hyang shows up and puts a magnifying glass in front of him. Youngsil left it for him, Hyang says, because he was worried about the deterioration in Sejong's vision. (That must be the glass that we saw Youngsil working on in Ep79.) He tries the magnifier. It works fine, but it still isn't enough to help him. "Even with this, everything is too blurry. I can't make out the words." He cries in frustration--or is there more to it than just frustration?
We get a crawl:
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Several months have passed. The king and queen have been spending time at Jingwan Temple. Wherever it is, it's a beautiful country location. We see four little monk boys following in the king's footsteps as he paces back and forth in a yard. "Our speech sounds. I can't figure out the secret," he says, as he looks at phonetic characters written in large script on paper. Sejong has been doing this for three months, we learn, pacing back and forth and going through the very same routines. Jachi even has them memorized, right down to the steps and expressions. And the smiling boys repeat the phonetics sounds he recites, like it's all one big familiar game. What a rut! Or is it? And off to the side, we can see someone watching all this.
"Walking around mumbling to himself? Passing time singing with the wind and admiring the moon?" Choi Manli has been told by his two friends that the king doesn't seem to be doing much of anything, and certainly doesn't appear to be working on a writing system or anything much at all. No, Choi says, quite the contrary, it sounds like he's more focused then ever, despite what it looks like. "Walking around and waiting for a moment of inspiration. It's an old habit of his." And it turns out, they're the ones having the king watched.
Shin Sukju and Sung Sammun are in the Hall of Worthies building, sneaking through a darkened hallway to try to get back to work. But suddenly they come upon Jeong Changson in the darkness; it scares them half to death. They try to make excuses but Jeong is unhappy with them (no doubt because he suspects their involvement with the project he opposes). He scolds them, gives them a work assignment and tells them to get to it.
Nighttime: In a new alphabet research room, Sejong is back at it, overworking himself. Jeong Inji enters and reminds him that the physician is concerned about him working too hard; his eyes are getting worse and so is his neuralgia.
Crown prince Hyang, Hwang Hee and Jeong Inji are meeting. Hwang has a suggestion on how to get Shin Sukju and Sung Sammun freed up so they can devote more time to the writing system project: a sabbatical. The prince asks, But won't that attract more attention to the two and stir up more suspicion? Simple enough, Hwang says; give all of the younger scholars a sabbatical.
At the Hall of Worthies: The young scholars are meeting with Jeong Inji. Surprisingly, all of them except Sukju and Sammun refuse the sabbatical; they say they can do their own research on their own time. But it turns out, what's really going on here is that they're angry with Jeong because they believe he could have saved Youngsil. "We will defy every order you give us," they tell him, and they all walk out, leaving only Sukju and Sammun sitting there with him. (Why do they believe he could have saved Youngsil? Not clear on this.)
Choi Manli goes to see Hwang Hee. He says he wants to assign Gim Mun and Jeong Changson to provincial posts, so that they can get some practical, real-world experience. Hwang nods approvingly and says he'll consider it.
"Shouldn't Choi Manli be removed from service?", Hyang asks his father. But Sejong says that's not a good idea, even though he keeps interfering. "That's all the more reason to keep him near. The king cannot always be right. It's though opposing opinion that policies are shaped and improved." But Hyang points out that Choi is starting to attract followers of his own, and now he want to build regional influence by sending his men out into the provinces. What to do about that? Hwang makes what seems like the worst possible suggestion: give Choi a promotion!
The crown prince and Hwang Hee inform Choi that he's been appointed assistant director of the Hall of Worthies, in recognition of his talents and achievements. Choi accepts. Then Hwang hands him a scroll; it's his first assignment in his new post. Choi opens and reads it; it's a new policy that forbids the scholars from double duty, such as administrative work. Hwang explains that this is necessary so that non-scholarly assignments do not undermine the research purpose of the hall. Choi digests this, then smiles in agreement and says he'll take care of it...
...But later, with his two disgruntled friends, Choi is very angry about it. "They mean to completely seal off our political involvement. They're trying to render you powerless!" But Choi cautions them to remember that Our goal isn't political, it's to stop the writing system development.
Choi convinces all of the angry young scholars to accept the sabbatical after all. He wants them to go to Jingwan Temple--where they can observe the king's every move and hopefully turn up conclusive evidence of the writing system.
In the temple workroom: Sejong is again working on the writing system, but now he has the queen working with him. She's doing the writing for him, and is writing large characters so he can work with them easily. She's smiling as she works and we can't help but notice how much she seems to be enjoying doing the work. (Another way-back reference: In Ep9 we saw her doing the same thing, helping her then-prince husband putting together his Ming reference book.) It's getting late and he suggests that she retire for the night. But she won't go. "If my son didn't eat, ignored me and skipped his medication, I would have whipped him," she says with a smile. "I'm not leaving until you've finished your herbal tonic." Then she starts to look at some of the written words Sejong has created to express certain Korean sounds. She starts to pair up pieces of paper to link up pairs of sounds. Sejong smiles at this, but then suddenly, the big Eureka Moment of the series: he takes the pages and starts to group them himself, sounding out words: mu-l...do-l...so-l...go-l...And just like that, it all makes sense: "Why didn't I separate the phonemes before? Its so clear! The Chinese and Korean languages have different sounds, so the phonemic principle can't be the same. There are three sounds in these words: initial, medial and final. This is the sound of Joseon and the secret I've been looking for! All I have to do now is come up with symbols for those sounds." And he excitedly tells his wife, "You're the mother of Joseon, and you've played a huge part in creating our writing system as well!" I don't know that there's any historical support for that (and am fairly certain that there is none), but it for makes a nice end to the episode as both husband and wife are ecstatic about the breakthrough.
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Wang Zhen, who's visiting as an envoy (which answers the question at the end of Ep80), is furious because Sejong wants to put Youngsil on trial in Ming for what's been characterized as a treason-level crime. Ming, of course, was fully intent on trying him for stealing the astronomical technology. But Jo Malseng puts it to Wang in a manner he can't argue with: "How would your government deal with such a criminal?"
In the torture yard, we see Youngsil hanging from a bar, tied by his wrists. He's going to be branded--literally--a traitor. He stares impassively ahead as he hangs there. Hwang explains to those present, including Haishou and various Joseon ministers, "A crime against the king is a crime against the country. He must be branded a traitor and sentenced to a lifetime of forced labor." (At this point those of you with really good memories might have recalled that he was already branded once before.)
There's starting to be suspicion about this whole thing. Wang Zhen realizes that if Youngsil is sentenced to a Joseonese labor camp, it will "keep [him] and his valuable talent in Joseon."
We're shown a flashback of Jang being branded with the "enemy" mark in Ep10, by Han Younglo for loving his daughter Daion.
Jo Malseng and Gim Jongsuh are walking and talking. Gim is suspicious just like Wang is. "The king set this up," he says; it's a ploy to keep Youngsil here in Joseon. Jo tells him, "It's a waste of energy trying to second-guess the king at a time like this." But he agrees that Wang will see right through it.
Haishou walks in on Poongae and finds him taking pen to paper. Poongae looks a bit uncomfortable, and Haishou asks him what he's doing. Poongae shows him a sketch of Youngsil that he's drawn. He's making it just in case Youngsil tries to escape. Haishou likes the idea. Then Haishou leaves, and from beneath the sketch Poongae pulls out another sheet of paper, this one with writing on it. That is what he was actually working on.
Haishou has come to Jo Malseng, entourage in tow, to tell him that he wants to observe the hearing. That won't be a problem, Jo says. Then as Poongae leaves, we see Poongae quickly slip something into Gim Jongsuh's hand. It's the sheet of paper, all folded up.
Choi Manli, talking with his two suspicious-scholar buddies (Gim Mun and Jeong Changson) doesn't like the whole Youngsil situation either--but for an entirely different reason. He thinks it's all been staged to draw attention away from the writing system project.
Jo and Gim are reviewing Poongae's letter. It's a report on the envoys' opinions and intentions. "The king's degree of cruelty will be the key," Jo believes, to whether or not Sejong will get through this predicament.
At the torture yard, Youngsil is still hanging there by his wrists. We can see the "enemy" mark on him now, too. Sejong decides he will not brand him, since branding has been outlawed. Ministers fidget nervously; will this all become an obvious sham? The king continues, "He will not be sentenced to forced labor either." This sets Haishou to muttering about leniency. "Treasonous heart," Sejong has decided, "deserves a much harsher punishment. I am hereby sentencing Jang Youngsil to 100 lashes, the harshest flogging punishment allowed under the law." Ouch. Even Haishou looks surprised by that. And sentence is to be carried out immediately. The crown prince is shocked and protests, and the ministers present don't like it at all either.
At the Hall of Worthies, the scholars are horrified, because it's tough to even survive a beating like that.
The flogging begins, with two floggers taking turns. (They use boards, not whips.) It's tough for everyone to watch, but Sejong stares ahead rigidly.
In their quarters, Wang Zhen tells Poongae, "That's quite a move the king is making." Poongae suggests that he summon Choi Manli, because "He's the one who can give you what you need to one-up that move." Wang smiles at the suggestion; "You're a good judge of character."
Choi Manli, talking to Gim and Jeong, decides that they need to turn over their evidence of writing system research to Ming. It's the only way to put a stop to all this.
Jeong Inji is headed to the tribunal, assumedly to try to stop it. But prince Jinyang encounters him on the way and stops him from going, telling him he shouldn't be going there.
Choi Manli goes into a room and finds Jeong Inji burning a piece of paper. It's the incriminating page that he found in the cleaned-out basement office of the type foundry. (So now we know that he kept the page rather than giving it to Choi.) Jeong has been thinking about all of the debate and turmoil that occurred when the slave-class Youngsil was given his government position. "There were times," he tells Choi reflectively, "when we weren't afraid of such revolutions." Choi is furious. Screaming mad. He challenges Jeong point-blank: Will you support the writing system? I don't know, Jeong replies, but what I do not want is "stagnation--treading water in silence and indecision out of fear of change." Choi warns him, "If you turn against me now...you and I will become irreconcilable enemies." "I'm afraid of myself more than I'm afraid of anybody else," is Jeong's answer. Jang taught him that lesson, he says, and he walks away.
49...50...51...by now Youngsil's back is bleeding pretty badly. At 61 he blacks out; water is splashed on him to revive him. Hyang protests again; Sejong warns his son to restrain himself. Just then, someone runs in, grabs one of the paddles, and knocks the paddler and two guards to the ground. It's Choi Haesan. "This is insane!", he shouts at Sejong. "Is this how you return his 30 years of loyalty? You use him like a dog and now this?" He's seized by guards and hauled off.
Jeong Inji and a group of the younger scholars are accompanying the ganui and the astronomical research records (so THAT'S where the ganui went) as they're being transported to a new location. Of course, Yi Sunji, the astronomical specialist, is among the group. Jeong asks him if he'll resume the astronomical research at the new location, but Sunji refuses. He's emotional and frustrated about Youngsil's punishment and likely death. In fact, he wants to go back to the capital, even if it means "I'm going to die with him if there's nothing I can do." Well, there's nothing he can do, so he'd die. But he's so angry that he wants nothing more to do with the research. Okay, Jeong says, and then engages in a bit of brinkmanship. "Very well--go die with Jang Youngsil," he says, and he proceeds to order the records destroyed! They're all dumped on the ground in a pile; powdered charcoal is shaken over the pile, and a soldier moves toward the pile holding a burning torch. Suddenly Sunji starts backtracking; he reflexively blocks the soldier to protect the records, and now isn't so sure he wants to walk away from his work. This goes on for a bit, back and forth, and finally Sunji pushes the flame away, falls to his knees and begins shaking the charcoal off the flammable records. "Remember what you're feeling right now," Jeong advises (and there's that pop ballad again--yecch). Jeong and Sunji mourn over the imminent loss of "the noble heart of Jang Youngsil, who sought to protect the people, although the king could not protect him, and to serve the people who shall reap the benefits of his work for years to come." "That legacy," Jeong says, "is now yours to carry on, Yi Sunji." Sunji is in tears.
74...75...76...Youngsil is becoming a bloody mess...(and the inspirational pop ballad continues. Are you kidding me?)...As the final strokes are counted off, we hear Youngsil's thoughts as he looks at Sejong: "Hang in there, your majesty...I would have made the same decision in your shoes." 99...100. It's over. Hyang wants to rush out to him but Hwang holds him back and his father glares at him menacingly. The king walks away without emotion, as though it's all a piece of routine business. Youngsil was still alive after the final stroke, but we don't see the aftermath and are left to assume the expected worst.
Later, Sejong and Wang Zhen are meeting; Wang is about to go back to Ming. "Why did you do it?", Wang asks. "Why did you deal with Jang Youngsil yourself?" Sejong explains, "Out of courtesy to Ming, of course." His display of contempt for being sent to Ming, Sejong explains, was contempt against Ming itself. Will you give up the astronomical research? "I will have to wait until Ming becomes as magnanimous as the size of its land." (Good answer.) "Say away from dangerous ventures," Wang advises him. Sejong says with a smile, "I hardly have enough time to pursue ventures that will benefit my people." Then Wang says, You must give up the writing system project. Sejong laughs heartily. "Oh dear...I know you retired from Dongchang years ago, but you must be losing your political acumen." Wang's and Haishou's eyes widen, but Sejong continues, "Putting pressure on a neighboring state with groundless accusations? That's rather amateurish. You should be more careful." He stands, smiles at Wang and wishes him a safe trip home. But Wang is seriously pissed off--we can see it in his face. (Surely Sejong must be baiting Wang for a reason; at least that was my reaction.)
Wang goes back to his quarters with Haishou and Poongae, and throws one of his wrist-knives into a wall in frustration. "How dare he mock me. I am Wang Zhen, the man who practically controls the emperor! How dare the king of a minuscule country patronize me! He will pay for this!" (Bait taken, that's for sure.)
Nighttime: Choi Manli and Jeong Changson have gone to meet Haishou and Wang Zhen. Choi says he wants to stop the development of the writing system. Wang believes that doing so will mean replacing the king. "We are willing to give you full support if you decide." "First I need a guarantee that Ming will refrain from excessive interference in Joseonese domestic affairs." Wang nods and smiles: "He's a businessman."
It's late at night, and Sejong is back working on the writing system. We see the paper blurring in front of him. Then Hyang shows up and puts a magnifying glass in front of him. Youngsil left it for him, Hyang says, because he was worried about the deterioration in Sejong's vision. (That must be the glass that we saw Youngsil working on in Ep79.) He tries the magnifier. It works fine, but it still isn't enough to help him. "Even with this, everything is too blurry. I can't make out the words." He cries in frustration--or is there more to it than just frustration?
We get a crawl:
No records of Jang Youngsil can be found in the annals of Joseon subsequent to his dismissal from government service in May of 1442. About the same time, the Ganui disappears from Gyeongbok palace as well. But astronomical research continued in Joseon. In 1442 AD, the 24th year of Sejong's reign, the Joseonese calendar was at last completed by Yi Sunji, Jeong Inji and others. It was named "Almanacs of the Seven Planets."
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Several months have passed. The king and queen have been spending time at Jingwan Temple. Wherever it is, it's a beautiful country location. We see four little monk boys following in the king's footsteps as he paces back and forth in a yard. "Our speech sounds. I can't figure out the secret," he says, as he looks at phonetic characters written in large script on paper. Sejong has been doing this for three months, we learn, pacing back and forth and going through the very same routines. Jachi even has them memorized, right down to the steps and expressions. And the smiling boys repeat the phonetics sounds he recites, like it's all one big familiar game. What a rut! Or is it? And off to the side, we can see someone watching all this.
"Walking around mumbling to himself? Passing time singing with the wind and admiring the moon?" Choi Manli has been told by his two friends that the king doesn't seem to be doing much of anything, and certainly doesn't appear to be working on a writing system or anything much at all. No, Choi says, quite the contrary, it sounds like he's more focused then ever, despite what it looks like. "Walking around and waiting for a moment of inspiration. It's an old habit of his." And it turns out, they're the ones having the king watched.
Shin Sukju and Sung Sammun are in the Hall of Worthies building, sneaking through a darkened hallway to try to get back to work. But suddenly they come upon Jeong Changson in the darkness; it scares them half to death. They try to make excuses but Jeong is unhappy with them (no doubt because he suspects their involvement with the project he opposes). He scolds them, gives them a work assignment and tells them to get to it.
Nighttime: In a new alphabet research room, Sejong is back at it, overworking himself. Jeong Inji enters and reminds him that the physician is concerned about him working too hard; his eyes are getting worse and so is his neuralgia.
Crown prince Hyang, Hwang Hee and Jeong Inji are meeting. Hwang has a suggestion on how to get Shin Sukju and Sung Sammun freed up so they can devote more time to the writing system project: a sabbatical. The prince asks, But won't that attract more attention to the two and stir up more suspicion? Simple enough, Hwang says; give all of the younger scholars a sabbatical.
At the Hall of Worthies: The young scholars are meeting with Jeong Inji. Surprisingly, all of them except Sukju and Sammun refuse the sabbatical; they say they can do their own research on their own time. But it turns out, what's really going on here is that they're angry with Jeong because they believe he could have saved Youngsil. "We will defy every order you give us," they tell him, and they all walk out, leaving only Sukju and Sammun sitting there with him. (Why do they believe he could have saved Youngsil? Not clear on this.)
Choi Manli goes to see Hwang Hee. He says he wants to assign Gim Mun and Jeong Changson to provincial posts, so that they can get some practical, real-world experience. Hwang nods approvingly and says he'll consider it.
"Shouldn't Choi Manli be removed from service?", Hyang asks his father. But Sejong says that's not a good idea, even though he keeps interfering. "That's all the more reason to keep him near. The king cannot always be right. It's though opposing opinion that policies are shaped and improved." But Hyang points out that Choi is starting to attract followers of his own, and now he want to build regional influence by sending his men out into the provinces. What to do about that? Hwang makes what seems like the worst possible suggestion: give Choi a promotion!
The crown prince and Hwang Hee inform Choi that he's been appointed assistant director of the Hall of Worthies, in recognition of his talents and achievements. Choi accepts. Then Hwang hands him a scroll; it's his first assignment in his new post. Choi opens and reads it; it's a new policy that forbids the scholars from double duty, such as administrative work. Hwang explains that this is necessary so that non-scholarly assignments do not undermine the research purpose of the hall. Choi digests this, then smiles in agreement and says he'll take care of it...
...But later, with his two disgruntled friends, Choi is very angry about it. "They mean to completely seal off our political involvement. They're trying to render you powerless!" But Choi cautions them to remember that Our goal isn't political, it's to stop the writing system development.
Choi convinces all of the angry young scholars to accept the sabbatical after all. He wants them to go to Jingwan Temple--where they can observe the king's every move and hopefully turn up conclusive evidence of the writing system.
In the temple workroom: Sejong is again working on the writing system, but now he has the queen working with him. She's doing the writing for him, and is writing large characters so he can work with them easily. She's smiling as she works and we can't help but notice how much she seems to be enjoying doing the work. (Another way-back reference: In Ep9 we saw her doing the same thing, helping her then-prince husband putting together his Ming reference book.) It's getting late and he suggests that she retire for the night. But she won't go. "If my son didn't eat, ignored me and skipped his medication, I would have whipped him," she says with a smile. "I'm not leaving until you've finished your herbal tonic." Then she starts to look at some of the written words Sejong has created to express certain Korean sounds. She starts to pair up pieces of paper to link up pairs of sounds. Sejong smiles at this, but then suddenly, the big Eureka Moment of the series: he takes the pages and starts to group them himself, sounding out words: mu-l...do-l...so-l...go-l...And just like that, it all makes sense: "Why didn't I separate the phonemes before? Its so clear! The Chinese and Korean languages have different sounds, so the phonemic principle can't be the same. There are three sounds in these words: initial, medial and final. This is the sound of Joseon and the secret I've been looking for! All I have to do now is come up with symbols for those sounds." And he excitedly tells his wife, "You're the mother of Joseon, and you've played a huge part in creating our writing system as well!" I don't know that there's any historical support for that (and am fairly certain that there is none), but it for makes a nice end to the episode as both husband and wife are ecstatic about the breakthrough.
