Black Corporation: Joseon

Episode 1002 Meanwhile, elsewhere….. (7)

As soon as candy liquor came out, it swept the European market.

-The best virtue of alcohol is to get drunk.

According to this proposition, which all drinkers agree with, distilled liquor was the best alcohol. Compared to fermented drinks such as wine and beer that Europeans drink on a daily basis, the alcohol content of distilled alcohol was overwhelming. However, distilled liquor had one fatal flaw.

It was expensive.

No matter how cheap wine or beer was used for distillation, considering the amount needed for distillation, the price was bound to be high. However, Sangdangju was free from this problem. This was because it was made by distilling fermented liquor made from by-products from the process of making sugar from sugar cane.

Naturally, it was released into the market at an overwhelmingly cheaper price than European brandy, and the lower classes of Europe became addicted to this sugary liquor. And as time passed, high-quality sugar wine that went through a proper maturation process became available, and the upper class began to enjoy it as well. As high-end candy liquor was introduced to the market, the liquor market targeting the European upper class entered the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period.

Following the traditional powerhouse of high-end wine, now another traditional powerhouse, multi-colored liquor, as well as brandy and high-end sugar liquor, sparked a fierce competition for the market. Thanks to this, the place where the money was collected was the Giru of Milwi. The only place other than the banquet hall where nobles and the upper class could enjoy drinks and conversation in peace was Giru in Milwi.

Of course, existing guilds also created businesses similar to Giru. However, the weaknesses were that there were no gisaeng-like people who existed in Giru – courtesans, not prostitutes – and that there were no employees skilled enough to entertain nobles or the upper class. Thanks to this, Giru was able to endure as the best place for the upper class. The upper class carried out not only personal conversations but also serious political coordination at Giru.

The so-called ‘period of old politics’ had arrived. As the situation unfolded, the relationship between Europe’s mainstream guilds and Giru turned upside down. Now, the liquor guild has expressed its wish to supply its brandies to Giru. This was because the upper class who visited Giru separately purchased alcohol in large quantities that suited their tastes. After hearing this later, Hyang muttered with an expression of bewilderment.

“Is it Giru Warranty, not Royal Warranty?”

* * *

As sugar liquor took hold of the lower class, serious social problems began to appear in Europe, specifically Northern Europe, including England and France. Alcoholics began to overflow. Due to poor water quality during this period, alcohol replaced drinking water. In order to solve this drinking water problem, the Giru in Milwi used large quantities of purification molds to make drinking water for cooking and drinking exclusively for the Giru.

This drinking water problem created a situation where people could literally ‘drink alcohol like water’. Usually, wine or beer was used for this purpose, but sugar liquor soon took its place.

-Cheaper than any other alcohol, but stronger than any other alcohol.

The greatest strength of the sugar liquor was fully demonstrated. For the lower class in European cities, coal mines, and literally everywhere in Europe, candy was the best answer. When I was so tired after a hard day that I couldn’t even sleep, a few glasses of sugar wine helped me sleep comfortably. The same thing happened when I couldn’t sleep because of all kinds of problems, starting with taxes.

Even if I fall to the ground the next day, I can sleep comfortably today. It was the same when working. Even when my arms and legs felt heavy, I was able to move freely after just drinking a few glasses of sugar wine. However, as time passed, it became a situation where ‘alcohol consumed alcohol’ and ‘you cannot live without alcohol’.

In the back alleys of the city, people drunk on sugary liquor were staggering around or lying all over the place, laughing. The bigger problem was that this alcoholism did not discriminate between men and women of all ages. As already mentioned, due to drinking water problems, it was common to drink alcohol instead of drinking water.

* * *

Eventually, when alcoholism caused by sugar liquor became a major social problem, the church took action.

-People! Don’t drink alcohol! Don’t drink sugar liquor! Think about tomorrow! One glass of sugar wine is dragging you and your family’s tomorrow to the ground!

Pastors went around the streets shouting ‘Quit drinking’, but the reaction from those involved was lukewarm.

“Tsk! It’s the same as drinking rotten water or sugary liquor, but then sugary liquor is better!”

“Life is already at rock bottom, so why worry about tomorrow? It’ll be rock bottom!”

They appealed for abstinence from drinking until their throats bled, but when the response was not positive, the pastors turned to ‘incitement’.

“Candy liquor is a sin created by Satan!”

“Isn’t the name Satan in it?”

“The candy bar was created by Satan to drag your souls to hell!”

Not only the lower class but also the upper class were dumbfounded by the pastors’ instigation.

“No matter how ignorant you are, you have to use such foolish tactics…”

“It should be appropriate to use force.”

Then, at some point, these signs began to stand in front of stores selling alcohol.

-There is candy liquor that makes even Satan drunk!

Soon, even kings became interested in the problem of alcoholism. When first reported, the orders issued by European kings were similar.

“Bring that candy liquor.”

The kings who tasted the sugar wine they brought in spit it out immediately and then turned to their subjects.

“Hehe! This isn’t the sugar wine I used to know? Drinking something so tasteless like that? Has the people’s appetite been ruined?”

The answers of the subjects who were asked the question were almost similar.

“Because it’s cheap.”

“Is that so…”

In this skit, European monarchs thought about it and came up with an answer. The first thing to do was to limit imports. The amount of imports was limited to 50% in normal cases and 80% in extreme cases.

What is interesting is that most of the remaining 50% to 20% of the volume was allocated to high-end candy liquor for the upper class. When this policy was announced, the lower classes rose up.

“Are you the only ones who enjoy sugary drinks?”

“Give me back the sugar wine! Give it back!”

Violent protests broke out in both cities and rural areas, forcing kings and officials to change their policies. Later, European historians evaluated this protest as ‘the beginning of the European civil rights movement.’

In the end, the kings and officials who withdrew their policy of banning the import of sugar liquor turned to imposing heavy taxes on sugar liquor. At the same time, low-cost fermented drinks such as beer were exempted from taxes.

There was backlash this time too, but the intensity was weaker than when the ban policy was implemented. And over time, the low-priced candy liquor market targeting the lower class was stabilized, shrinking by about 50% from its peak.

“Is it too much to reduce it further?”

“If we raise taxes further, there will be protests again.”

“It’s a shame…. Sigh!”

The kings, who could not hide their disappointment and lost their appetite, gave orders to their officials.

“Where should I make a strange drink so that I can write a protest to the empire?”

* * *

After checking the protest letters that came rushing in, Hyun looked back at the officials who were with him.

“I think it’s the monarch’s fault that the people fell into alcoholism and not the alcohol’s fault?”

Han Myeong-hoe came forward and answered Hyeon’s question.

“It is natural. The people tend to seek alcohol more in hard times than in happy times. In other words, the reason people fall into alcoholism is because their lives are hard, not alcohol. And the reason the people’s lives are hard is because the country “We have to question the overconfidence of those who govern.”

Following Han Myeong-hoe’s words, Lim Sun-wook spoke.

“I apologize. Blaming alcohol is simply to avoid responsibility. Alcohol is just food, it does not cause anger. It is only the mind of the person involved that causes anger.”

Hyun nodded at Lim Sun-wook’s words.

“I am reminded again of what the Great Emperor once said: ‘What kind of crime is drinking? The one who commits the crime is the problem.’ That is why the imperial law stipulates that drunkards be punished more severely.”

“That’s right. It was a truly appropriate decision.”

While creating the first law with King Sejong and subsequently revising the criminal law, Hyang added prerequisites related to alcohol.

-In all crimes, if the criminal commits the crime while intoxicated, the highest punishment that can be imposed on that crime is unconditionally imposed.

“I will never let you say nonsense like ‘mental and physical weakness due to drinking’!”

After briefly talking about anecdotes related to incense, the prefects and ministers returned to the main topic.

“The sugar liquor sold in Europe and the sugar liquor sold in the empire are different products, so isn’t this a problem in our empire as well?”

Han Myeong-hoe stepped forward and responded to Hyeon’s point.

“It won’t be a big problem in our empire.”

“why?”

“It’s cheap, but it’s not cheap. And the biggest problem is that it’s so tasteless.”

“It’s cheap, but it doesn’t sell because it doesn’t taste good?”

“That’s right.”

As Han Myeong-hoe said, sugar liquor was not as popular in the empire as it was in Europe.

* * *

The people of the empire, especially the people of the main and northern regions, who tasted sugar liquor for the first time, spit it out as soon as they put it in their mouths and cursed.

“Tsk tsk! This is Nigimi! Master! This is alcohol! Is this alcohol?”

“Fuck! I’d rather drink alcohol! No matter how much money I have, I can’t drink this!”

The reason why sugar liquor was treated so poorly was because alcohol was abundant in the main and northern regions. Regardless of whether it was the main district or the northern district, each village of a certain size had at least one drinking family. Each liquor store introduced its own unique Takju and Cheongju Soju to the market.

He wasn’t just a drunkard.

In the main and northern branches of the family, there were liquors that were passed down only to the family. The family held ancestral rites, held a feast, and gave the liquor as gifts. And the Banga family, who had a famous liquor, was making quite a fortune from it.

In addition, the position of sugar liquor in the mainstream of the empire, which even held the absolute power of multi-colored liquor, was bound to be low. What’s interesting is that this was a similar situation in Shinji. Shinji’s alcohol, regardless of whether it was from the South or the North, was almost entirely primitive fermented liquor. To these natives, the imperial liquor was a powerful shock.

Native people visited the monopoly stores eagerly to obtain the alcohol they sold there. And as time passed and the people who immigrated from the mainland settled down, alcohol with Shinjiman’s unique characteristics began to be produced. Naturally, fermented liquor and Cheongju soju containing regional characteristics were brought out and took over.

Because of this, cheap, high-alcohol sugar liquor came to be treated poorly throughout the empire.