The Journal of Korean Art and Archaeology

Introduction

Over the last decade, institutions in possession of Joseon wangjo uigwe (Royal Protocols of the Joseon Dynasty) volumes, including the National Museum of Korea, have introduced online services making it possible to view the original texts in high-definition digital format while also granting access to a considerable portion of their bibliographic information. These efforts have collectively led to a significant increase in the number of studies on uigwe (儀軌, royal protocols) examining the procedures of each rite, the books recording the detailed procedures, and the operation of a dogam (都監, directorate) in charge of supervising the execution of each respective rite. Accordingly, recent research on uigwe tends to focus on specifying the particulars and meanings of the rites as well as other issues mentioned in uigwe. On the other hand, research on uigwe dogam (儀軌都監), which refers to the directorate established to oversee the production of a given uigwe, has progressed little. Although there are studies that explore how dogam were operated as a form of directorate during the Joseon Dynasty (朝鮮, 1392–1910), they extend beyond the scope of just uigwe dogam, rendering them inadequate for understanding what kind of organizations uigwe dogam were. Exploring how the uigwe dogam tasked with producing new uigwe volumes were organized and operated is an important topic that can help provide a better understanding of the uigwe themselves. Thus, rather than focusing on the achievements of each meritorious subject (功臣, gongsin) or the process by which they were installed as such, this paper aims to scrutinize the uigwe dogam that was established to produce the Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe (奮武錄勳都監儀軌, Uigwe for Rewarding the “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects) (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. the Uigwe for Rewarding the “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects vol. 1–2. Joseon, 1729. (vol. 1) 48.0 × 36.2 cm, (vol 2) 48.0 × 36.0 cm. Bibliothèque nationale de France. Loaned to the National Museum of Korea

A uigwe conventionally includes records from the dogam in charge of supervising the execution of the event in question. For example, a uigwe compiled by the gukjang dogam (國葬都監) may include details about the execution of a state funeral, while a uigwe from the salleung dogam (山陵都監) would document the construction process of a royal tomb. If compiled by the garye dogam (嘉禮都監), it would contain guidelines for conducting festive ceremonies, while one from the nokhun dogam (錄勳都監) would provide instructions on appointing and rewarding meritorious subjects. The final section of uigwe occasionally features materials related to the uigwe dogam that produced it. While these materials provide important insights into the activities of uigwe dogam at the time, in many instances, they only consist of operational provisions for the uigwe dogam or a list of officials belonging to it. In other cases, short and simple items are included, like documents ordering changes in personnel or the provision of needed supplies. Moreover, some uigwe do not include any information related to the uigwe dogam at all, making it difficult to gain a full understanding of the detailed undertakings of all uigwe dogam.

Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe, however, contains an additional section entitled Uigwe dogam deungnok (儀軌都監謄錄, Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam) that includes a variety of systematically arranged daily administrative records of the corresponding uigwe dogam, which provides excellent material for determining how a uigwe dogam was organized and operated in the late Joseon period (Fig. 2). Accordingly, by focusing on this Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam section, this paper intends to examine how the uigwe dogam was formed and what tasks it undertook upon the appointment of Bunmu meritorious subjects. In doing so, it attempts to advance the understanding of how a uigwe dogam was generally managed at the time. Furthermore, given the considerable administrative effort involved in the follow-up measures taken on behalf of many assistant meritorious subjects, whose number reached into the thousands, this paper will investigate whether the appointment of meritorious subjects exerted any kind of special influence on the relevant uigwe dogam.

Fig. 2. Uigwe dogam deungnok in the Uigwe for Rewarding the “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects vol. 2

The Establishment of a Uigwe Dogam for the Appointment and Rewarding of “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects and the Selection of Personnel for the Operation of the Uigwe Dogam

On the twelfth day of the third lunar month of 1728, Yi Sam (李森), a commander of the Jwapodocheong (左捕盜大將, Left-Central Police), submitted to King Yeongjo (英祖, r. 1724–1776) a note that he had obtained in Jeonju. It proved to be the first indication of the pending Rebellion of Yi Injwa (李麟佐) in the year of Musin (1728), which went on to shake the nation in the early days of King Yeonjo’s reign.1 The incident unfolded after an intoxicated person dropped a note containing a malicious rumor alleging that Yeongjo had taken the throne by poisoning his step-brother King Gyeongjong (景宗, r. 1720–1724) and outlining plans for an uprising. Two days later, a spy uncovered the specific date for the planned rebellion,2 and on the fifteenth day of the third lunar month, a rebel army led by Yi Injwa captured Cheongju Fortress, signaling the start of Yi’s rebellion. In response, King Yeongjo appointed O Myeonghang (吳命恒), the Minister of Military Affairs, as commander-in-chief to subdue the rebel army. Within less than a month, the rebellion was completely suppressed and Yi Injwa and other leaders of the rebel forces were beheaded (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3. Portrait of King Yeongjo by Chae Yongsin (1850–1941), Jo Seokjin (1853–1920), and others. Joseon, 1900. Ink and color on silk. 110.5 × 61.8 cm. National Palace Museum of Korea. Treasure

On the ninth day of the fourth lunar month of 1728, King Yeongjo ordered the appointment of those who had performed distinguished deeds in the quelling the Rebellion of Yi Injwa as meritorious subjects and that they be rewarded. On the twentieth day, the contributions of those involved, including O Myeonghang, began to be evaluated. On the twenty-sixth day, meritorious subjects in the suppression of Yi Injwa’s Rebellion were determined to be granted the title of Bunmu (奮武). O Myeonghang and fourteen others were selected as the main meritorious subjects (正功臣, jeonggongsin), with O being the only member in the first class, and on the seventh day of the fifth lunar month, a nokhun dogam was established to administer the rewards for the selected meritorious subjects. A nokhun dogam consisted of a docheong office (都廳) which oversaw the tasks related to the administration of rewards. The other departments included an ilbang (一房, first section), ibang (二房, second section), sambang (三房, third section), and byeolgongjak (別工作, additional tasks) which were each responsible for the production of various items.

The main tasks of a nokhun dogam included the production of goods to be bestowed upon meritorious subjects, the preparations for the hoemaengje ritual (會盟祭) in which the king and meritorious subjects vowed in front of the gods of heaven and earth never to betray each other, the selection of assistant meritorious subjects (原從功臣, wonjong gongsin), and the production of certificates (錄券, nokgwon) issued to meritorious subjects. In the case of the Bunmu meritorious subjects, the hoemaengje ritual was set to be conducted on the eighteenth day of the seventh lunar month of 1728. The production of handscrolls recording the vow taken by the king and meritorious subjects, including their names and ranks, along with the royal edicts and portraits bestowed upon them, all of which were to be given to the main meritorious subjects, was completed before the ritual. Between the twenty-fifth day of the seventh lunar month and the twenty-third day of the eighth lunar month, the king’s calligraphy granted to the meritorious subjects was carved on hanging boards. Once the key tasks for the project of appointing and rewarding meritorious were completed, the nokhun dogam dissolved the ilbang, ibang, and byeolgongjak departments on the twenty-seventh day of the eighth lunar month. Since the affairs related to assistant meritorious subjects were still in progress, the other departments were disbanded before the sambang department in charge of this task.

On the eighth day of the second lunar month of the following year (1729), the nokhun dogam submitted a list of recommended assistant meritorious subjects to the king.3 The main meritorious subjects had been selected through discussion between the king and officials, but the nokhun dogam had originally assumed the task of selecting assistant meritorious subjects and providing rewards.4 Since the number of selected assistant meritorious subjects reached 8,776, it took a considerable amount of time for the nokhun dogam to select them. Following the completion of the selection of assistant meritorious subjects, the sambang department continued to publish books by compiling printed nokgwon certificates until the seventeenth day of the fifth lunar month. The review process of these books began the next day and ended on the twenty-fifth of the same month. That day marked the dissolution of the nokhun dogam, which coincided with the establishment of the uigwe dogam.5

The establishment of a uigwe dogam after the dissolution of the nokhun dogam was done according to the common practice of the time. This practice can be observed not just in the appointment and rewarding of the Bunmu meritorious subjects who subdued the Rebellion of Yi Injwa, but also in the appointment and rewarding of Bosa meritorious subjects (保社功臣) who quelled Heo Gyeon’s planned revolt in 1682 and in the reinstating the five awardees from the Westerners, who were stripped of this honor by the Southerners in 1695 during the reign of King Sukjong (肅宗, r. 1674–1720). In some cases, uigwe dogam were established while the nokhun dogam was still in operation. However, such cases were not the norm. For example, when appointing and rewarding Busa meritorious subjects (扶社 功臣) for purging the Old Doctrine faction in 1723 (the third year of the reign of King Gyeongjong), five years before the appointment of the Bunmu meritorious subjects, the volume of related documents that needed to be organized was so vast that the uigwe dogam was established slightly earlier than usual. However, in the case of the Bunmu meritorious subjects, the process of suppressing the rebellion and selecting meritorious subjects progressed relatively smoothly, suggesting that the volume of documents to be organized was not particularly large. Therefore, it would have been reasonable to follow the practice of establishing the uigwe dogam after dissolving the nokhun dogam.

The nokhun dogam for Bunmu meritorious subjects requested the king’s approval for the establishment of the uigwe dogam, presenting him with the basic regulations regarding its operation. The regulations listed basic information like the location where the office was to be set up, the composition of its personnel, various costs it could incur, and necessary supplies. The details are as follows:

The third provision stipulating that two working-level administrators from the nokhun dogam continue to work at the uigwe dogam is noteworthy. At the end of the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam in the second volume of the Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe is a list of officials at the uigwe dogam, and a comparison of this list with the personnel of the nokhun dogam indicates a continuity of staff between the two entities. More specifically, the uigwe dogam had a working-level administrator named Sim Yeok (沈㴒) who previously served as an official with the Sajikseo (社稷署, Bureau of Land and Grain Gods Altar); two clerical functionaries named Yi Sugyu (李壽奎) and Bak Changgyeom (朴昌謙); four writing officials; four transcribers; a warehouse clerk; two errand runners; and a guard.7 The working-level administrator Sim and the two clerical functionaries, all of whom oversaw affairs, also worked at the nokhun dogam. In the case of Sim, he was first appointed as a working-level administrator for the ibang department of the nokhun dogam before being transferred to the sambang department about two months later, where he served until the dissolution of the nokhun dogam. After serving as a clerical functionary in the docheong and sambang departments, respectively, Yi Sugyu and Bak Changgyeom subsequently took on roles at the uigwe dogam.

The fact that the three individuals appointed to the uigwe dogam had previously worked in the docheong or sambang departments of the nokhun dogam indicates that consideration was given to task continuity when appointing the personnel of the uigwe dogam. The clerical functionaries of the docheong that supervised the affairs of the nokhun dogam appear to have had a full understanding of the project since they not only managed documents reporting various matters to the king and delivered the king’s orders, but also oversaw certain tasks in the ilbang, ibang, as well as sambang and byeolgongjak departments. The working-level administrators and clerical functionaries assigned to the sambang department were responsible for discussing and deciding upon the meritorious deeds of the assistant meritorious subjects and for producing certificate books for them. Thus, their involvement in related follow-up tasks at the uigwe dogam was expected to result in a high level of continuity. The initial tasks of the uigwe dogam mostly revolved around certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects, which will be discussed in greater depth in the following section. Accordingly, the reappointment of a clerical functionary from the docheong and a working-level administrator and clerical functionary from the sambang appears to be a deliberate decision to select the most suitable individuals for the uigwe dogam’s tasks of organizing and recording the appointment and reward of meritorious subjects.

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Table 2. Comparison of Personnel Between the Nokhun Dogam and Uigwe Dogam

However, such level of consideration regarding the selection of personnel for the uigwe dogam is not limited to the case of the uigwe dogam for appointing and rewarding Bunmu meritorious subjects. It is already well known that officials of the Sillok Uigwecheong (Office for the Royal Protocols of Annals) which was established after the completion of the production of annals (sillok) were recruited from among high-level officials and working-level administrators at the Sillokcheong (Office of Annals).8 A dogam was a directorate intended to carry out a specific project, and its officials were expected to carry out the relevant tasks while also maintaining their original jobs. Fully utilizing the organizational flexibility of a dogam, professional individuals could be recruited. Such recruitment of personnel, as seen in the case of the uigwe dogam for the appointment and rewarding of Bunmu meritorious subjects, can be extremely effective in that it assures expertise and efficacy by making use of the existing workforce.

Assigned Tasks of the Uigwe Dogam for the Appointment and Rewarding of “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects

This chapter examines the tasks carried out by the uigwe dogam for appointing and rewarding Bunmu meritorious subjects after its establishment on the twenty-fifth day of the fifth lunar month of 1729. Specific details can be found in the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam included at the end of the second volume of the Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe. The Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam consists of four pummok (稟目) documents that provide details of various items to be used at the uigwe dogam. It also includes gamgyeoljil (甘結秩), a compilation of documents sent by the uigwe dogam to subordinate offices to direct the procurement of supplies and the temporary transfer of personnel; imunjil (移文秩), a collection of documents sent by the uigwe dogam to offices of equivalent hierarchical standing to request payment for its officials or coordinate particulars regarding required supplies; naegwanjil (來關秩), a compilation of documents received by the uigwe dogam; and jwamok (座目), a list of officials at the uigwe dogam.

Based on the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam, details of the key tasks performed by the uigwe dogam can be listed in chronological order as seen in Table 3 below. The contents not included in the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam, such as the dissolution of the uigwe dogam after the submission of the completed royal protocols to the king, have been identified in Seungjeongwon ilgi (Diary of the Royal Secretariat) and added to the table.

The uigwe dogam for the appointment and rewarding of Bunmu meritorious subjects, established on the twenty-fifth day of the fifth lunar month of 1729, started out by submitting a list of the items required to carry out its tasks, including brushes, ink, paper, water droppers, sitting mats, reading tables, firewood for heating, and braziers.9 In the fifth lunar month of 1730, the office undertook the binding of three sets of six volumes, both for the king’s reference and for storage in various other locations.10 The bookbinding process was completed at some point, and on the third day of the eighth lunar month the uigwe dogam was dissolved.11 The period from the establishment of the uigwe dogam to its dissolution spanned about fifteen months (including a lunar leap month).

As can be seen from Table 3 above, it is worth noting that from the establishment of the uigwe dogam through the fourth day of the eleven lunar month of 1729, the main focus of the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam rested not in compiling the royal protocols, an important aspect of uigwe production, but in other tasks such as the production of registers meant to be stored at the Chunghunbu (忠勳府, Bureau of Meritorious Subjects) and Yemungwan (藝文館, Bureau of Royal Decrees) containing personal information about meritorious subjects from preceding years, the production of wooden hanging boards engraved with the names of new meritorious subjects, the publication of certificate books given to bonded servants who became assistant meritorious subjects, and the correction of errors in certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects that had been printed by the sambang department.12 These tasks can be viewed as follow-up tasks inherited from the nokhun dogam. In the following section of this paper, I will explain how the uigwe dogam came to assume responsibility for these duties.

Based on the dates provided, the first task undertaken by the uigwe dogam was the transportation of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects from the Chunghunbu Bureau. This task was carried out according to the sambang department’s decision on how to bestow certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects before its discontinuation. The last entry in the collection of pummok documents in the Sambang uigwe (三房儀軌, Uigwe of the Sambang Department) section from the Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe outlines the guidelines for distributing the books documenting the pledge made by the king and meritorious subjects (hoemaengnok) and certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects, both of which were printed by the sambang department. The entry further states that the sambang department had officially completed its duties with the printing of the certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects and that the uigwe dogam to be later established was to be in charge of distributing these certificate books. Thus, thousands of volumes of these certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects were transported to the uigwe dogam from the Chunghunbu Bureau. Soon after, they were distributed to the provinces through the local officials in each relevant town (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4. Certificate Book for Bunmu Assistant Meritorious Subjects Given to Yi Heonbok. Joseon, 1729. 32.3 × 21.3 cm. National Museum of Korea

However, the number of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects acquired and distributed by the uigwe dogam appears to have fallen far short of the quantity originally produced. According to a document sent to the Bibyeonsa (Agency for Border Affairs) by the uigwe dogam in the seventh lunar month of 1729, the majority of the certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects had already been handed over to the respective parties or their local magistrates by the time the sambang department conducted the review and sealing process.13 This indicates that while the bestowal method of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects had been predetermined by precedent, the actual distribution process did not strictly adhere to these preestablished guidelines. Instead, it was adapted to the circumstances at the time.

A problem emerged following the bestowal of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects in advance. There were several complaints that the certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects that had been distributed to various places contained errors, such as inaccuracies in the names. Accordingly, it was determined on the sixteenth day of the seventh lunar month that the erroneous certificates should be reprinted.14 At that point, a large amount of time had passed since the dissolution of the nokhun dogam. Consequently, the uigwe dogam in charge of the bestowal of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects had to assume the task of revising them. It retrieved the distributed certificate books, and in the eighth lunar month, made modifications by replacing the erroneous pages, reviewing them, and stamping them. The Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam does not record how or when these revised certificate books were redistributed. However, it is probable that they were redistributed using a process similar to the initial distribution.

In the meantime, the uigwe dogam was tasked with elevating bonded servants who had been recognized as assistant meritorious subjects to the status of freeborn commoners (良人, yangin). When King Yeongjo ordered the elevation of bonded servants who had become assistant meritorious subjects to the status of freeborn commoners in the seventh lunar month of 1729, the Jangyewon (掌隷院, Bureau of Bonded Servant Administration and Ligation) requested the uigwe dogam to produce additional certificate books for them. Accordingly, the uigwe dogam completed the production of these books in the seventh lunar leap month and sent them to the Jangyewon. It also dispatched an official document to the provinces instructing them to manumit any bonded servants recognized as assistant meritorious subjects if they presented themselves to the provincial government office with their certificate books.15

The uigwe dogam, upon its establishment, was not initially tasked with revising certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects or producing additional certificate books for the elevation of the status of bonded servants. These were additional tasks that had been unexpectedly entrusted to it. On the other hand, the production of meritorious subject registers for the Chunghunbu and Yemungwan Bureaus alongside hanging boards are thought to have been assigned to the uigwe dogam from the beginning. The creation of registers for all the meritorious subjects up to that point may appear suitable for the nokhun dogam’s sambang department as it shares similarities with the sambang’s task of producing certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects. However, the sambang department primarily published certificate books through printing and was in fact ill-equipped for the creation of registers since the names of meritorious subjects required being neatly handwritten in a particular calligraphic style.

The personnel of the sambang department consisted of specialists in metal type printing, each of whom were assigned a specific role. One individual was tasked with calling out the needed type blocks (唱准, changjun), one with selecting the type blocks from their cases and spreading them out on the printing plate (上板諸員, sangpan jewon), one with securing the type blocks to the printing plate (均字匠, gyunjajang), one with applying ink to the type blocks and pressed them on the paper (印出匠, inchuljang), and another with safely storing the type blocks (守欌諸員, sujang jewon) (Fig. 5).16 All the books produced by the sambang department were printed using type. On the other hand, the uigwe dogam consisted of four individuals who transcribed the contents of documents and four calligraphy experts,17 indicating that it was established for the production of handwritten manuscripts. Ultimately, the creation of meritorious subject registers to be sent to the Chunghunbu and Yemungwan Bureaus proved a task more suitable for the uigwe dogam, whose main function was to transcribe, rather than for the sambang department, which was better equipped for type printing. Therefore, the creation of meritorious subject registers is considered to have been the responsibility of the uigwe dogam from the outset.

Fig. 5. A list of the officials needed for the publication of books at the sambang from the Sambang uigwe section in Uigwe for Rewarding the “Bunmu” Meritorious Subjects vol. 2.

The production of hanging boards engraved with the names of new meritorious subjects does not seem to align with the organizational characteristics and responsibilities of the uigwe dogam. Since making hanging boards required specific woodcarving and sculpting skills, it was not something that could be undertaken directly by the uigwe dogam’s personnel. Thus, it asked other bureaus to dispatch skilled engravers and proceeded with the task, as demonstrated in the following account included in its report of required items: “In accordance with precedent, all new registers for meritorious subjects have been produced by adding the names of new meritorious subjects, and there are instances when hanging boards were also carved with the names of new meritorious subjects…” This account suggests that although the crafting of hanging boards involved wood sculpting, the uigwe dogam would remain in charge of their production due to precedents of producing them concurrently with the meritorious subject registers.

The uigwe dogam responsible for appointing and rewarding Bunmu meritorious subjects was not alone in undertaking transcription duties seemingly unrelated to the publication of royal protocols. An example from the reign of King Yeongjo can be found in the following entry on the eleventh day of the third lunar month of 1752 (the twenty-eighth year of the reign of King Yeongjo) in the Seungjeongwon ilgi:

When the state funeral for the deceased Crown Princess Hyeonbin of the Cho clan (who posthumously became known as Queen Hyosun) (世子嬪 孝純賢嬪 趙氏, 1715-1751) was being held, King Yeongjo ordered the publication of a book that would compile details having been omitted, abbreviated, or corrected during the state funeral. He named the book Sangnye sugyo (Royal Edicts on Funeral Rites) (later changed to Gukjo sangnye bopyeon (國朝喪禮補編, Supplement of The National Funeral Rites)) (Fig. 6). The publication of Sangnye sugyo seems to have been undertaken without a dedicated organization like a dogam. Since it was difficult to procure even the items needed for the compilation of Sangnye sugyo, Yi Seonhaeng proposed to have the uigwe dogam concurrently assume the compilation of Sangnye sugyo. King Yeongjo’s reply to Yi’s proposal confirms that the uigwe dogam at the time was a dogam built to produce royal protocols for the erection and operation of the royal coffin hall and spirit hall for Crown Princess Hyeonbin after the completion of her funeral. Yi’s proposal might have taken into consideration the fact that the compilation of Sangnye sugyo and the production of the royal protocols related to Crown Princess Hyeonbin both involved the publication of details concerning the royal funeral rites in book form. This serves as another example of a uigwe dogam taking on an additional transcription task that was not directly related to the production of royal protocols.

Fig. 6. Supplement of The National Funeral Rites. Joseon, 1758. 32.8 × 21.8 cm. National Museum of Korea

With the submission of meritorious subject registers to the Chunghunbu Bureau on the fourth day of the eleventh lunar month of 1729, the uigwe dogam had completed the follow-up tasks it had assumed from the nokhun dogam. It began work on the publication of the royal protocols the following month. At that point, more than seven months had passed since the establishment of the uigwe dogam.

According to this entry from the twelfth lunar month of 1729, the uigwe dogam reported that the selection and organization of documents for inclusion in the royal protocols had been completed, and that it would start transcribing the final versions neatly and accurately. Other previous entries related to the production of royal protocols from the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam only mentioned a few minor issues, including a request for items needed for copying documents.18 Based on these entries, it appears that the uigwe dogam was entirely dedicated to follow-up tasks inherited from the nokhun dogam for the first half of its existence. However, the entry from the twelfth lunar month of 1729 in which the uigwe dogam states it would immediately start transcribing royal protocol documents suggests that it had in fact been working on organizing them. Moreover, given that the uigwe dogam requested items for binding the transcribed documents into books five months later in the fifth lunar month of 1730, the neat and accurate transcription of these documents seems to have been completed at that time. The royal protocols produced by the uigwe dogam for appointing and rewarding the Bunmu meritorious subjects ultimately comprised three sets totaling six volumes: one set consisting of two volumes for the king along with two other sets totaling four volumes to be stored at the Uijeongbu (State Council) and Chunghunbu Bureau. Considering that there were four writing officials and four transcribers at the uigwe dogam, it would not have been a difficult task to complete them in five months. In any case, shortly after requesting the items required for bookbinding, the uigwe dogam must have begun binding the royal protocols into books. On the third day of the eighth lunar month of 1730, the uigwe dogam reported to the king that it was ready to submit the royal protocols, both his own copies and those to be stored in other places, indicating that the bookbinding process had been completed. On that day, with the project now completed, the uigwe dogam was finally dissolved.

Conclusion

This paper has examined the organization and duties of the uigwe dogam for the appointment and rewarding of Bunmu meritorious subjects drawing from the contents of the Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam found in the Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe. I will conclude by summarizing the points covered.

The uigwe dogam responsible for the production of the Bunmu nokhun dogam uigwe was established following the dissolution of the sambang department of the nokhun dogam. In terms of personnel, it was confirmed that three staff members who had previously worked for the sambang department of the nokhun dogam were specifically chosen and appointed to key positions in the uigwe dogam. This reappointment of the sambang workers was aimed at capitalizing on their expertise, ensuring a smooth transfer of tasks from the nokhun dogam to the uigwe dogam and improving overall efficiency.

In terms of the work undertaken by the uigwe dogam, this paper carefully examined how the uigwe dogam dedicated the first half of its roughly fifteen-month existence to completing follow-up tasks inherited from the nokhun dogam, responsibilities seemingly unrelated to the production of royal protocols. The paper also points out that the uigwe dogam came to undertake such follow-up tasks since additional issues arose when it was assigned with the distribution of certificate books for assistant meritorious subjects and because most of these tasks were in line with the functions of the uigwe dogam which specialized in transcription.

The Transcribed Daily Logs of the Uigwe Dogam lacked detailed explanations concerning the production process of royal protocols, which was the main task of a uigwe dogam. As such, I had to cross-check with other dated historical records to gain a rough understanding of the production process. From the time of its establishment to the twelfth lunar month of 1729, the uigwe dogam carried out follow-up tasks inherited from the nokhun dogam while concurrently organizing the nokhun dogam documents that would serve as the main source material for the production of the royal protocols. It then proceeded with the neat and accurate transcription of these documents before finally binding them into books in the fifth lunar month of the following year. The project came to an end after the uigwe dogam submitted the completed royal protocols to the king in the eighth lunar month. It is unfortunate that the records are not sufficiently detailed to allow us to examine the production process of the royal protocols more closely. Nevertheless, this paper has managed to highlight the uigwe dogam’s involvement in other transcription-related tasks through an analysis of historical precedents from a similar time period. Moreover, this paper makes a meaningful contribution to the existing body of research by shedding light on the expanded role of the uigwe dogam beyond the production of royal protocols.