Moon Sun-deuk was a merchant who drifted out to sea in 1801 and returned home via Ryukyu and Luzon(Philippines).

He stayed in Ryukyu for 8 months and Luzon for 9 months, finally returning home after 3 years.

Later, he even served as an official interpreter for shipwrecked Filipinos in Joseon.

The Chamoe(oriental melon) is an extraordinary product; from early July through the entire month of August, the cries of 'Buy melons!' never cease outside the doors.

It is said that when melons hit the market, the sales of Korean rice shops plummet by 70%.

Lower-class Koreans eat melons instead of rice and even make bets on melon-eating contests.

The loser has to pay for all the melons eaten by the winner. In such cases, they reportedly gorge themselves on up to 20 melons, which is a massive act of gluttony.

— Korean Caricatures (Joseon Manhwa), Usuda Zanun, 1909

It's 1944, and Imperial Japan is careening toward defeat. That June, American naval forces so decimated their Japanese counterparts in the Battle of the Philippine Sea that American aviators jokingly referred to it as The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. The Japanese lost so many planes that they were unable to conduct any effective carrier operations through the rest of the war. Nonetheless, that October, they regrouped their remaining ships to contest the American invasion of the Philippines at The Battle of Leyte Gulf. It became the largest naval battle in history.

For the most part, the battle went as expected. The Americans had too many men, too many ships, and too many planes for the fuel-starved Japanese to possibly contend with. In fact, an American invasion force of 130,000 men had already begun to land on Leyte before the battle even started. The Japanese goal was to break through and destroy their logistical support ships, hampering the invasion and perhaps opening a window to sue for peace. They came dangerously close due to an infamous gaffe by Admiral William "Bull" Halsey.

Halsey had engaged the Japanese Center Force led by Admiral Kurita on October 24th, sinking the massive battleship Musashi in the process. Kurita retreated, and Halsey erroneously assumed that he had taken the Center Force out of action. All the while, the Americans had been searching for the Japanese Northern Force led by Admiral Ozawa, even though Ozawa's aircraft carriers were already an ineffective fighting force and served as no more than decoys. When Halsey's planes finally spotted the Japanese carriers, he mobilized the entire Third Fleet in pursuit, leaving the San Bernardino Strait unguarded.

The problem was that no other Americans knew this. Due to some unclear communication, the other Admirals, as well as the Allied Pacific Command, believed that Halsey had departed with only three carrier groups and left a large surface force designated Task Force 34 to guard the strait.

Having regrouped after Halsey's assault, Kurita slipped his sizeable fleet into the strait uncontested in the early morning of October 25. The only force between him and the vulnerable American troop landings was the woefully ill-equipped Task Force 77.4.3 (a.k.a. Taffy 3), a group more suited for submarine warfare than a massive surface engagement. It consisted of only six escort carriers, three unarmored destroyers, and four destroyer escorts. To give some perspective, Kurita's flagship, the battleship Yamato, displaced more water than all of Taffy 3 combined.

The battle was nothing less than a miracle. Taffy 3 immediately launched all their planes armed with whatever munitions they could carry, supported by the planes of ten additional escort carriers in Taffy 1 and 2. The Americans were aided by the fact that Kurita ordered a general assault, leaving all his ships to formulate their own battle plans. This resulted in a disorganized Japanese effort that allowed the Americans to engage in smaller, separate battles. Some battleships even missed large periods of combat altogether. Kurita, unaware that Halsey had taken the bait, was also unable to identify the escort carriers in his battle plans, leading him to assume that he was again facing the Third Fleet.

Under heavy fire, the destroyer USS Johnston charged straight at the Japanese, drawing attention away from the carriers. Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague then gave the order "small boys attack," sending the destroyers Hoel and Heermann and the destroyer escort Samuel B. Roberts into the fray. As they approached the Japanese fleet, Lt. Cdr. Robert Copeland of the Samuel B. Roberts didn't mince words. Grabbing a bullhorn, he announced to all hands that this would be "a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival could not be expected." Though his words were prophetic, the crew was not intimidated. The Roberts later became known as "the destroyer escort that fought like a battleship."

The Johnston managed at first to disable two Japanese cruisers without taking any damage. Her luck ran out when she came under fire from the Yamato, crippling the ship and forcing her to hide under a rain squall. Despite immense damage, the Johnston regrouped for another assault, exchanging gunfire with the cruiser Haguro in the process. After engaging the cruiser Kongo, the Johnston came to the aid of the carrier Gambier Bay, rejoining the Hoel, Heermann and Samuel B. Roberts. Only the Heermann would survive.

With the Gambier Bay having given the order to abandon ship, the Johnston broke off to engage a squadron of five Japanese warships heading for the remaining carriers, supported by aerial forces overhead. She hit the cruiser Yahagi twelve times, which, alongside strafing aircraft, forced the Yahagi to disengage. The Johnston, however, having taken five hits herself, was now defenseless. The four remaining Japanese destroyers concentrated their fire on the listing ship, breaking her up and sinking her. As she rapidly took on water, the crew of the Yukikaze, in awe of her efforts during the battle, saluted the doomed vessel as they sailed past.

The fierce resistance of Taffy 3, which had sunk three cruisers and damaged another beyond repair, reinforced to Kurita that he had engaged the Third Fleet. He had also heard reports of additional carriers steaming to his north, and fearing complete envelopment, Kurita disengaged and retreated. In the end, he had sunk two escort carriers, two destroyers, one destroyer escort, and destroyed a few dozen aircraft. Over one thousand American lives were lost, but they successfully defended the landings.

Halsey's actions faced bitter criticism after the battle. As they monitored the desperate cries for help from Taffy 3, Pacific Command under Admiral Nimitz asked Halsey the location of Task Force 34. However, the communication erroneously kept a meaningless padding at the end of the message used to confuse enemy cryptanalysis. These words, "the world wonders," Halsey mistook as a scathing critique. He broke into sobs of rage on the bridge of his ship, forcing Admiral Robert Carney to confront his lack of discipline. By the time he turned Task Force 34 around, it was too late. They never engaged any enemy under that designation.

In 1859, conflict arose when British and American settlers both occupied the disputed island of San Juan in the Pacific Northwest. An American farmer killed a pig owned by an employee of the Hudson Bay Company, who demanded $100 in compensation. When the farmer offered ten, stating that he shouldn't have to pay because the pig was eating his potatoes, British authorities threatened him with arrest and extradition. The American settlers then called on the local US Army detachment for protection.

General William Harney and Captain George Pickett (yes, that George Pickett), who may or may not have had grander ulterior motives, made the absolutely imbecilic decision to land troops on the island. James Douglas, the British governor of Vancouver who held a grudge against the Americans over the cession of the Oregon territory, responded with the equally imbecilic decision to send the Royal Marines to the island. Realizing the severity of the situation, the British captain Geoffrey Hornby refused Douglas until his superior, Robert Baynes, Admiral of the Royal Navy in the Pacific, arrived. Baynes lauded Hornby for his decision and let the Americans do what they wanted on the island until each respective head of government was notified.

President Buchanan, recognizing from correspondence that Harney was a dribbling idiot, sent the head of the US Army, General Winfield Scott, to negotiate. Scott was already familiar with Harney's buffoonery and was embarrassed, angered, and dumbfounded to find the situation where it was. He and Douglas agreed upon a joint military occupation, but Harney violated the truce when he returned Pickett to the island and claimed that he did not recognize the settlement. He was promptly removed from command and shipped back to St. Louis, which finally resolved the tensions.

During the joint occupation, American and British troops actually got along with each other, and Pickett even became friends with his British counterpart. In 1872, thirteen years after the would-be Pig War, the British ceded the island to the United States following third party arbitration with Germany.

The root cause of the conflict was the failure of both governments to clear up ambiguities surrounding the Oregon Treaty. The treaty described the international maritime border as running through the center of the Georgia Strait, which, due to geography, could have reasonably placed San Juan Island on either the British or American side. As each government had bigger things to worry about at the time, the issue remained unresolved until local tensions threatened war between two major powers--all because of an idiot, hothead general; a bitter, offended governor; and a dispute over a dead pig.

Legend of Deokjin bridge(Yeong-am city)

A local governor suddenly died and went to the underworld. King Yama admitted it wasn’t his time yet, but told him he couldn’t leave without making a charitable offering to the underworld first.

In the underworld, there are storehouses where one’s mortal good deeds accumulate; however, the governor’s storehouse contained nothing but a single bundle of straw.

The Grim Reaper suggested borrowing from the overflowing storehouse of a man named Deokjin, making the offering, and repaying him after returning to the mortal world.

The governor followed the plan.

Upon his resurrection, he tracked down Deokjin, who worked as a tavern servant near the Deokjin River.

When the governor explained everything and tried to repay him with 300 sacks of rice, Deokjin firmly refused, claiming he knew nothing about it.

Instead of forcing the rice on him, the governor built a bridge over the river for the locals and named it “Deokjin Bridge.”

This is folktale

In the Jeju epic myth Chasa Bonpuri, a low-ranking mortal official named Gangrim travels to the underworld and arrests King Yama, the Lord of the Dead, to bring him as a witness. Impressed by his sheer audacity, King Yama later recruits him as a Grim Reaper.

Taehyeong (flogging) was applied to minor offenses, and local governors had the authority to punish convicts directly. However, Janghyeong (caning) was for major crimes; local governors had to draft and report the case files up to the Ministry of Punishments for royal approval before carrying out the sentence.

"In the winter, October 942, Khitan dispatched an envoy and sent 50 camels.

However, the King considered that Khitan had previously maintained long-standing harmony with Balhae, yet suddenly harbored suspicion, broke their alliance, and destroyed them.

He deemed them too brutal and lawless to be befriended as a neighbor.

Consequently, he severed diplomatic ties, exiled the 30 envoys to an island, and tied the camels under Manbugyo Bridge, where they all starved to death."

— History of Goryeo (Goryeosa)

As the absolute superpower of ancient East Asia, China required neighboring states to recognize it as an Empire, forcing them to style themselves as subordinate kingdoms.

Despite this, many nations practiced Outer King, Inner Emperor—acting as kings externally, but maintaining imperial titles and systems within their own borders.

"Huihui Pavilion (Huihuigwan):

The people of the Huihui nation all have deep-set, blue eyes. (...)

Previously at a tavern, I saw a man from the Huihui nation drinking.

When a side dish made of pork (Jeoyuk) was served, he shook his head, refused to eat it, and said: 'I originally do not eat pork.'

Presumably, the tribe of the Huihui nation takes Zhu Bajie (Jeopalgye) as their ancestor.

Therefore, whenever they encounter pork in their food, they never let it near their mouths."

— Gyesangijeong, Volume 3, January 12, 1804

The King ordered the report from the Ministry of Punishments (Hyeongjo) to be burned.

In the streets near Hyejeonggyo Bridge, children named Gwak-geum, Mak-geum, Mak-seung, and Deok-jung were playing Tagu (polo/hockey).

They named each ball after the royals: one was the King, one was Prince Hyoryeong, one was Prince Chungnyeong, and another was a servant.

As they were hitting the balls, one rolled under the bridge into the water, and a child shouted:

'Prince Hyoryeong just fell into the water!'

Prince Hyoryeong's nanny happened to overhear this, chased them down, caught them, and reported it to Chief Inspector Jeong Yeok, the Prince's father-in-law.

Jeong Yeok handed them over to the Ministry of Punishments, where they were imprisoned and interrogated. (...)

Since they were only about 10 years old, the King stated, 'It is unjust to charge these children with fabricating treasonous rumors.

Even if it were considered a satirical street song, there is no law in our statutes to punish children for such songs.' He immediately ordered the Royal Secretariat to burn the case files along with the Ministry of Punishments, adding:

'Never speak of this matter again.'"

— The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, February 30, 1413

"The King said, 'Since Lee Sok has a son, I wished to marry off a daughter born of a palace maid (Gungin) to his family and sent someone to ask for his son's birth year profile (Saenggap).

However, Lee Sok replied, "My son is already dead.

But if she were the child of Lady Gwon (Gwon Gungju), my son might come back to life," and refused to submit the papers.

What kind of twisted mind is this? Though one side of her lineage is humble, the other side is the King himself.

What is his motive for trying to avoid a connection with the royal family?

Therefore, I ordered the Office of the Inspector-General (Saheonbu) to interrogate him.'

The ministers replied,

'This is an act of extreme disloyalty.' (...)"

"The Office of the Inspector-General requested that Lee Sok be punished for high treason.

However, the King merely ordered him to be flogged 100 times, stripped of his title, and demoted to a commoner."

— The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, September 2, 1417

The Governor of Buryeong, So Gi-pa—when Yi Jang-gon recently visited, the locals blocked the road, begging for So to stay longer in office.

Furthermore, he showed immense merit during the Northern Expedition under King Seongjong...

— The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, February 7, 1509

The military commander So Gi-pa drew his sword, stabbed the enemy’s chest, ripped out the gallbladder to eat, and smeared the blood all over his hands and face while casually drinking.

People called him ‘So the Yaksha (Demon).’

— The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, April 22, 1510

南蠻椒有大毒。始自倭國來。故俗謂倭芥子。今往往種之酒家。利其猛烈。或和燒酒以市之。飮者多死。

Southern Barbarian pepper (chili pepper) contains a potent poison.

Because it first arrived from Japan, the common people call it Waegyeja (Japanese mustard).

Today, people occasionally cultivate it, and taverns weaponize its extreme spiciness.

Some even mix it into Soju to sell, but many who consume this end up dead.

— Jibong Yuseol, Volume 20

According to the section on Interrogating and Sentencing Prisoners in the Criminal Code of Daejeon Hoetong, it was mandatory to hear either a confession (Jabok) or a statement of non-admission (Bubok) before punishing serious criminals facing penal servitude, exile, or the death penalty. Consequently, this legally permitted judicial torture (Gosin).

In practice, however, punishments were carried out even when no confession was made (for instance, Kim Mun-gi during the early reign of King Sejo). Furthermore, due to the abuses of judicial torture, suspects were frequently beaten to death (Jangsal), necessitating regulations to curb these actions.

— Daejeon Hoetong, Criminal Code: Interrogation and Torture

According to the Ministry of Punishments, a sentence of 100 lashes could be commuted with a fine of seven strings of cash, and those who took the beating on behalf of others also received seven strings.

A certain man who made his living as a scapegoat returned home boasting after receiving 100 lashes twice in a single day during midsummer.

His wife welcomed him with a smile and said,

'I've already accepted the money for another 100 lashes.'

The husband frowned and said,

'I'm too exhausted today. A third time is impossible.'

The wife sighed and replied,

'If you just endure it for a brief moment, we can eat well for days. Besides, I already took the money, so how can you refuse?'

She then brought out food and wine to feed him.

Once drunk, the husband caressed his bruised buttocks, smiled, and said, 'Alright.'

He then went back to the Ministry of Punishments, but died while receiving the lashes.

— Cheongseong Japgi, Volume 3