The Scientist

Everything must come from somewhere in order to be in existence, according to physics, nothing can just appear out of thin air. Same goes for inventions and engineered goods: inventors and engineers are always required to create such goods. Up to date, hundreds thousands of useful, clever inventions were recorded and utilized by mankind to make daily routines simpler and time-saving so we as a society can generally get more done.

When asked to name a famous scientist from pre-modern Korea, most Korean students would offer the name Jang Young-Sil, who created many useful objects for the Choson dynasty. 

Records indicate that Jang Young-Sil was born on 1390 into a slave status and was taken from home at the age of 10 to a local government building to work as a repairman and caretaker of mechanical equipment. But due to his incredible skills with his hand, his skill was eventually noticed by King Sejong- who notoriously encouraged intellectual and technological studies and advancement in the country- and was given a bureaucratic position as with a slave status at the age 32. 

Jang Young-Sil's main task was to act as a technological emissary for Choson and learn the technologies of China. Upon his return, the scientist went off to work right away. He created several refurnished Chinese inventions such as the sundial, water clock, star dials, and other devices used for observing the change of nature. His greatest invention was probably the Korean rain gauge or the Chuk-ou-gi. Jang-Young-Sil's main interest was agriculture which made the rain gauge an extremely useful invention to farmers across the country; it was able to record rainfall and show patterns of monthly droughts and monsoons, which was crucial to a successful harvest.

Unfortunately, the scientist's career in government came to an unexpected end when a carriage he designed for Sejong unpredictably collapsed with the King inside and was accused of conspiring against the country at the age of 53. After getting banished from his bureaucratic seat, he was believed to have died on 1450 around the age of 60.

But despite his dishonorable end to a more than honorable life and legacy, he is remembered of the great passion and service he offered for Korean science.