Breaking the Cartel (3)

The men known as sijeon merchants were people who had been permitted to remain as a “necessary evil” when Joseon was founded.

So Yi Seong-gye bundled them into a single organization to make them easier to manage.

It was much like how brothels were once designated to manage the entertainment industry.

In return for permission to trade, they were required to provide the goods demanded by the state free of charge, perform various forms of corvée labor, and pay even a small amount in taxes.

As long as they followed these rules, the Joseon court did not interfere with the sijeon merchants’ activities unless they openly committed crimes.

“They must have decided to keep the whole thing for themselves. Am I right, Brother-in-law?”

Kim Man-seok, Gyeo-ul’s older brother, sighed after hearing me.

“That’s how merchants are—or rather, that’s how people who have done business in Hanyang for a long time are. They insist on keeping everything for themselves and never tolerate anyone else stepping in and taking their customers. If they had tolerated it... do you think those men could have held on to their positions for decades, as they have until now?”

“A lone merchant from outside could never dare tear down the fortress those men have built... but if dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of merchants attacked them, they would not be able to hold out as they have until now.”

In the twenty-first century, giant corporations that seem incapable of ever failing sometimes suddenly collapse, while others suddenly experience explosive growth...