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In the 11th year of King Taejong's reign (1411), an exotic animal gifted by the King of Japan, the 'elephant,' first set foot on Joseon soil. At the time, the people of Joseon were amazed by the elephant's massive size, a sight they had never seen before. It was raised in the royal stables, fed two 'mal's of beans daily. However, an incident occurred where the elephant, in a fit of rage, trampled and killed Yi Woo, a former official of the Ministry of Works, who had been taunting it. According to Joseon law, the elephant, having killed a person, was declared a grave offender and exiled to 'Jangdo,' a remote island in the Jeonnam region of Jeolla Province. Confined to the island, the elephant couldn't eat grass and cried mournfully every day. Eventually, it was brought back to the mainland the following year, but it had to wander through various regions, barely clinging to life. From a distinguished guest of the palace to instantly becoming Joseon's first 'animal exile,' the elephant's fate is a rather unexpected yet poignant scene from history.

The 'Gache,' a glamorous hairstyle worn by women in the Joseon Dynasty's royal court, was as difficult to manage as it was magnificent in size. Since Gache was made from real human hair, it easily absorbed grease and odors, yet it couldn't be washed freely with water. To solve this problem, there were dedicated SangGung (palace ladies) in the royal court responsible for managing the Gache. To remove contaminants, they used a 'dry cleaning method': instead of water, they carefully sprinkled calamus powder, red bean powder, and rice bran to absorb grease, then meticulously brushed it out multiple times with a fine comb. Behind the splendor of the Joseon royal court, hailed as the pinnacle of the nation, lay the intricate management techniques of the palace ladies who battled grease stains while shaking out the hair.

Unlike the Joseon Dynasty, the Goryeo Dynasty's family registers recorded children based solely on their 'birth order,' regardless of gender. If the eldest child was a daughter, she was listed first in the register as the 'first child,' and siblings would take turns performing ancestral rites for their parents. Inheritance of property was also divided equally between sons and daughters without distinction. It was a common custom for men to live with their wife's family after marriage, and it was not unusual for women to take on the role of the head of the household. In contrast to the Joseon Dynasty, which had a strong Confucian patriarchal system, Goryeo, 1,000 years ago, was an extremely modern society where men and women enjoyed equal rights and status.

In the 13th-14th century, the Yuan Dynasty's capital, Dadu (Beijing), saw a unique trend that captivated the upper class: 'Goryeo-yang' (高麗樣), which followed Goryeo's clothing and food culture. Members of the Yuan imperial family and nobility favored Goryeo's narrow-sleeved clothing and hats, and enthusiastically embraced the Goryeo-style ssam culture of wrapping rice in lettuce. A Yuan Dynasty poet at the time even wrote a poem stating, "Palace ladies vied to wear Goryeo attire." Although it was a period of Yuan political interference, culturally, it was essentially the 'original Hallyu' from 700 years ago, leading the trends of the Yuan Dynasty's highest upper class.

Unlike the Joseon Dynasty, the people of Goryeo were incredibly serious about cleanliness. According to "Goryeodogyeong" written by the Song Dynasty envoy Seo Geung, Goryeo people would gather by the stream two to three times a day during the summer to enjoy bathing. They even bathed together in the same stream without any hesitation, regardless of gender, which astonished the Song envoy. From commoners to nobles, they washed their bodies daily and frequently laundered their clothes, earning them praise from contemporary Chinese people as "the cleanest people in the East." In contrast to Joseon, which had strong Confucian values, Goryeo was a bold and open country that valued hygiene and health, with men and women bathing together.

The ancient Persian epic 'Kushnameh' surprisingly features Unified Silla as a major backdrop. According to this record, Persian Prince Abtin fled the Arab invasion and took refuge in distant Silla. In the depiction by the Persians, Silla was a 'paradise on earth' rich in gold, where illnesses were naturally cured. The prince, warmly welcomed by the King of Silla, married a Silla princess and had a son, who would later become a legendary hero rebuilding Persia. The fact that Silla was recorded as a brilliant paradise and savior in a Middle Eastern epic 1,200 years ago proves Unified Silla's openness and international standing.

The 'Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje' is considered the finest masterpiece of ancient Korean art. Astonishingly, this national treasure lay buried in a mud pit for 1,400 years before its accidental discovery. In 1993, the incense burner emerged from a muddy area next to a parking lot construction site in Buyeo. It's presumed that someone hastily hid the burner in a workshop's wastewater pit just before the fall of the Baekje kingdom. Thanks to the clay that sealed it off from air, the incense burner, despite being made of gilt-bronze which is prone to rust, was preserved in a perfect condition, as if it were newly made. Ironically, this treasure of the century, which could have been lost forever, survived the passage of time thanks to the damp mud.

When the Tomb of King Muryeong was excavated, a peculiar stone tablet was discovered at the entrance of the tomb. It was a 'land purchase deed' contract, stating that King Muryeong had bought land from the deity of the underworld. Upon the death of the Baekje king, the royal family paid 10,000 coins to the land deity and legitimately purchased the burial site. The stone tablet was intricately engraved with the king's name, the boundaries of the purchased land, and the fact that the payment was made, with actual coins placed upon it. Even a king with absolute power did not arbitrarily seize the land of a deity but went through a legitimate transaction. This is an interesting fact that showcases the thorough contract spirit and worldview of the Baekje people.

The Joseon Dynasty possessed meticulous forensic science investigations, comparable to modern standards. Through a manual for coroners called 'Sinju Muwonrok,' Joseon rigorously investigated suspicious deaths. To check for poisoning, they would place a silver chopstick in the deceased's mouth to observe any reaction, or to reveal hidden bruises from beatings, they would sprinkle alcohol and vinegar on the body and apply heat, causing hidden bruises to swell and become visible. To prevent wrongful deaths, they even mandated a 're-examination' system where different officials independently examined the body at least twice. Although it was a Confucian society that might have shied away from touching corpses, the forensic techniques and human rights awareness aimed at uncovering the truth were remarkably sophisticated even hundreds of years ago.

In the sweltering heat of summer during the Joseon Dynasty, retrieving ice from Seobinggo, the royal ice storage, was a nationally significant event. However, there were individuals who always accompanied the high-ranking officials (Dang-sang-gwan of Jeong 3-pum or higher) and bureaucrats when they transported the ice. These were the Seungji from the Seungjeongwon, the king's secretariat. According to records, to prevent the ice from melting and being lost, and to monitor corruption, the Seungji personally visited the site to check and record the quantity and condition of the ice. In Joseon, a strict Confucian state, it was as if the king's eyes and ears were personally overseeing even a single piece of ice. Isn't it quite unexpected and intriguing that the top elite officials, who handled state secrets within the splendid palace, were counting ice boxes at Seobinggo amidst the scorching summer heat?