Joseon's Official 'Ice Guardian': The Seungjeongwon

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?