Gwageo
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The gwageo or kwagŏ were the national civil service examinations under the Goryeo and Joseon periods of Korea. These typically demanding tests measured candidates' ability of writing composition and k
Painting of the gwageo being administered in Hamhung during the Joseon period
Modern reenactment of the exam being administered in the palace Changdeokgung (2018)
Military exam pass certificate, Joseon, 16 March 1588
A Joseon-era gwageo answer sheet from a 31-year-old student who received a good score of chasang (차상; 次上).
Chungin
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The chungin were the upper middle class of the Joseon Dynasty in medieval and early modern Korean society. This privileged class of commoners consisted of a small group of petty bureaucrats and other
Gwageo
…chapkwa, which tested fields such as law, mathematics, medicine, p'ungsu (Fengshui), and divination. The chapkwa examination was mainly taken by the jungin upper middle class. Under the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910), the examinations fell under three broad categories: the literary examinations (문과; 文科; mun'gwa…
Middle Class in Joseon
Young Korean man of the middle class, 1904