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[36] Local Government Office – Jail

These days, people are put to jail when they commit a crime. There was a prison where criminals were locked up during Joseon Dynasty. The prison was in the innermost part of the local office and surrounded by high walls. Soldiers protected the entrance all day. The criminals were locked up separately according to the severity of the crime.

The criminals who committed serious crimes like treason or murder were punished with extreme punishment of either wearing Chakgo on the ankles or wearing a pillory in the prison. Pillory is a long and thick wooden plank with a hole on one side. This is placed on the neck of the criminal. The Chakgo was a scary tool like a lock with both angles tied. Chunhyang waited for Lee MongRyong while rejecting bed service of the district magistrate, and Chunhyang was put to this prison. She must have been scared and in trouble. Now, the end of the prison is a place providing experience of becoming a criminal trapped in the prison like Chunhyang. How about wearing the pillory on the neck like Chunhyang and wearing heavy Chakgo on the ankles?