서울에 가야 과거를 급제하지
Seoul-TO go-GOAL civil-service-exam-OBJ pass-TAG
[…like] passing the civil service exam in order to go to Seoul.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” This proverb is easy to understand in the conext of the meritocratic system that existed in the pre-modern period, when one of the few avenues of social mobility open to “regular” people was to ace the civil service exam. It was viewed as a way to get ahead. And so, if you want to go to Seoul (i.e. become successful), you have to try to take the exam. You have to try to get somewhere.
The image at right, found online without authorial attribution, is described to have been taken at a “Joseon civil service exam reenactment” – wow, talk about too much excitement.
