It was the rubber shoes that truly opened the floodgates for chicle products.
“This shape is similar to a danghye…”
Indeed, the shape of the rubber shoes Hyang had created was borrowed from the danghye, a type of shoe widely worn by the gentry and the wealthy. For women, he modeled them after the onhye.
“The shape is decent, but the price is not…”
The people of the empire who first saw the rubber shoes had a lukewarm reaction. While they were much cheaper than the expensive onhye and danghye, they were still considerably more expensive than straw sandals, which could be made for free with just some straw and skillful hands.
“And the color is also not great…”
The fact that they only came in white was another major reason for the public’s hesitation to buy them.
“Still, if you’re paying money for something, shouldn’t it look the part?”
“Indeed! Indeed!”
Contrary to initial expectations, the sluggish, practically frozen sales figures became a headache for the officials.
***
It was Lim Sunwook who devised a clever plan.
Seeking out Hyang, Lim Sunwook immediately prostrated himself on the floor, bowing his head as he made his request.
“This humble servant, Lim Sunwook, wishes to make a disrespectful request of Your Majesty, the Emperor Emeritus!”
“A disrespectful matter? What is it?”
“To successfully sell the chicle-related goods, especially the rubber shoes, I wish to rely on Your Majesty’s prestigious name!”
“My name? Hmm…”
At Lim Sunwook’s words, Hyang stroked his chin and muttered to himself.
Is this the emergence of the advertising methods I was so familiar with in the 21st century? There shouldn’t be any particular problem… Ah! I’m the Emperor Emeritus!
Just as Hyang thought, using famous people for advertising was the most common method. However, even in that era, political and religious leaders were not recruited as models. This was the 15th century, no less. To mention the Emperor Emeritus carelessly would surely mean having one’s head fly off for the crime of insulting a supreme being.
“By the way…”
Hyang paused and stared at Lim Sunwook.
“Did you come here after receiving permission from the Emperor, or are you acting on your own?”
“This is a matter known only to His Majesty the Emperor. I was certain that if many ears heard of it, much talk would follow.”
“Is that so? In that case… wait just a moment.”
Hyang took out a blank sheet of paper, wrote something, and then affixed his signature. No, as if a signature wasn’t enough, he also stamped it with the official seal he kept beside him and handed it to Lim Sunwook.
“This is a certificate confirming that I have given my permission. Submit it to the Emperor. It should be enough to silence anyone who tries to find fault.”
Receiving the certificate from Hyang, Lim Sunwook was deeply moved and bowed deeply in response.
“I am truly overwhelmed by the immense grace you have bestowed upon me! Truly overwhelmed!”
“I bear some responsibility for these chicle-related matters, so this is something I naturally should do. I hope for a good outcome.”
“A good outcome is certain to follow.”
While Hyang’s document served as a solid shield against open opposition, it could not stop the gossip that followed.
“Well, well, they say he who is near ink becomes black… I never knew Lord Lim Sunwook was capable of such a cunning trick. He’s clearly been influenced by Lord Han Myeonghoe!”
“He’s not fully tainted yet, though. If it were Lord Han, he would have run straight to the Emperor Emeritus. It’s because it was Lord Im that he at least got the Emperor’s permission first.”
“Isn’t that a case of fifty steps versus a hundred steps?”
***
In any case, it wasn’t long before a large banner was hung in front of the shops selling rubber shoes.
- The Rubber Shoes, a Creation from the Emperor Emeritus’s Own Hands!
“That was made by the Emperor Emeritus’s own hands?”
“Well, that changes everything!”
To the people of the empire, who had benefited greatly from the various inventions and systems Hyang had created, he was practically a religious figure. Thanks to this, as soon as Hyang’s name was mentioned, those who had been hesitating began to buy the rubber shoes one by one.
What was interesting was the peculiar behavior of those who bought the shoes. After purchasing them, they would lay out a mat in their courtyard, carefully place the shoes down, and then bow deeply to them.
“It is an honor to wear these precious shoes made by the Emperor Emeritus.”
After bowing to their footwear, they would carefully put on the shoes and take a lap around their yard. Then, they would let out an exclamation of admiration.
“Wow! These are really something else!”
The rubber shoes Hyang had created had undergone some slight improvements. The sole was made thicker than that of traditional rubber shoes, significantly reducing the impact on the soles of the feet. For the women’s version, the heel was slightly raised to enhance its stylishness.
What received particular praise was its waterproof quality. Unlike straw sandals, which became useless when wet, the rubber shoes could be worn even when wet; one only had to dry them well in the sun afterward.
Riding the wave of word-of-mouth reviews from early buyers, the rubber shoes began to sell like hotcakes.
The way people used their newly purchased rubber shoes was quite interesting. Reasonably well-off households wore them as everyday footwear. However, slightly poorer households would wear straw sandals for daily life and only bring out the rubber shoes for special occasions like family events or important gatherings.
Another interesting development was that the people of the empire began to call the rubber shoes ‘Squelching Shoes’. They started calling them this because of the squelching (jjigeok-jjigeok) sound the shoes made when one walked in them while they were wet. In time, this nickname completely replaced the official name. It became so widespread that Japanese merchants coming to purchase them would say things like this:
“Jjikakku-shin (shoes) kudasai!”
“How many pairs can I get for you?”
The rubber shoes had, at some point, become an essential item for the common people of all three Northeast Asian nations.
***
As the rubber shoes gained popularity, the ones who found themselves in a difficult position were the artisans, the traditional leather shoemakers. With even high-ranking scholar-officials buying and wearing rubber shoes, the artisans’s income plummeted. In response, the artisans residing in Seoul gathered in a group and visited the Ministry of Finance.
“We are citizens of the empire too! Are you telling us to starve to death!”
Hearing that the artisans had gathered and were causing a commotion, Lim Sunwook appeared at once.
“I have heard your story. It is indeed a problem.”
“This is not a matter to be taken so lightly! Our very livelihoods are at stake!”
In the face of the artisans’s desperate protest, Lim Sunwook smiled gently and replied.
“As it happens, I have something to show you.”
“You have something to show us, you say?”
“That’s right.”
At Lim Sunwook’s gesture, a ministry official who had been standing by went out and returned with a box.
“These are soles for shoes, made of chicle.”
“Soles, you say?”
“Indeed. When you make your leather shoes, every part requires care, but isn’t the sole the part that requires the most attention?”
All the artisans nodded at Lim Sunwook’s words. Not only did they have to use the toughest leather, but they also had to carefully hammer in hobnails to prevent slipping. “Toughest” meant it was difficult to pierce with a needle or an awl, making it one of the most laborious parts of the process.
Lim Sunwook held up a sole and explained.
“As you can see, it even has treads molded from the chicle. This means there is no need to painstakingly hammer in nails, and the waterproofing issue is also solved. And I’ve intentionally made a groove on the side, see? If you sew along that groove, it’s easy to attach the side of the shoe to the sole. What do you think?”
After listening to Lim Sunwook’s explanation, the artisans took the soles in their hands and examined them meticulously. After a long inspection, they asked Lim Sunwook.
“Are you saying you will sell these soles to us?”
“I am.”
“The shape of the soles on the leather shoes I make is slightly different from this.”
“If you insist on that shape, you may place a special order. However, the price will go up quite a bit. I recommend you use these soles.”
“But, if we do, our shoes will be the same as all the others…”
“Haha. People who wear leather shoes don’t buy them after looking at the soles, do they? They buy them based on how stylish and fitting the embroidery and patterns on the shoe are. If you spend the time you would have wasted struggling with the soles on those details instead, won’t they sell even better?”
“Ah…”
Persuaded by Lim Sunwook, the artisans signed a purchase contract for the soles.
The finance ministry officials who witnessed this scene later gathered in small groups and whispered among themselves.
“No matter how you look at it, it’s true that you become like the company you keep.”
“Didn’t Lord Im originally work in commerce? Isn’t haggling the foundation of being a merchant? Since he was a capable merchant, it’s only natural he’s good at negotiating.”
“There’s negotiating, and then there’s this. The Lord Im I know is not someone who could coax people so skillfully. No matter how I see it, he’s been influenced.”
“By whom… Ah!”
“Shh!”
When the rumor eventually made its way to Han Myeonghoe, he immediately sought out Lim Sunwook.
“It seems you owe me a round of drinks.”
Though the statement came out of nowhere, Lim Sunwook immediately nodded.
“I suppose I do.”
***
After killing any resistance to chicle with the rubber shoes, the next product released was the wheel rimmed with chicle. The rickshaw wheels, which had an air-filled chicle tube inside, and the cart wheels, which had a solid chicle rim poured over a wire mesh frame instead of an air tube, became immensely popular as soon as they hit the market.
“These are so much better than leather rims!”
“They’re quiet, and the ride is less bumpy. My customers love it!”
“It’s so much quieter than an iron rim, it’s truly great!”
“They slip less on wet roads, which is the best part.”
As the products gained popularity, the first to make a move were, as expected, the Japanese merchants.
“Ano (Ermm)…”
“Here to buy the chicle-rimmed wheels?”
“Hai, hai (Yes, yes)!”
The situation was the same with the Ming Dynasty.
Watching the Ming merchants returning with their ships full of chicle-rimmed wheels, the finance ministry officials smiled triumphantly.
“You little devils won’t be able to copy that.”
The Ming’s unauthorized copying had been notorious for a long time. They couldn’t replicate complex and precise products like high-end gold-nibbed pens, abacuses, or calculating machines, but for most other products that seemed profitable, knockoffs would appear immediately.
In contrast, the Japanese, if a product sold well in their country, would come to the empire and sign a legal contract. Of course, there were those within Japan who attempted illegal copying. However, with the entire ruling class being pro-empire, and with the militarily superior empire right next door, those who were caught faced severe punishment, so illegal copying was gradually disappearing.
As this situation settled into a new normal, merchants from Europe and other countries used it to their full advantage.
- For disposable imports where quality doesn’t matter, buy from the Ming.
- For imports with some quality assurance and a reasonable price, buy from Japan.
- For items where the highest quality is an absolute must, buy only from the empire.
And the goods made from chicle were set to shatter this structure.
However, the Ming were still the Ming.
As time passed, the Ming began to replicate the chicle-rimmed wheels.
“Where in the world did those bastards get chicle?”
The imperial officials who obtained this information and launched an investigation soon smiled with a sense of futility.
The Ming merchants were collecting chicle from old, unusable chicle-rimmed wheels, melting it down, and reusing it.
“Seriously, they are relentless, truly relentless!”
***
Meanwhile, in a field that no one had considered, or rather, one that Hyang had anticipated, a chicle-based product became a massive hit.
The product in question was the eraser.
Everyone who used a stylus, from students in their academies to clerks in their merchant guilds and officials in the royal court, welcomed the eraser.
“Now I don’t have to lick my finger anymore!”