Gapo Sang-ok Im (1779-1855) is a legendary Korean merchant in Joseon dynasty.  And the popular writer In-ho Choi tells his story in a novel, “Moral of Trade”, exploring the moral of a merchant and the value of the wealth.  Sang-ok Im was a wealthy merchant who made a big money in Ginseng trade with China in Qing dynasty.  And he is regarded as a real meaning of wealthy person as he has shared the wealth with the others.

But Sang-ok Im has been raised in poverty and underprivileged.  His father was would-be interpreter and engaged in smuggling trade, but eventually he failed to become a real interpreter and died just leaving the poverty to his son.  Having been influenced by his father, Sang-ok Im learned Chinese and naturally got to know about the Trade as he was accompanied with his father in his trade visit to China since he was young.  But not like his father, Sang-ok Im's ability in trading was very high and recognized by others.

He became successful as he has conviction learned from his father that, “Man is the best profit which we can get from the Trade, and also the Credit is the best asset we can get from the Trade.”, “The Trade is Man, and the Man is the Trade.”.     

Sang-ok Im has faced three big crises in his life.  But he overcame those crises with predictive revelation, two words and a cup of wine, which he received from his mentor, monk Suk Soong.     

He has faced the first crisis when the merchants in Beijing boycotted against red Ginseng in collusion.  Sang-ok Im burned all red Genseng he brought to sell as he realized the true meaning of the word, “Die (死 in Chinese character)” which he received from Suk Soong.  At last, the merchants in Beijing yield in this performance, and Sang-ok Im has solidified his position on commercial supremacy of Ginseng market in Beijing.     

The second crisis when Sang-ok Im faced a life-or-death situation under a rebel leader of farmers against Joseon dynasty forces in the Rebellion of Gyeong-nae Hong.  He realized the true meaning of the word, “Caldron (鼎 in Chinese character)” which he received from Suk Soong provided.  Chusa Jeong-hui Kim supported him to understand the meaning of the word.

The three legs of the caldron are being compared with three desires of the human being, desire for honor, desire for status and desire for wealth.  It is so endless story that a man who has the wealth desires not only honor but also power, a man who has the power desires not only honor but also wealth.  But Sang-ok Im expressed to a rebel leader, Gyeong-nae Hong that it is certainly against the Providence of Heaven, and he himself has no desires for power as he has sufficient wealth.  And he was able to keep himself safe and alive in the battle of the rebellion.

And he has faced the last one when he was about to leave the place of exile.  The Pythagorean cup of wine (Gyeyangbae) he received from his mentor, Suk Soong, help him at this time.  This Pythagorean cup (Gyeyangbae), a form of drinking cup that forces its user to imbibe only in moderation as it allows the liquid up to a certain level in the cup.  So a drinker should be cautious about being imbued.   

(*) He was appointed as a governor for Gwaksan province in 1832 as he was recommended so due to his charitable activities including the relief efforts for the starving people.  He made a big relief contributions for flood sufferers in Euijoo area in 1834, and selected as a Governor of Gusung province in next year.  But he had to leave the positon as the Office of Border Defense opposed on this selection.  And right after that, he was send to jail and exiled for about a year on the charge of building a palatial residence, etc.         

The lesson from the Pythagorean cup (Gyeyangbae) is that “It is worse to fill to the full level of what you have than you stop to fill when you have less”, so does the desire of man, if you try to fill to the full level, all of those what you have will be dissipated, but if you just try to fill 70% level, you will be much more satisfied, and self-satisfaction is the way of mother nature.         

Since then, Sang-ok Im spend more money to relieve the poor and needy, has the rest of his life in writing poetry and drinking.  We can see how much he was infatuated in writing as his books, ‘Gapo Collections' and ‘Diary in Calm' are being passes from generation to generation.

“May be, the reason building the palatial residence, and the reason that I was falling in love with Songi belatedly is that I'm strongly eager to gratify all of my desires.  And that is why my master monk Suk Soong gave me this Pythagorean cup (Gyeyangbae) so that I can be cautious about being imbued...

And the quotations from Sang-ok Im after he find enlightenment.

“The wealth is like water in its equality, and the man is like a scale in its accuracy (財上平如水 人中直似衡 in Chinese character)”
”Now, I'm realizing that the wealth is like water.  The flowing water never fight each other.  You can stop the water temporarily, but you cannot possess it.  Water flows from high to low places.  If you try to possess water and keep it stagnant, it will lose vitality and will be rotten.  It just flows, you never possess it.      

So does the wealth.  Nobody possess the wealth, just like water.  But people always try to possess the wealth which belongs to nobody.

…

All men are also born equal.  No differentiation could be made from the status or position, i.e. man of noble birth or humble birth, man with wealth or no wealth, man of beauty or filth, man in high position or low position.  However noble one may be, it is like just borrowing the honor of nobility and wear the silk clothes just for a little while in this life.  If you take off the silk clothes, then he just became an ordinary man.  All men are just like a scale in its accuracy.  All men are being weighing on a scale as much as they truly are weighing.  The scale shows his own weight accurately no matter how much noble he would be.                 

Many great sentences in book, “The Merchant of Joseon”, have captured my mind, and last but not least, I would like to savor two paragraphs with you here.

“The wise person is a man who learn from everything, and the strong person is a man who control himself and the wealthy person is a man who is satisfied with himself. 

“It is the moral of a trade to the greatest wealthy person of the world that one can be satisfied with himself under the efficient control of one's desires after being aware of those finiteness. 


                                                                                                                                      (Reference: 임상옥평전, 세림칼럼(웹진) Oct. 13, 2015 커뮤너티)