The Vanishing Ink: A Mysterious Tale from the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty

The Vanishing Ink: A Mysterious Tale from the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty

※ The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, or "Joseon Wangjo Sillok," are a monumental collection of historical records, meticulously documenting the reigns of 25 kings over more than five centuries. These annals are celebrated for their unparalleled accuracy and detail, offering a comprehensive view of Korea’s past. Yet, among the thousands of pages, there lies a mysterious tale—one that hints at the supernatural and the unexplainable. This is the story of the vanishing ink, an enigma that has puzzled historians for generations.

 

The Setting: The Sacred Trust of the Royal Historians

The annals were compiled by dedicated royal historians, who were tasked with recording every significant event during a king’s reign. These historians were chosen for their integrity and commitment to the truth, and their work was conducted in strict secrecy. Once the records were completed, they were sealed away, never to be altered or tampered with, ensuring that the history of the Joseon Dynasty would be preserved for future generations.

The Story: The Case of the Vanishing Ink

The mystery begins during the reign of King Jungjong, the eleventh monarch of the Joseon Dynasty. King Jungjong’s reign was marked by political turmoil, with constant power struggles between rival factions within the court. It was a time when the stakes were high, and every decision, every action, was meticulously recorded by the royal historians.

One evening, as a team of historians worked late into the night, something strange occurred. The historians were carefully transcribing the day’s events when they noticed that the ink on one of the pages they had written earlier had begun to fade. At first, they dismissed it as a simple error—a mistake in the ink mixture, perhaps. But as they continued to write, the fading became more pronounced, spreading across multiple pages.

The historians were baffled. They checked their ink supplies, but everything appeared normal. They tried rewriting the faded text, but the same thing happened—the ink would slowly vanish, as if being absorbed by the paper. The more they wrote, the more the ink disappeared, until entire sections of their records were gone, leaving only faint, ghostly traces behind.

The historians were alarmed. They knew the importance of their work and the consequences of failing in their duty. They reported the strange phenomenon to their superiors, who dismissed it as a fabrication or an excuse for laziness. But the historians persisted, insisting that something beyond their understanding was at play.

Rumors began to spread through the court. Some whispered that the vanishing ink was a sign from the heavens, a warning of impending disaster. Others believed it was the work of a ghost—a spirit from the past who had returned to erase the records and alter the course of history. The more superstitious even claimed that the ink was being consumed by a malevolent force, a curse placed upon the annals to obscure the truth.

As the phenomenon continued, the historians grew desperate. They tried everything to preserve their records, from using different types of ink to reciting prayers and rituals before writing. But nothing worked—the ink continued to vanish, as if an unseen hand was wiping away their words.

Finally, in a last-ditch effort, the historians decided to write their records on a special type of paper, one that was said to have been blessed by a Buddhist monk. To their amazement, the ink remained intact, and the vanishing stopped. The records were completed and sealed away, and the strange occurrences ceased as mysteriously as they had begun.

The Legacy: A Mystery Unsolved

The story of the vanishing ink was quietly buried, dismissed by many as a mere legend or an exaggerated tale. But the historians who experienced it knew the truth—they had encountered something inexplicable, something that defied logic and reason. To this day, the cause of the vanishing ink remains a mystery. Some modern scholars have speculated that it could have been due to a rare chemical reaction or an environmental factor, but no definitive explanation has ever been found.

The tale of the vanishing ink serves as a reminder of the mysteries that can lie hidden within history. It challenges our understanding of the past and leaves us to wonder what other secrets might be concealed within the annals of time—waiting to be discovered, or perhaps, waiting to vanish forever.