To Be Fair

Fairness can be defined as being impartial and treating others in a just way. It also relates to avoiding favouritism or discrimination when making decisions.??It is one of the most important foundations of morality. “The fundamental idea in the concept of justice is fairness,” explains Rawls (1985). Studies on human behaviour show that children as young as 4 start to understand the difference of what is fair and unfair. Fairness is seen as a key skill in any leadership role, however, ‘being fair’ is not always straightforward and leaders throughout history have grappled with the concept of fairness.?

An extreme case of the blurred lines of fairness happened during the Joseon period in Korean history (1392 -1896). In 1762, on the instruction of his father King Yeongjo, 27-year-old Crown Prince Sado climbed into a wooden box traditionally used for rice storage and it was nailed shut. The box was roughly 1.3m square and placed in the blazing summer sun of the central courtyard of the Royal Palace. Sado was left in the box for 8 days and for the first time in his short life addressed King Yeongjo as ‘father’ instead of ‘your majesty’ when repeatedly pleading for this life. King Yeongjo never released his son and when the box was prized open on the 8th?day, Sado was pronounced dead from heat exhaustion and dehydration. This tragic father and son tale has been passed down through Korean history and interpreted in many ways. The writings of Lady Hyegyeong (Sado’s wife), tell of a troubled relationship of a father at odds with tradition and duty to his kingdom and a son with a serious and untreated neurological condition. Sado, by today’s standards would likely have been diagnosed as neurodiverse and treated, however in 18th?century Korea his condition was hidden. He was tested rigorously and publicly shamed for his failings by his father as a means to become ready for the throne. The shaming broke Sado and over the years he became increasingly violent; brutalising and killing palace servants. To put a stop to this, King Yongjo’s unfathomably cruel punishment was enacted. Perversely, it was the only way to serve justice for the lives of the servants who had been murdered and to preserve the life of Sado’s young wife and son. Under Joseon law a royal could not be executed and equally the kingdom practiced communal punishment, meaning that any punishment carried out on Sado had to be carried out on his innocent wife and son. Therefore, under Joseon law, ‘asking’ him to get into the rice box was the only way to punish him and preserve the life of the crown princess and future king. Sado’s son eventually became king and brought about a period of peace, prosperity and cultural production that dramatically improved the condition of the people living in the empire. He is thus known as ‘Jeongjo the Great.’

Over the years, many have questioned whether Sado was a victim or a monster and if a punishment so cruel was warranted regardless of the laws of the time. This story highlights that fairness and our interpretation of it is never straightforward. One of our core values as a faculty is being fair and as such, we have the duty of attempting to understand those around us, give them the benefit of the doubt and continually seek the most moral path forward. Equally we must question the rigidity of our processes and systems to continually inform and improve upon them. Moreover, we must never stop educating ourselves and others so that we can be an example for our students and peers. As Victor Hugo writes: “Being good is easy, what is difficult is being just.”?

References:?

Hyegyeong, HongSsi?(1996) The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong: The Autobiographical Writings of a Crown Princess of Eighteenth- Century Korea,?University of California Press.??https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Hyegyong_Memoirs.pdf

Mitchell, Robbie (2023) “Prince Sado and the Rice Chest: Political Victim or Psychopath?” Historic Mysteries:?https://www.historicmysteries.com/prince-sado/

Rawls, John (1985) “Justice as Fairness.”?Philosophy & Public Affairs

Vol. 14, No. 3 (Summer, 1985), pp. 223-251 (29 pages)?https://www.jstor.org/stable/2265349