Tales of the Manseokkun (Wealthy Landowners)

When I was young, the elders used to say, "Don't go to Yeosu to boast about money, and don't go to Suncheon to boast about looks."
Even Gyeongsang-do, their constant rival, was no pushover.
A "Manseokkun" refers to the highest class of wealthy individuals who harvest more than 10,000 seok of rice every year.
In the Joseon Dynasty, all economic value was expressed in rice, even regardless of the Daedongbeop law.
One seok of rice is equivalent to 160kg by modern standards, meaning a Manseokkun is someone who produces and distributes more than 1,600 tons of rice annually.
They say even the wealthy go bankrupt after three generations, but the Choi family of Gyeongju in Gyeongsang-do maintained their Manseokkun status for 12 generations, and the Sim family of the Songso Old House in Cheongsong continued for 9 generations.
It was only due to the Japanese colonial period and land reforms that these lineages ended at 12 and 9 generations, respectively.
A Manseokkun was distinct from a merchant or a big-time trader.
One became a Manseokkun, Cheonseokkun, or Baekseokkun solely by reaping the fruits of farming.
At the end of the Goryeo Dynasty, there was a man named Sim Yong, who served as Munhasijung (Chancellor).
He had two sons: the eldest, Sim Deok-bu, was raised as a military official, while the second, Sim Won-bu, grew up as a civil official under the tutelage of Yi Jae-hyeon.
As you may know, Sim Deok-bu's son was Sim On, the father-in-law of King Sejong the Great, and Queen Soheon was his granddaughter.
The younger brother, Sim Won-bu, was one of the "Five Sages of Goryeo" (alongside Gil Jae, Yi Saek, Jeong Mong-ju, and Yi Sung-in) and lived in seclusion in Dumundong, refusing to serve the Joseon Dynasty until the end.
He left a will for his three sons, instructing them to go to their ancestral lands in Cheongsong to farm, read, and write, while warning them to be wary of and avoid government office.
The descendants of the elder brother, Sim Deok-bu, walked paths of success in the capital, while the descendants of the younger brother, Sim Won-bu, focused on farming in Gyeongsang-do and avoided officialdom.
It was an incredible miracle that Sim Cheo-dae, a direct descendant of Sim Won-bu, became a Manseokkun during the reign of King Yeongjo solely through land reclamation and farming.
The house built by the 7th generation descendant of Sim Cheo-dae is the 99-kan Songso Old House.
Even though they are of the same Cheongsong Sim clan, the descendants of Sim Deok-bu took root in Seoul and Gyeonggi, while most of the Sim clan in the Gyeongsang-do region can be considered descendants of Sim Won-bu.