[Lee Bo Ram Column] Kang-won Ilbo
Design Thinking by Queen Seondeok, who overcame a crisis as an opportunity
Dr.Lee, what is Design Thinking?
Design thinking is creative thinking for problem solving. So, can all creative thinking be defined as design thinking? No. The creative mindset of design thinking refers to problem solving capabilities and requires five processes for problem solving.
Discovering new problems and finding the right solutions Design Thinking starts with deep empathy to understand and judge the context and environment of the problem. Then, after defining the actual problem, we generate various ideas for solving the problem and present an incomplete solution. Finally, the solution needs to be tested and refined into a finished product.
Steve Jobs, who grew Apple with a trendy management method and became a management bible for many people, also emphasized a management philosophy based on design thinking. Although design thinking and design management are rapidly emerging as management keywords that turn crises into opportunities and are widely covered in design studies and business studies, it is difficult to answer the question "What is design thinking?" at first. Design thinking is a core competency in life that can be developed by anyone who knows the concept and process. Therefore, I would like to develop the core competency of readers through innovative design thinking cases of historical figures who made a crisis into an opportunity so that non-majors can easily apply design thinking to their lives.
What kind of crisis did Queen Seondeok, the 27th king of Silla and the first queen in our history, face and how did she turn it into an opportunity? Were the Silla people ready to recognize a woman as king? Queen Seondeok unfortunately faced a rough start to her ascension to the throne. The first birthmark case in Silla, the Chilsuk Nan, which occurred during the last years of her father, King Jinpyeong, is believed to have been a reaction to the idea of a woman on the throne. Queen Seondeok understood early on that centuries of male-dominated culture made it difficult to accept her as king, and she sought to appease her people by empathizing with them.
Immediately after her coronation, Queen Seondeok made a grand entrance to announce to the people that she was now king, and she granted a one-year tax exemption, soothing the hearts of the people who were facing their first queen in history. Nevertheless, the queen's authority was threatened, and she faced frequent invasions from Baekje and Goguryeo, and lost more than 40 castles, including Daeyaseong, a key Silla stronghold. The people, who lived in an agrarian society, suffered greatly from droughts and other natural disasters. The people's anger was directed at the queen beyond the devastation of their lives. The problem Queen Seondeok faced was frequent wars due to the people's mistaken belief that the heavens were angry and punished her because she was a woman, and the judgment of neighboring countries that a country ruled by a woman would be weak.
Queen Seondeok's design thinking was a religious enlightenment against superstitious ideas and a strengthening of royal authority. She made a concerted effort to change the beliefs of her people, who at the time were dominated by folk beliefs, to Buddhism. She invited Jazang, who had studied in the Tang Dynasty, to build temples and spread Buddhist ideas, which she actively utilized as a way to strengthen her royal authority. In particular, the Five Great Enemy Treasures were built during Queen Seondeok's reign, and the Hwangnyongsa Pagoda was built by Jajang Yulsa. Across the street from Hwangnyongsa Temple is Bunghwangsa, a temple built in the third year of Queen Seondeok's reign, which means 'Fragrant Queen's Temple'. She built many temples throughout Silla to show off her power by building magnificent temples while diminishing the influence of folk beliefs that her subjects relied on.
Queen Seondeok believed that when problems such as natural disasters occurred, the people's thoughts and beliefs all boiled down to the will of the heavens, which was a major factor in preventing the country from thriving. We often think of the pagoda as an astronomical observatory, but the height and structure of the pagoda, which was built on flat ground, raises doubts about its suitability for stargazing. What's more, it doesn't even have a door to enter. We can speculate as to why Queen Seondeok built it. Cheomseongdae is a 27-story structure that represents Queen Seondeok, the 27th king of Silla. Also, based on the square window, the 12 steps above and below represent the 12 months of the year. Combined, the 12 steps represent 24 seasons, and the 362 stones used represent the number of days in a year. It is also hypothesized that the pinnacle, built on a flat surface, served as a sundial. In this way, Queen Seondeok taught her subjects scientific knowledge through tangible structures, and it seems that she wanted to dispel the dark belief that "a woman is king and the country is uplifted" and reveal a bright light.
Did Queen Seondeok's unfinished solution solve the problems she was struggling with? Queen Seondeok's troubles in her later years can be seen as a test of the fifth stage of design thinking: testing solutions. Bidam, who was the highest nobleman in Silla and the head of the Hwa-baeks, conspired with Yeomjong and others to create a conspiracy, and the reason for this was 'mistress inability', or 'a queen cannot rule the country well'. This happened in the last days of Queen Seondeok, so it is possible that the queen referred to was her successor, Queen Jindeok. In fact, it was during Queen Jindeok's reign, not Queen Seondeok's, that the rebellion was suppressed and punished.
So did Queen Seondeok's solution fail? There is a saying that history is the record of the victors. The successes and failures of the king of a country are recorded in the history of the winners. If your image of Queen Seondeok is the image of Seongun, then she is a historical figure who turned a crisis into an opportunity through design thinking, and if it is not the image of Seongun, then the solution she designed is a failure.
What is your image of Queen Seondeok?
Boram Lee, Director of Design Thinking Museum
Lee is a design thinking expert and the director of the Design Thinking Museum. After graduating from the University of Sydney, she earned a master's degree from Ewha Womans University and a PhD in design from Goldsmiths, University of London. She is an adjunct professor at Ewha Womans University, a member of the policy committee and international committee of the Korea Association of Private Museums, and vice chair of the Gangwon Museum Council.
