the Bureau of Medicine, which sent some of them to the palace and others to each provincial division down to the hyeon level. Those who passed the japgwa were originally given a crimson certificate, the same color obtained by those who passed the literary examination. However, pressure from the yangban eventually changed this color to white, signifying a lower level of achievement and entitling the bearer to a position of lower rank. Those who passed this examination became known as chungin. Historical change The gwageo were supplemented in the reign of Jungjong of Joseon (1506-1544), at the suggestion of the high official Jo Gwang-jo. The supplementary examination was called an "examination for the learned and the virtuous" (hyeollanggwa). This was an abbreviated examination, held in the presence of the king. The candidates had to be recommended by their local magistrate as men of the highest integrity. The gwageo system became increasingly corrupt in the later years of the Joseon Dynasty. Scholars who were unable to pass the examination began to form a class of disaffected yangban; notable among these was early 19th-century rebel leader Hong Gyeong-nae. Many of the later Silhak scholars also turned away from state service. The gwageo were finally abolished in the Gabo Reforms of 1894, along with legal class discrimination and the old rank system. However, the tradition continues in the form of university entrance examinations and civil service examinations in modern-day South Korea. See also Imperial examination Education in the Joseon Dynasty History of education Republic of Korea public service examinations Notes Works cited References Education in the Joseon dynasty Goryeo Korean Confucianism Imperial examination ko:과거 제도#한국의 과거