| (1) Factionalized
Government |
In the 16th century, the
Sarim scholars became officials of the central
government and confronted the old scholars who were in
positions of power in the government. The two factions
participated in the administration of the government
under King Songjong with different political views but
did not often confront each other.
Immediately after
Prince Yonsan came to the throne, confusion ensued in
politics. The existing and new factions engaged in a
political struggle which has come to be known as
"Sahwa," the bloody purge of scholars. When Yonsan was
dethroned and Chungjong became King, the new Sarim
forces attempted to administer to the government a
Confucian idealism centered around the scholar Cho
Kwang-jo.
However, their policies of reform failed as
a result of opposition by the old faction. This drove
the government into a state of confusion. Later, the
political scene worsened, as conflicts within the
queen's family increased in severity.
Under the reign
of King Sonjo, the new Sarim forces led the nation's
activities and Sarim politics began. There were,
however, political differences among the Sarims and
factionalism arose. They carried out a particular form
of governing by restraining the growth of any one
particular faction and taking turns in possessing power.
This factionalism which began in early Choson became
more complicated as they entered the late Choson
Dynasty. Later factionalism grew even worse and had
negative ramifications on social and economic life.
These factional strifes were not corrected even after
the country experienced the great suffering of the
Waeran and Horan. Rather, factionalism grew in intensity
creating not only political confusion but divisions in
society as well. |
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| (2) The T'angp'yong Policy
and Restoration of Choson |
The many years of continuous
factionalism in politics brought about all sorts of
negative effects. There were deep concerns expressed
over such ramifications and during the reign of King
Sonjo, Yi I cautioned against the evils of
factionalism.
In the 18th century, Yongjo and Chongjo
promoted the T'angp'yongch'aek, a pacifying policy, in
order to check factionalism. They called the
representatives of each faction together, advised them
to get along, promoted people without making
distinctions on the basis of faction, erected the
T'angp'yong monument at the entrance of Songgyun'gwan
and even taught students. This policy, enforced with a
strong will, eliminated factionalism by refusing to take
sides with any one faction and thus achieved the
restoration of Choson.
Yongjo closed 300 Sowons,
enforced the Kyunyok law (balancing law) in order to do
away with evils within the military and restored the
Sinmun'go system in order to carry out politics
reflective of the wishes of the people. In addition,
many precious books were published and
distributed.
King Chongjo also promoted King Yongjo's
policy of strengthening royal authority. He especially
made efforts to achieve cultural restoration. He
established the Kyujang-gak (palace library) and
nurtured it as an institution of the crown for the study
of the arts, sciences and national policies. He also
ordered the compilation of a code of law called Taejon
t'ongp'yon, a pictorial text of the military arts, the
Kyujangchonun, a book on phonetics, Chungbo munhonpigo
(encyclopedia Koreana), the Ch'ungwan-ji, and the
T'akch'i-ji as national undertakings. The newly
organized Royal guards (Changyong yong) also
strengthened the military base of the royal authority.
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| (3) Reorganization of the
Tax System |
The law-abiding people of
Choson bore the three duties of paying farm taxes,
public imposts and corvees. Around the period of the
Waeran, tax collecting was a disorderly operation which
increased the difficulties of the people and thus
worsened with the Waeran and the Horan.
Only by
restructuring its system of taxation could the people
live in stability and the government increase its
revenue. Restructuring of the taxation system began
after the two wars and was all but completed by the 18th
century.
Land tax was imposed on farmlands. During
the two wars, much of the land was desolated and
government records of landholdings burnt. Land-surveys
and the rearranging of land registers increased the
acreage of arable land. However, the amount of land used
as palace farms and other royal land which was not taxed
increased, and the burden of tax-paying people also
increased. Thus, the government instituted and enforced
laws which lowered tax rates in order to lighten the
people's tax burden and which required fair imposition
of taxes.
There were also problems in operating the
system of paying imposts on certain farm goods
particular to various localities. From the beginning of
the nation, the system of paying imposts was enforced
but the system caused great suffering among the farmers.
Thus, the government ordered the payment of taxes not in
goods but in rice and the amount to be paid would be
determined by the law governing that region. This was
known as the Taedong Law.
The Taedong Law was
exemplarily enforced in Kyonggi-do through the proposal
of Yi Won-ik under the reign of Prince Kwang'hae and it
became a uniform law which was enforced in all the
provinces except for the P'yong'an and Hamgyong
provinces until the reign of King Sukjong.
Military
service was enforced through a system of universal
conscription and all peo ple were expected to serve.
However, from the time of King Chungjong, the military
service system was changed so that people would not have
to directly bear the burden of service instead, persons
with the financial resources could offer the government
cloth for military service. The government drafted
soldiers without financial income from these fabrics and
thus could maintain national defense. However,
establishing military organizations with such a system
of drafts was in reality unfeasible. There were many
abuses in imposting the amount of fabric for military
clothes which would have to be paid out. For example,
there were occasions on which people were forced to
provide military uniform clothing for soldiers who had
run away or were missing.
From earlier times, there
were efforts to do away with such aspects of military
service. King Yongjo enforced the Kyunyok Law. This law
decreased the number of Pil (a unit of measure for
cloth) that would have to be paid from two pils to one,
and the state received taxes from fishing, saltmaking,
and ships which originally had been collected by the
local office or the palace in order to fulfill its
financial needs. With changes in the tax system, the
burdens of the people decreased, but the abuses in
collecting taxes were not completely resolved.
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| (4) Increase in Farm
Production |
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Ginseng : For over 2,000 years. Korea has
been recognized as the main producer of Ginseng.
The root played an important part in Korea's
political and economic relations with neightboring
countries. | |
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An effort to reconstruct the
farmland left desolated by the Waeran and the Horan wars
was undertaken by the government to stabilize the
people's livelihood.
Land surveys were carried out by
compiling land registers, land reclamation was
encouraged and the development of irrigation facilities
were enforced. Handbooks for farmers were published and
distributed in rural communities. The construction of
dams and reservoirs increased the number to 6,000
throughout the country by the end of the 18th century.
As a result of the expansion in irrigation facilities,
rice paddy fields increased. The rice transplanting
method which had been used by some farmers in the early
stages of Choson was popularized and reduced labor power
and increased production. The method of cultivating
barley in rice paddies after harvest was popularized. In
the area of dryfield farming, planting crops in furrows
was a common way to obtain a larger harvest.
By
reducing labor power through new methods of farming, the
per capita of arable farmland increased greatly and land
owning farmers who cultivated large acreages of land
also began to increase. Some of the owners who had large
pieces of land employed farm laborers to help them
cultivate the land. In the 18th century, commercial
products such as ginseng, tobacco, cotton, fruit, and
herbs were also cultivated in order to increase the
income of farm families.
To help in agricultural
development, books on agriculture were published. The
Kamjobo, Nongga chipsong (agricultural house
collection), Sallim kyongje (forest economy), and Imwon
kyongje-chi (forestry economy) are representative of
farmer's handbooks which appeared during this
time.
As the households in farming villages
prospered, mutual aid organizations such as Kye and Ture
formed in rural communities. |
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| (5) Commercial Developments
and the Circulation Organization |
During the early years of
Choson, except for city shops in Seoul which supplied
ordered goods and enjoyed prosperity under special
protection by the government, merchants remained
inactive. However, in later years, a system of barter
emerged and commercial activities underwent change.
After the enactment of the Taedong Law, the government
procured necessary goods and had them delivered. The
artisans who were responsible for providing these goods
were able to thus amass wealth through this system. With
the appearance of commercial crops and production goods
of "free" handcraftsmen in society, the private
merchants who handled such goods made their advent. The
city shopkeepers tried to interfere with the activities
of these merchants by banning them, to no
avail.
Under the reign of King Chongjo, a policy of
free commercial activities eliminated restrictions
against private dealers and commercial activitities of
free merchants increased.
In the countryside, markets
became active, regular markets appeared in each local
region and in the large cities, permanent markets
opened. In the markets of local regions, merchants and
peddlers made their transactions. In the middle of the
18th century, about 1,000 markets opened. Following the
development of these markets, roads were improved and
currency was circulated in large amounts to facilitate
trade. With the emergence of Kogans, a type of
middleman, and facilities such as Yogak and Kaekchu,
commerce and trade flourished. |
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A
picture of an old market place outside Namdaemun
Gate. | |
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Parallelling the development
of domestic commerce, foreign trade also increased. From
the mid-17th century, as trade activities with Qing
increased, official and private trade activities were
carried on in Chunggangchin and Ceman in Fenghuangcheng
Manchuria. Leather, paper, cotton, and ginseng were
exported and silk, drugs, hats, and stationery were
imported. Trade with Japan was conducted through the
Waegwan (Japanese house) with Tongnae as its center,
exporting ginseng, rice, and cotton, and importing
silver, copper, sulphur, and pepper.
Free merchants
dealing in domestic goods accumulated huge fortunes. The
"Kyonggang" merchants of Seoul, "Songsang" in Kaesong,
"Yusang" in P'yong'yang, "Mansang" of Uiju, and the
"Naesang" of Tongnae were particularly well known for
their wealth. |
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| (6) Changes in Handicrafts
and Mining Activities |
In the early stages of
Choson, handicraft activities were under strong state
control because of a system of exclusively
government-commissioned handicraftsmen. However, the
road to private enterprises in production was gradually
opened. During the latter years of Choson, most
handicraftsmen paid artisan taxes to the state and
carried out their production activities as free
merchants. They manufactured paper, ceramics, brassware,
lacquerware, printing types, weapons, farm implements,
and other necessities of everyday life. After the
enactment of the Taedong Law, Kong'in (suppliers of
goods on demand for the government), appeared and other
handicraftmen produced large quantities of handicrafts
through the support of wealthy capitalist merchants, who
provided goods for Kong'ins.
With growing demand for
silver, trade with China increased and silver mining was
actively pursued. By the end of the 17th century, 70
silver mines were in operation. At this time,
developments in gold mining were also made. Copper
mining was developed actively for copperwares, weapons
and copper coins.
However, enterprising miners and
merchants, because of the heavy burdens of taxes,
mobilized their capital in order to develop and gather
underground resources. |
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| (7) Changes in the Social
Status System |
The Choson society was a
Yangban-centered society. Severe discrimination existed
between the Yangbans and the ordinary people. Among the
Yangbans, there were those who, as they went from
generation to generation, put on airs of pretension, and
there were Yangbans in the countryside who outwardly
maintained their social status in spite of economic
bankruptcy. Among some farmers, there were those who,
either through distinguished service in war or providing
assistance to the national economy during times of
difficulty, were granted Yangban status in recognition
of their patriotism. As a result of increased royal or
landlord owned farmlands, farmers who lost their land
were forced to become either hired farm laborers or day
workers.
Among slaves, who were recipients of the
most contemptible treatment in society, there were
increasing numbers who were given the status of common
people in gratitude for their military exploits. Because
an increase in draftable soldiers and tax payers meant
increases in national revenue, the state tolerated the
rise of slaves to the status of common people. Thus, by
1801, except for a minority, a total of 66,000 public
slaves were liberated to become law-abiding citizens of
the state.
Technical workers, illegitimate sons of
Yangbans, and local officials in government were
referred to as the middle class and were recipients of
discrimination. Following the changes in the social and
economic situation in the latter period of Choson, these
persons made efforts to elevate their social
status.
The Yangban-centered status system was
affected, and movement between each social stratum was
evident but was inadequate to overturn the historical
trends. Thus, the structure of Yangban domination
continued as before. | |
