A History of Korea (42 page)

Government officials were permitted only to collect rent from land allocated to them by the state, but they gradually gained possession of the allocated land. In fact, private ownership of land was widespread from the start. Extensive land areas were cultivated either by the landowners’ slaves or by tenant farmers, who usually hired out their labor and had to pay 50 percent of the harvest as rent. Landholders in turn paid only 10 percent of the harvest to the state as rent and therefore could secure the remaining 40 percent of their share. In this way the big land grantees could accumulate more holdings.The government levied the land tax on peasants but also imposed a business tax on craftsmen and merchants. The tax in kind was collected by the local government and transported to Seoul by riverine and coastal shipping. For example, the grain tax collected in Ky
ŏ
ngsang province was shipped to Seoul by water traffic through the Naktong and South Han rivers, whereas P’y
ŏ
ngan and Hamgy
ŏ
ng provinces in the
north consumed the tax paid in kind for their own military expenditure instead of transporting it to Seoul.

In addition to the land tax, peasants were required to pay the tribute tax in kind. Because it was levied on local specialties to meet a wide range of government needs, the tax was known as
t’ogong,
or local tribute. This tax was much more burdensome to the peasantry than the land tax, particularly because the process of paying it always overtaxed the peasants’ income.

In addition to conscription for military service for two or three months each year, able-bodied commoner males between 16 and 60 years old were under government obligation to perform corvee labor for six days each year. The government often mustered corvee drafts whenever it saw fit, and so the obligation was an onerous burden for peasant farmers. As before, Chos
ŏ
n’s commoner population, especially peasant farmers, groaned under heavy obligations.

In the early Chos
ŏ
n period, remarkable growth occurred in agricultural production as a result of territorial expansion in the north, the aggrandizement of agricultural land mainly resulting from the reclamation of coastal areas, population growth, the government’s policy to encourage farming, and Confucian literati’s study of agricultural management. Improvements in fertilization, including the use of human manure and ashes as fertilizer, contributed to growing multiple crops in dry fields. The development of intensive agriculture made double-cropping possible, specifically beans and barley in dry fields and rice and barley in paddy fields.

Originally the size of Korea’s dry fields was more than twice that of paddy fields because of its half-dry climate. Embarking on improving irrigation facilities, the Chos
ŏ
n government repaired existing reservoirs and constructed many new dammed pools for irrigation. As a result, by the mid-fifteenth century, Chos
ŏ
n had more than 3,000 reservoirs throughout the country. As the use of water wheels improved irrigation efficiency, the total area of paddy fields greatly increased.

Koreans, because of arid spring weather, first sowed rice seeds in dry paddies and then, after the rice plants began to grow, irrigated the paddies. Beginning with the early Chos
ŏ
n period, they developed hydroponics, in which they sowed rice seeds directly in the irrigated paddy fields. Also, the technique of rice transplantation developed, in which rice seeds were first planted in a small seedbed, and then, when they reached a suitable stage of growth, were
transplanted to the paddies. In the early Chos
ŏ
n period, however, the government banned farmers from practicing rice transplantation because of the lack of irrigation facilities.

Still, improved agricultural techniques in the early Chos
ŏ
n period greatly increased Korea’s rice crop. The 1444 rice crop, for example, was four times higher than the crop in 1391, when the Kwaj
ŏ
np
ŏ
p was promulgated. This means that the size of ky
ŏ
l for rice farming quadrupled after a lapse of some 50 years.

Besides rice, Koreans cultivated millet, beans, barley, Chinese millet, barnyard millet, and Indian millet. In addition, to provide material for clothing, fiber crops such as cotton, hemp, and ramie were raised in large quantities; sericulture also rapidly developed. The government maintained ranches to breed cattle, horses, and sheep. Fifty-eight nationally operated ranches throughout the country raised cattle for use as draft animals and for meat, horses for the military and for tribute gifts to China, and sheep to use in various sacrificial rites.

Like their predecessors in the Kory
ŏ
dynasty, craftsmen and artisans in the early Chos
ŏ
n period performed their handiwork mainly under government aegis, not private initiatives. The government enrolled all skilled workers on
kongjangan,
or artisan rosters, attached them to various agencies in the capital or to provincial and local governments, and had them manufacture goods to meet the government’s needs. In the capital these workers were mainly assigned to agencies such as the Kun’gisi, or Government Arsenal, to produce weapons; the Sang
ŭ
iw
ŏ
n, or Bureau of Royal Attire, to make court robes; the Saongw
ŏ
n, or Bureau of the Palace Kitchen, to manufacture utensils for the royal table; the Kyos
ŏ
gwan, or Government Publisher, to print books; and the Chojiso, or Paper Manufactory, to manufacture paper. Altogether some 2,800 skilled workers were employed in the 30 government agencies, undertaking 129 manufacturing assignments. In the provinces, of the more than 3,500 artisans engaged in 29 assignments, most were paper manufacturers, metal workers, mat manufacturers, bow and arrow makers, tanners, and lacquerers.

These skilled workers were required to serve the government for a certain period of time each year and were on the government’s payroll. But they did not devote themselves exclusively to supplying the government’s requirements. After performing their duties, they worked for themselves on orders from private clients, paying the government a tax for the privilege to do so.

Peasant farmers also engaged in household industry, producing cotton cloth, ramie cloth, hemp, and silk, as well as brassware, farm implements, and paper. Most of the products were used for paying the tribute tax, and surpluses were sold in the markets. The production of cotton cloth was particularly important; as cotton growing rapidly increased, the manufacturing of cotton cloth became widespread. Cotton cloth was not only used by peasants for their own clothing but was also important to the government for military dress and as a major item in the nation’s foreign trade. Cotton cloth, as noted previously, was also used as currency.

The development of agriculture and handicrafts led to brisk commercial activities. Commerce mainly developed in populous cities and towns. Seoul in particular, with a population of some 100,000 in the early Chos
ŏ
n period, was the commercial center. Already in the reign of King T’aejong, the government established a chain of shops, amounting to 2,600 kan, centered along the main thoroughfare of Chongno, and leased them to merchants. These government-licensed merchants were required to deal in designated articles. In return for their monopolistic commercial rights, these merchants paid a tax in kind and purveyed items required by the government. Since the sixteenth century the so-called
yuk
ŭ
ij
ŏ
n
, or six licensed stores, appeared, dealing in drapery, cotton cloth, silk, paper, ramie cloth and hemp, as well as marine products. There were also small stores in Seoul and similar markets in large cities including Kaes
ŏ
ng, Pyongyang, and Ch
ŏ
nju.

In the countryside itinerant vendors, called
pobusang,
or pack and back peddlers, engaged in commercial activity. Pack peddlers usually dealt in luxury goods of fine craftsmanship, whereas back peddlers mainly sold the coarse necessities of life such as farm and sea products, and, most important, salt. These peddlers organized themselves into a guild that was sanctioned by the government. Starting in the late fifteenth century peasants in Ch
ŏ
lla province began to establish irregular markets, called
changsi,
or market, or
changmun,
or market gate, and these soon spread throughout the country. The government suppressed these markets, fearing that the peasants would flee their land and engage in commercial activity. The government’s efforts failed, however, and markets began to spring up periodically. Usually open every five days, these markets attracted peasants, artisans, and peddlers, trafficking in such items as agricultural products, handcrafted articles, marine produce, and medical supplies. Because these commercial activities were conducted on the barter
system, a monetary economy could not develop. During the sixteenth century the medium of exchange continued to be cotton cloth, called
p’ohwa,
or cloth currency.

The relationship Chos
ŏ
n established with Ming China was termed
sadae,
or “serving the great.” In the sovereign-subject relations between the two countries, a new king ascending the throne in Chos
ŏ
n sought the Ming emperor’s formal confirmation of his status. By doing so, Chos
ŏ
n became Ming’s “little brother” and a tributary state. Absolutely convinced of its own superiority, China indulged in a policy that might be called benign neglect, thereby allowing Chos
ŏ
n substantive autonomy as a nation. The relationship between Chos
ŏ
n and Ming was, indeed, amicable, and when the Japanese invaded Chos
ŏ
n in 1592, Ming helped Chos
ŏ
n at that critical time by dispatching an army called the
ch’
ŏ
nby
ŏ
ng,
or heavenly army. In the seventeenth century, when Ming was attacked by the Manchu people, Chos
ŏ
n reciprocated, sending an army to help its Chinese ally.

In the course of paying homage to Ming, Chos
ŏ
n sent its envoys to the Chinese empire at any opportunity available. For instance, each year a Chos
ŏ
n envoy was sent to Ming to offer felicitations on the New Year. Envoys were also dispatched on the occasions of a Ming ruler’s death or a successor’s accession to the throne, and Ming acted similarly. Although all these diplomatic missions were meant to strengthen ties with Ming, they were also opportunities for economic exchange. The articles Chos
ŏ
n exported to Ming included paper, writing brushes, straw mats with floral designs, gold, silver, ginseng, furs, ramie cloth, and horses, and in return Chos
ŏ
n imported books, silk fabrics, medicines, and stationary. In particular, Chos
ŏ
n’s paper was so durable and smooth that the Chinese nicknamed it the “paper of mirror surface.” Because Chos
ŏ
n was praised as the “country of courteous people in the East,” Chos
ŏ
n’s envoys were given special, favorable treatment at the Chinese court.

The early Chos
ŏ
n kings actively sought to incorporate the regions south of the Yalu and Tumen rivers into their kingdom’s domain. In the reign of King Sejong the two rivers made up Korea’s northern frontier, whose native inhabitants
were Nuzhens, who at the time Koreans called
Yain,
or barbarians. In 1433 King Sejong sent an expeditionary force against the Yain people in the upper Yalu region, with Ch’oe Yun-d
ŏ
k and Yi Ch’
ŏ
n in command, which led to the establishment of four outposts along the river, at Y
ŏ
y
ŏ
n, Uye, Chas
ŏ
ng, and Much’ang. The region long held by the Nuzhen people was incorporated into the territory of Chos
ŏ
n. In 1437 another army, commanded by Kim Chong-s
ŏ
, was sent to exercise Chos
ŏ
n’s sovereign power over the territory south of the Tumen River and also drive the Yain people beyond the river. Kim Chong-s
ŏ
created six garrisons in the northeastern part of the Korean peninsula, at Chongs
ŏ
ng, Ons
ŏ
ng, Hoery
ŏ
ng, Ky
ŏ
ngw
ŏ
n, Ky
ŏ
ngh
ŭ
ng, and Pury
ŏ
ng. As a result, the domain that Korea now occupies was finally fashioned, and inhabitants of the three southern provinces of Ky
ŏ
ngsang, Ch
ŏ
lla, and Ch’ungch’
ŏ
ng were encouraged to migrate to this newly acquired northern region.

Originally the Yain people led a half-agricultural, half-hunting life, and from Chos
ŏ
n they obtained grain, clothing, and other basic needs. To acquire these daily necessities, they sometimes invaded Chos
ŏ
n territory. To pacify them, Chos
ŏ
n opened markets at Ky
ŏ
ngs
ŏ
ng and Ky
ŏ
ngw
ŏ
n, where the Yain people bartered their horses and furs for grain, cloth, and farm implements. Chos
ŏ
n also welcomed their formal submission and immigration, granting titular rank, food and clothing, and houses to those who pledged their loyalty. Nevertheless, because of the basic shortage of daily necessities, the Yain continued their pillaging.

The Chos
ŏ
n policy toward Japan was known as
kyorin,
or neighborly relations, and was one of equality. Although Japanese piracy had almost subsided by the end of the Kory
ŏ
dynasty, it had not been completely eliminated but continued to occur from time to time in the early Chos
ŏ
n period. The impoverished Japanese, particularly those on Tsushima, frequently raided the costal areas of Chos
ŏ
n. In 1419 King Sejong sent a punitive expedition of 227 ships and some 17,000 naval forces, under the command of Yi Chong-mu, to Tsushima. For 15 days Chos
ŏ
n forces killed 114 Japanese pirates, burned 2,000 houses to the ground, and captured 129 Japanese ships, which finally led the lord of Tsushima to surrender. Thereafter, to pacify the Japanese, Chos
ŏ
n granted them limited trading privileges. In 1426 three ports were opened to the Japanese along the southeast coast, at Pusanp’o (Tongnae, today part of Pusan), Naeip’o (Ungch’
ŏ
n; present-day Ch’angw
ŏ
n, South Ky
ŏ
ngsang province), and Y
ŏ
mp’o
(present-day Ulsan). For the Japanese to conduct business with Chos
ŏ
n, trading and living quarters called the
waegwan,
or Japanese quarters, were established in each of the three open ports. Later the Japanese imported large quantities of rice and cotton cloth from Chos
ŏ
n. In 1443 Chos
ŏ
n worked out a treaty, in which the number of Japanese ships that might trade with Chos
ŏ
n was set at 50 each year, and the ships were permitted in port only upon presenting credentials issued by the lord of Tsushima.