제주지역의 묘지 점유와 분쟁

Abstract

The academia paid considerable amount of interest on the burial related litigation which occurred frequently in the late Joseon Dynasty. The accumulated results of researches are mostly limited to inland regions which is why this study investigated the burial related litigation in Jeju Island by studying the development of burial ground, occupying methods, and disputes. The Jeju Island generally created burial land in the field due to the physical geographic influence unlike the inland regions. The people in Jeju Island mainly developed burial place in the field located in flatland and farms which is why tombs were exposed under the risk of damage from slash and burn as well as horses and cows. Burial stone walls were constructed to prevent such damages in advance. The burial occupation method in Jeju Island was mainly through positioning, certified document, and purchase. It is found that occupying burial ground through positioning involved digging, planting protective trees, and placing mark. The occupation of burial ground through certified document, especially for public farm field, involved certain level of payment to the government office and getting certified documents. The burial ground could be occupied through purchase as well. However, if the government office find out that someone was cultivating in the land designated for planting trees as a means of securing burial ground, then government employees imposed tax and some attempts to be exempted from the tax was observed. The disputes on burial ground in Jeju Island occurred from cultivating in the burial ground, occupancy of burial ground by third parties, or damage of the burial ground. Moreover, the disputes occurred when the mound is directly damaged by cows and horses as well as slash and burn. The results of this study indicated that such disputes are related with development of burial ground based on the natural environment of the Jeju Island.