개항장객주의 변모 양상과 성격 고찰

Abstract

Two themes of this article focus on the role of the character or position of the merchants in the open ports and in observing the growth, development, and decline of the merchants. The principal business of the merchants in the open ports was the consignment trade. They received the gumun (口文) from the seller and the buyer, and thus gradually gained profit. As these merchants saved their funds, they gradually tried to establish an association for protecting their rights. This association was the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry, however, was soon abolished because foreign merchants interfered. The merchants engaged in not only the consignment trade, but also in finance, warehousing, and marine transportation. This was seen through the merchants saving their funds and establishing commerce. The merchants grew and developed, but they failed due to many factors. The most important factor is said to have been that Japanese merchants filtered into Joseon. The merchants failed while their status narrowed. On the other hand, some agents who saved their capital established their own companies and became a kind of modern capitalist. The period of activity of the merchants was short. The merchants, however, carried out a major role among many merchants during the transition from isolation to the open ports. Therefore, their existence is not overlooked in the transition period in the history of commerce in late Joseon to the history of commerce in modern Korea.