조선후기 土姓의 변화와 존립형태 - 慶尙道 丹城縣을 중심으로 -

Abstract

Korea’s family name and clan had its beginning with the tosung arrangement which designated the name and the family clan based on the native place and residence in the early Koryo Dynasty. The family name and clan system based on the prefecture-county system in the Koryo Dynasty, has undergone big changes in the early and late stage of the Joseon era. Upon examining the changes in the tosung in the Joseon era through Dansung-hyeon of Gyeongsang province, the following is the findings from the analysis. The major family name and clan of Dansun-hyeon in the early stage of the Joseon era mentioned in the Sejong documents, has undergone considerable changes. First, the significance of tosung was changed. The geographic books in the late Joseon era did not classify tosung, naesung and soksung for the family name and clan as they are in the Sejong documents. The reason why the family name and clan which does not designate Dansung as the family clan, were recognized as tosung was because during this period in time, the family clan of yangban noble family was separate from the place of residence and this was a general phenomenon. As a result, traditional folk significance of tosung became meaningless and instead, the family clan which abstractly represented the wealth, social status and reputation and lineage of the name became an issue. On the other hand, the number of people who use Dansung as the family name and clan rapidly decreased in the early part of 18th century. This was the time when Koreans became to have their own name. However there were many cases where people with the new family name and clan chose to select the existing family and clan. As a result, the certain family name and clan became popularized. Such popularization of certain family name and clan was the result of the change of the family clan which was actively in progress. Such findings are clear from the cases of the changes of family clan by people whose family clan was Dansung. As a result, after the early part of the 18th century, people whose family clan was Dansung in Dansung-hyeon almost disappeared. As such, in the process of change for the family name and clan system in the late Joseon era such as the how Koreans having their own name, the widespread changes of the family name and its consequence, the progress in the popularization of names, tosung became reduced and extinct, and the family name and clan as the regional foundation for the name became almost faded.