조선 전기 요동에서 사행(使行) 호송군(護送軍)의 역할과 국제무역의 경계

Abstract

The escort soldiers in diplomacy between the Ming Dynasty and the Joseon Dynasty were sent to protect the Joseon government envoys traveling to Beijing from Uiju to Liaoyang during the early Joseon Dynasty. These soldiers were required for securing the safety of the Joseon Dynasty envoys traveling to Ming, and the scale of an embassy was large. The soldiers were recruited from residents in Pyeongan Province. As many as from fifty to 100 soldiers had to be mobilized for each envoy. However, in actuality, more than 1,000 soldiers were mobilized, and that number differed according to the situation in the northern areas. In addition, it typically took more than two months to escort the embassy to Beijing. Soldiers were mobilized regardless of the busy farming season. The Joseon government permitted trade in the Liaoyang area in order to compensate for the economic damage caused by the soldiers. Considering that the Joseon government’s policy toward foreign trade strongly controlled private trade with Ming, these were exceptional measures. These soldiers were the only Joseon people authorized to engage in international trade in the Liaodong area despite their not having approached the central government. The consistent accumulation of experience through which they could legally trade with Chinese in Liaodong led these soldiers to become more accustomed to international trade than any other Joseon people. Furthermore, the soldiers frequently visited the Liaodong area and obtained more information, such as the geography and the life environment in Liaodong, than other Koreans, which made them skilled in coping with attacks by bandits. Some soldiers who became acquainted with information and geography in the Liaodong area sought a better life by utilizing their own knowledge of the region. They chose to emigrate to Liaodong or broke the prohibition against illegal trade with the Ming Dynasty that had been enforced from the beginning of the Joseon period. They opened the gate for developing Joseon’s international trade in the sixteenth century. Thus it should be noted that subjects who made changes as marginal people included these soldiers who visited Liaodong.