18세기 후반 서울 양반과 빈곤의 문제-도저동 金履中 家를 중심으로-

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to trace the life and family line of Kim Yi-jung, a gentry who lived in Seoul in the late 18th century. Through this work, I intend to analyze in detail the problems faced by the gentry class of the poor in the late Joseon Dynasty. The basic data of this paper is Heumyeong, the diary of Yu Man-ju, Kim Yi-jung's maternal cousin. Kim Yi-jung is a member of the Andong Kim Clan, an influential family in the late Joseon Dynasty, and is the 6th generation descendant of Kim Sang-yong. The direct descendants of Kim Sang-yong, who lived in Seoul, went through the Second Manchu Invasion of Korea and found a new basis for life in Odu-ri and Deoksan-hyeon, Chungcheong-do. This lineage has been settled in Odu-ri since the time of Kim Seong-dal, the great-grandfather of Kim Yi-jung. Since Kim Seong-dal's fifth son, Kim Si-jeong, was adopted by his uncle and moved to Deoksan-hyeon, Kim Yi-jung's ancestors showed signs of declining as poor Chungcheong-do gentry. When Kim Si-jeong's second son, Kim Yeo-haeng, died at the age of 32, the bereaved family, his wife and his two sons, had no way to make ends meet. So, the three families went to Seoul to live by relying on Mrs. Yu's younger brother Yu Han-Jun. Shortly after, when Mrs. Yu died, the completely orphaned brothers became completely dependent on their uncle Yu Han-jun, and they were unable to stand on their own financially. Kim Yi-jung got married and became the head of the household with two sons and three daughters. For the 13 years recorded in Heumyeong, the Kim family lived in Dunggeujae outside Seodaemun, Hwakgyo-dong in Yongsan, and Dojeo-dong outside Namdaemun. The fact that this family's residence was always outside the four gates of Seoul shows their poor socio-economic situation. The family's poverty is also related to frequent illnesses: two of Kim Yi-jung's children suffered from the measles epidemic in Seoul in 1786, and one died around the same time. Kim Yi-jung suffered from a disease and died in his late 40s. Yu Man-ju, who observed the lives of poor noblemen, including Kim Yi-jung, came to the conclusion that poverty is like a death sentence for the gentry in Joseon. The fact that the eldest son Kim Baek-sun was executed as a Catholic in 1801, 15 years after the death of Kim Yi-jung, is judged to be the result of following the path of poverty inherited from his father.