광무양전과 조선후기 양전의 관계 - 경기도 용인 오산리 사례

Abstract

Despite the two times of land surveys by land surveyors during the Korean Empire, not a few parts of the land then under cultivation failed to be recorded in the Land Register. The second surveyors standardized the various shapes of farmlands, which were determined in the first survey. This means that the second survey aimed to calculate the expected size and further the amount of tax based on the actual land survey. If the purpose of the second survey was to accurately identify the area size, the surveyors would have set more diverse shapes of farmland than before. This is because as one plot of land is segmented, the area size will be more likely to be close to the actual size. The second surveyors reduced the size of many plots of land than the first time to downsize the amount of tax. As a result, the size of the farmland discovered in the second survey was significantly reduced than the actual size. Until the Korean Empire, the size of individual plots of land could be adjusted as much as possible upon the need of the government. It is indicates that the main purpose of the land survey during the late Joseon dynasty and Korean Empire was not to measure the accurate size but obtain the prearranged size and further expected area size. In terms of Osan village(吳山里), the landowners recorded in the Land Register often did not represent the actual states during the Korean Empire. Many private lands were discovered as state-owned lands. The trend where people vested their private lands in the government to reduce the burden of taxation was obviously reflected in the Land Register during the Korean Empire. The land surveyors during the Korean Empire thought that it was more important to clarify whom to pay the tax rather than discover the real land owners. It can be considered that the members of Haeju Oh clan(海州吳氏), who had connections with Osan-ri, were highly influential in that many farmlands were omitted from the Land Register, the size of individual plots of land was significantly reduced and the private lands were identified as state-owned lands. It was common in the late Joseon Dynasty that people of influence omitted their lands from the Land Register to lower the tax burden or register the farmland after changing it to wasteland. Based on the above mentioned facts, it is concluded that the land survey project during the Korean Empire was a more advanced version of the land survey project during the late Joseon Dynasty.