民籍法의 ‘戶’ 규정과 변화―일본의 明治戶籍法 시행경험과 ‘朝鮮慣習’에 대한 이해로부터

Abstract

Since 1909, the new civil register replaced the old Kwangmu household register. The civil registration law based on the Meiji household registration law and the customs of Korea had undergone several revisions. In revising the civil registration law, Korean customs such as traditional practices of household registration and Korean cultural customs were supposed to be given considerations. But, the new civil registration regulations turned out to be a substantial departure from the old Korean household registration practices. The old Korean household registers including Kwangmu household registers were basically a registration of co-inhabitants as a unit of household. Typically, in the old Korean household registers, a family consisting of parents and their unmarried children constituted a household. And the eldest son when married formed his own household. In addition, the successor of the household was not necessarily the eldest son, but possibly wives, and brothers. The Japanese colonial government did not recognize the fact that the household in record did not represent the family and the succession practice in reality. The colonial government had an idea that Korean inheritance practice of the household was identical to that of Japan. Since late Chosŏn Korea, the eldest son received the greatest share of the patrimony divided among the brothers. Such practice safeguarded against the dissolution of the family and resulted in augmenting the eldest son's family. Whereas, Japan practiced a primogeniture, whereby the eldest son inherited the whole patrimony as ie. The Meiji household registration law adopted this practice in regulating the inheritance of the household. Because the Korean family was succeeded by the eldest son, such practice had a similarity with the Japanese practice that dictated a primogeniture to the eldest son.