19세기 말 김산군 백성들의 삶과 갈등－1896년 민장치부책 분석－

Abstract

This article analyzes minjangchibuchaek, which is the file of petitions, of Gimsan-gun, compiled in 1896, to understand the types and aspects of the conflicts that the people of the Gimsan-gun were experiencing at the time. Minjangchibuchaek consists of a summary of the various petitions received at the Gimsan-gun office, and the judgment of the governor for each petition. Although the contents of the petition are brief, the study is worthwhile in that it vividly shows the various conflicts the local community was experiencing at the time and the government's response to them. This period was immediately after the rapid institutional changes in almost all fields, including the tax system, local administrative system, judicial system, and police system, during the Gabo․Ulmi reform in 1894-1895. The file of petitions of Gimsan-gun, 1896, clearly illustrates this chaotic and complex situation. When categorizing Gimsan-gun petitions by subject by referring to previous research, economic conflict occupies the highest rate, followed by tax conflict. A similar trend can be found in the minjangchibuchaek of other regions in the same period, but compared to other regions where the ratio of tax conflicts since 1890 stayed around 15%, in Gimsan-gun, the ratio of tax conflicts was as high as 30%. This phenomenon is presumed to be the result of being directly affected by the rapidly changed tax system and local administrative system. Also, looking at the attitude of the governor of Gimsan-gun in handling those conflicts, he was generally seeking a private resolution between the parties rather than mobilizing public power, and this tendency was particularly pronounced in economic conflicts. The people of Gimsan-gun were experiencing various confusion as the new system implemented by the central government and the customs maintained in the local community collided with each other. The existing custom of collecting various miscellaneous taxes continued, and the salaries of officers of the local government were formalized as a new regular rule. After the post-station-routes system was abolished in January 1896, conflicts between the existing subordinates to Gimcheon and Chupung stations located in Gimsan-gun, and the common people who purchased the land of those post-stations surfaced over the sale, ownership, and cultivation of the land. Meanwhile, although the central government officially abolished social class discrimination, the social hierarchy was firmly maintained in Gimsan-gun. As such, the file of petitions of Gimsan-gun, 1896, contains the voices of the people of Gimsan-gun who faced chaos due to the clash of old and new orders.