조선후기 제주도 한동리 김해김씨 김덕경 가계와 이들의 경제기반－김덕경 가계의 ‘상속 및 거래’ 문서를 중심으로－

Abstract

This study aims to examine the process through which a lineage hold a prominent position among a family group in Handong-ri of Jeju, focusing on its economic basis. I analyze a large number of old documents handed down by Kim Duck kyung’s lineage for this study. As well known, there are not many cases of well-preserved old family documents being discovered in the region of Jeju and, as a result, the studies on an individual lineage as well as on households in this region have been rare. Therefore, the study presented in this paper is important not only because it attempts to reveal the economic basis of an individual lineage based on the rare old family documents but also because such rare study will substantially contribute to our general understanding of the local history of Jeju. The focus is placed on serial changes in the Kim’s lineage whose members were not the eldest son’s descendents but the decedents of the third son who have later taken over the role of the patriarch. In addition to the transmission of the old documents through the third son’s lineage, the fact that they, i.e., the third son’s descendents, had collected and administered many lands for Ancestral Memorial Services shows the characteristic of these changes well. The role of their lineage increased as the elevation of their economic status. Meanwhile, the eldest son’s descendents emigrated into a nearby region, and in the new region they failed to establish a firm economic basis which would have been required to maintain the leading role and exert influences on extended family members. This is why Kim Duck kyung’s descendents have taken the leading roles instead of the eldest son’s. This study traces the specific changes in this process by analyzing Bunjaemungi(分財記), Myeongmun(明文) and other economic documents. It didn’t accord closely with a common practice in late Chosun that non-eldest son’s descendents collected and owned lands, called Wi-to(位土), intensively, leading to a dominant position as Jongson or the head family. On the other hand, it has not been rare in Korea that a new lineage emerges by the decedents of a social and political celebrity. For this reason, this study is careful not to interpret its result as the peculiarity of Jeju. But instead, I attempt to present the result as the evidences of showing the diversities in establishing the lineages. The current paper is my first study to focus on the analysis of old family documents that show both the process for Kim’s lineage to establish their economic basis and the changes in the process. This study provides a good example showing the importance of the economic basis when lineages were formed. I plan to carry out follow-up studies of the relationship between the economic basis and the social status utilizing old family documents