조선시대 잠수어민의 활동양상 - 제주 잠수어민을 중심으로 -

Abstract

Dive-fishing during the Joseon era was done not only in Jeju Island but also across the whole country. The brown seaweed and sea-ears from Jeju Island were the most popular products and were then developed into commercialized products. These commercial activities by Jeju fishermen were continued in Korea, Japan and Russia, and are believed to have been the major factors that allowed them to enter the markets outside Jeju. The purpose of this report is to summarize the confirmed results of this study. While fishery products from Jeju in Jeoson era were mostly rich in local color and had little market value, the brown seaweed and sea-ears were in high demand. Brown seaweed helped the people of Jeju to overcome years of famine. For the Jeju government, which had few sources for making cash, brown seaweed was a good source for cash because it could be sold to purchase necessities. The high value of seaweed caused the Jeju government to exploit the people of Jeju under various pretexts. The lives of the seaweed farmers were wretched, and complaints from the people have been confirmed in reports from various sources. At the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty there were people called PoJak(s) all over the country who took care of the fish products that were sent to the king. They were named after their geographic location and were called Jeonla-Pojak, Chungcheong-Pojak, Gyeongsang-Pojak, and Jeju-Pojak. The Pojak ships caught fish and sent them to the king. Until the end of the Japanese Invasion in 1952 they were exploited and scattered. The fishermen did not do the fishery work and hid their social status to avoid requisitions which would be made at any time during the long war. There were many changes to the types of fishery in the Joseon era after the Japanese Invasion in 1952. The ‘Half-farming-halffishing’ style has long since taken the place of the pure fisherman. However in Jeju Island there used to be Pojaks who did fishery work and took care of sending the fishery products to the king, and information on these fishermen could be found in Hamosli Family and Ilgwali- family registration in middle of the 18th Century. The Pojaks were public slaves who belonged to the Central government. Pojaks were men ranging from 13 to 70 years old. The responsibilities could be avoided if they lied about their age, if they were people of influence, and if they had children. It was discovered that people without children or dependants were forced to be Pojaks. Starting from 1791 the Pojaks were alleviated of much of their responsibility and were eventually freed. Upon entering the 19th Century the Pojaks in Jeju Island were freed from the national responsibilities.