조선시대 균분상속제도와 그 의미

Abstract

In modern day Korea of the 21st century there still remains the characteristics of a patriarchal society predicated on Confucian traditions. Even though we have lived through times of drastic economic and social development, patriarchal characteristics are still deeply engrained in the family. In light of this, it seems natural to suppose that the Joseon Dynasty, the recent past, witnessed more severe gender discrimination and unfair treatment of women. Even in traditional Korean society, however, a modern idea of equality was reflected in the inheritance system. From the outset of the Joseon Dynasty, as well as in the Goryeo Dynasty, there existed a custom that granted the equal division of inheritances to women. Despite the rigors of patriarchy, this practice was maintained for a long period of time. It was a law and a custom, counterparts of which were hard to find in China at the time and even more so in the West. Being permitted to own property, women not only were entitled to an inheritance on equal terms with their sons, they could also bequeath property to their parents’ side of the family in cases where there was no direct heir. In the Joseon Dynasty, despite it being a discriminatory society dominated by Confucian ideology, women’s execution ability and independence in relation to property were respected. However, in the wake of rapid social upheaval after the 17th century, women were the first to suffer economic disadvantage when the practice of equal division of inheritance weakened. Evenso, the equal division of inheritance, stipulated in law such as in the Gyeonggukdaejeon (Great Code of National Governance), was not abolished until the end of Joseon Dynasty, and women’s rights were respected, albeit at a minimum. The Joseon Dynasty, one of our traditional societies, did not condemn women to complete discrimination and upheld a minimum level of humanism. In this regard, it is necessary to make a positive assessment of the Joseon Dynasty’s equal division of inheritance and its significance and to reexamine its spiritual implications.