조선시대 양반들의 경제생활-간찰과 일기를 통해본 일반적고찰

Abstract

This study reviewed the economic life of the gentry in country villages (Hyangchon, 鄕村) in the Joseon Dynasty. In general, the gentry in country villages in the Joseon Dynasty had financial foundations as a small and medium landowner so that they were assumed to be have a rich life. However, on the other hand, the journals and letters have often found the entirely different concerns about poverty and fears for poorness. After all, such a gap refers to that the economic life of the gentry in country villages itself has never been studied. This situation also applies to the collapsed gentry (沒落兩班) or degraded gentry (殘班), who can be regarded as the most common form of the gentry in country villages in the late Joseon Dynasty. As for the economic life of the gentry in country villages, the study reviewed the specific economic life of several representative gentry families, who were the typical small and medium landowners or had stronger financial foundations, using the letters and journals. According to the review, no one was able to get away from poverty in a bad harvest, despite such strong financial foundations. If the gentry had a rich life, they should be at least ‘in a good harvest.’ The collapsed gentry or degraded gentry, who appeared as the common form of the gentry in country villages in the late Joseon Dynasty, lost the economic base as a small and medium landowner, so that they were forced to face poverty more often or all the time, regardless of yields. However, they were allowed to become government officials through the national examination, and had no problems to maintain their social status as gentry if they did not lost their legacy foundations in their lineage villages. They did not have huge problems in getting their social status and position guaranteed by the head family, the eldest son of the head family or the members of the lineage villages, although they experienced financial collapse or were isolated from national examination or government services. In this regard, they were not the commoners who lost their status as gentry, nor those who were basically on the side of the farmers with different interests from the government official-gentry or landowners. The ultimate goal of this study was to identify the origin of ‘poorness’ or ‘poverty’ of the gentry and how they overcame and responded. This study is the basic work for the ultimate purpose.