여악을 전승한 예인으로서의 기생에 대한 왜곡에 관한 연구 Ⅱ: 기생과 공창제도와의 관련성을 중심으로

Abstract

This study examines the phased establishment process of the licensed prostitution system during the Korean Empire period and its relationship with gisaeng. By looking into the system’s actual establishment and national expansion process starting from the enforcement of the Prostitute Regulation Law on September 25, 1908 to the Japanese colonial period and its relationship with gisaeng, the study aims to correct the academic errors of previous research that misunderstood and distorted gisaeng as a subject controlled and managed by the licensed prostitution system. The study also seeks a new, accurate perspective on the social characteristics of gisaeng during the Korean Empire and Japanese colonial period. The stepwise establishment of the licensed prostitute system during the Korean Empire period, which involved the prostitute abolition policy in 1899, the formation of districts for prostitution in 1904, the testing of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) in 1906, and the taxation of prostitutes in 1906, had little to do with gisaeng, who were in fact regarded to have social properties contrasting with prostitutes. On September 25, 1908, the modern gisaeng system and the licensed prostitution system were set in place by the announcements of the Gisaeng Regulation Law and the Prostitute Regulation Law, respectively, thus clearly differentiating gisaeng and prostitutes in terms of law, policy, and society. During the Japanese colonial period, Subparagraph 3 of the Ordinance by the General Police Bureau, i.e., Regulations on the Control of yegi (gisaeng skilled in song, dance, and performance), jakbu (hostesses serving drinks), and yegi chiok (dormitories of yegi), which partially applied to Korean gisaeng as well, was announced on March 31, 1916. Subparagraph 4 of the same ordinance, Regulations on the Control of daejwabu (place of prostitution) and Prostitutes, was announced on the same day as the uniform legislation that would govern the licensed prostitute system nationally. The latter regulation specified various rules concerning daejwabu and prostitutes in detail. In sum, gisaeng and prostitutes were clearly differentiated in terms of law and policy during the Japanese colonial period. In addition, gisaeng were never summoned or administered regular STD testing as were prostitutes; they also conducted business activities by paying taxes on singing and dancing instead of taxes on prostitution. Such findings show that gisaeng existed outside the boundaries of the licensed prostitution system created by Japanese ruling powers.