조선전기 사족여성(士族女性)의 비녀(婢女) 살해

Abstract

After its foundation, Joseon established institutions that allowed noble men to make sexual relationships with multiple women on the basis of so-called the wife-concubine system. Accordingly, noble men could have multiple sexual relationships with many different women including female slaves, kinyeo or entertaining women, medical women and women of ordinary class, Among these women, females slaves were most often selected by noble men for sex because those women were the belongings of the men so the latter could have an easy access to the former. This was, of course, nearly possible in the Koryo period, too before the noble rule system of Joseon was established. But the biggest difference is that the noble rule system allowed only noble man to have sexual relationships with multiple women. Under the system, women's having sex with other men that their husband and their hatred towards their husband's multiple sexual relationships were all considered as immoral. This was apparently asymmetrical to women. Women was very sensitive to institutions that allowed men to freely satisfy their sexual desires and, accordingly, men's multiplication of women with whom they had sexual relationships. The term 'jealousy' found in the literature of the early Joseon period refers to women's response to men's multiple sexual relationships. Such emotional state was sometimes embodied into noble women's violence against or murder of other women who had sexual relations with their husband. Almost all of the murdered women were female slaves. Rather than criticizing men's patriarchal and male-dominated discourses, noble men resolved their hatred by punishing low-positioned female slaves who had sexual relations with their husband. Most victimized by the punishment were probably female slaves who were a minority of lowest social status. This was, of course, possible because the noble rule system was socially based on the system of service by slaves. Cases that noble women murdered cases are more often found in the times from the reign of king Taejo to that of king Jungjong. Even after that time, such cases didn't disappear. Though fewer, similar cases are found even in the late Joseon period since the Korea-Japan War or Imjinwaeran. Therefore, presumedly, the murder of female slaves by noble women continued till the late Joseon period. However, it is thought that noble women were even less likely to punish female slaves since the mid 17th century when the implementation of the patrilocal residence rule made most noble women to live in their husband's home.