冊封體制下에서의 ‘國役’ ― 朝鮮王朝 재정시스템의 특징과 관련하여 ―

Abstract

The finance system of Joseon Korea was centralized by the government. The government unified the taxes into lands, like Ming-Ching China. However the central government levied labor power based on military service system. And income of the local government depended on corvée allotted each household using household register. The military service system had continued as a way to minimize public finance, because saving is one of the most important value of Confucianism. The military service system does not make cost in collecting process because taxpayer come and provide labor personally. And it can not be say that the burden of taxpayer of this system is bigger than other system offering real goods. Taxpayer generally had paid to each government ministries personally. After the centralization of the finance system, the sources and tax were gathered to Hojo(戶曹), the central financial ministry and redistributed to other ministries. However levying labor power still could save the cost in collecting and transporting process. Stability and long peace in East Asian countries owed international order based on the tributary system(冊封體制). The national defense expenditures accounted for most of the national finance excluding costs royal protocols. But the Joseon dynasty under the proclaiming system could not retain own armed forces. That is because the country of emperor(天子) could maintain military system and mobilize the forces. It seems that the national defense of the Joseon dynasty depended on the two; guard mounting peasants patrol the capital, and the tributary system. In this system, the emperor had duty and right to defense a tributary state with his armed forces. In this ways, the Joseon dynasty could save autonomously national defense expenditures and realize ideology of the Confucianism which emphasize saving resources.