The postwar period of the 17th century in Joseon witnessed a great deal of social and economic upheavals. The rise of wealthy merchants contributed to the decline of the yangban society, while financial difficulty drove the government repeatedly to undertake tax reforms and sales of titles. Upward social mobility, almost unknown in the prewar period, began to expand. Rich peasants and merchants acquired yangban status, and nobi (indentured servants) were able to purchase their freedom.

Neo-Confucian orthodoxy was called into question by a rising critical spirit which engendered distrust of the yangban. The impact of Western culture, entering through China, gave further impetus for the development of pragmatic studies which called for socioeconomic reforms and readjustments. Factional strife also intensified. Attention was drawn to agricultural problems as more yangban - dropouts from the struggle for official power - became involved in land cultivation issues. As a result, agromanagerial techniques and production methods were steadily improved. Privately operated handicraft factories replaced government-operated ones, stimulating the production of goods for sale.

The increase in mercantile activities expedited the rise of commercial farming, which in turn began to transform rural life. The coin currency spread, providing a bridge between rural and urban economies. The rise of popular verse and fiction drew the attention of the people to government abuses and encouraged their participation in social reforms.



Postwar Readjustment

The urgent tasks of the postwar period included the reorganization of defense forces and the increase of state revenues. The Border Defense Council (Bibyeonsa) was elevated to the status of a de facto decision-making body, consisting of state councilors, ministers of the six boards and military staff generals, which made important decisions ranging from war to the selection of the Crown Prince.

The arts of war which had proved to be effective in defense against Japanese pirates were given first priority in the postwar defense activity. This system of army training, however, required an additional budget which had to be collected in taxes from the peasants. Privately owned bondsmen, who had previously been exempted from military service, were recruited for training, and thus had a new reason to consider themselves equal to commoners.

The reconstruction of palace buildings and the printing of lost books, such as duplicate sets of the Joseonwangjosillok (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty), land ledgers, and census records, all required additional funds. Wooden printing type was carved because metal was needed for arms production. Books which had been published for free distribution in the past were sold to pay for expenses. Efforts were made to revive the peasant economy, the main source of revenue.

Medical care for the disease-stricken populace was an urgent need and medical treatises such as Donguibogam (Exemplar of Korean Medicine) were completed in 1610.

The system of recruitment for the bureaucracy by merit had long deteriorated, as both civil and military service examinations became virtual levers in the hands of powerful officials and the faction in power. The irregular special examinations created a pressing demand for land, and at the same time the practice of holding unregistered land was draining state revenue. As some yangban sought control of tax-free school land, the number of private schools quadrupled during the 17th century alone, multiplying the school estates which sheltered an increasing number of literati and students.

The royal relatives and officials in power accumulated land deserted in wartime and converted it into tax-exempt holdings. Competition for government office became intense, since a term in office could easily lead to economic advantage. The factional split in 1585 was between a younger and an elder group of scholars, called the Dong-in (Eastern) faction and the Seoin (Western) faction, respectively, and this rivalry was intensified by postwar financial difficulties. Splits often occurred over the selection of the crown prince and rituals of royal mourning.

The Dong-in faction divided again into the Namin (Southern) and the Bugin (Northern), and the latter gained power during the reign of King Gwanghaegun (r.1608-1623), who made efforts to restore the Confucian state. When the Manchus rose up against Ming China, who asked Joseon for assistance, King Gwanghaegun, mindful of the assistance rendered by the Chinese in Joseon's struggle against the Japanese, promptly sent an army of 10,000. However, when it became obvious the Manchus would be victorious, Joseon quickly surrendered to avoid retaliation.

In the aftermath of this switch, King Gwanghaegun was deposed by the newly ascendant Seoin (Western) faction which was pro-Ming Dynasty. An insurrection ensued, demonstrating the necessity of strengthening the defense of the capital area. Accordingly, new camps were built around the capital city, and Namhansanseong fortress was constructed for its protection.

The Manchus thus felt the need to eliminate any threat from Joseon. The peace treaty concluded after the first Manchu invasion stipulated that Joseon would come to the aid of the Manchus, not the Ming. Upon King Injo's (r.1623-1649) refusal to acknowledge a suzerain-vassal relationship in 1636, the Manchu ruler, now enthroned as the Qing Emperor of China, invaded Joseon. King Injo fled to Namhansanseong fortress, then capitulated to the invaders on a bank of the Han-gang river. He agreed to break relations with the defeated Ming and to send princes to the Qing court as hostages.

This personal surrender of King Injo was a double blow to the monarchy and yangban, as the nation had to acknowledge subservience to the "pagan" tribes of the Manchu. Distrust of the orthodox Neo-Confucian yangban began to grow in the minds of the people, who had been denied an opportunity to resist the Qing army.

A deep sense of humiliation and disgrace was felt, and sympathy toward Ming was strong. The peasants and bondsmen openly ridiculed the yangban; offspring of interclass relationships, mostly between yangban men and non-yangban women, also, posed a serious social problem. These illegitimate sons of prominent officials were considered outcasts and banned from governmental service.

Resentment of the rigid social stratification as described at the novel Honggildongjeon (The tale of Hong Gil-dong) spurred the rise of revolutionary ideas. The basic theme in the novel - that all men were created equal - gave encouragement to the people and further undermined the prestige of the yangban society.



Tax Reforms

During this period, there was a gradual rise of subordinate agents of the tribute-tax collector who took away extraordinary additional amounts. This practice, started during the prewar period, became so rampant that peasants often turned over their land to powerful yangban, who would then help them to withdraw the land from registration so that the yangban could collect the tax themselves.

Attempts to convert the tribute-tax to an additional tax on land were partly successful. An additional tax on land, Daedongbeop (Uniform Land Tax Law), was vigorously advocated by Kim Yuk, the chief minister of King Hyojong (r.1649-1659). Its implementation proved highly advantageous both to state revenues and to the lives of the peasants. This was especially valuable to King Hyojong, whose aim was to strengthen the army and increase national revenue so as to oppose the Qing. As a further revenue measure, he decreed a universal tax in exchange for exemption from military service to be paid by all males, even monks.

Hyojong's anti-Qing ideas came to naught, for in 1654 and 1658, he was forced to send trained military men at the request of Qing China to help them fight in Manchuria against Russian invaders. His economic policies were a little more effective and the population increased sharply.

The increase in the national population from 2,290,000 in 1657 to 5,018,000 in 1669 was remarkable. The Hanyang population grew from 80,572 to 194,030 in the same period. The national population increase was largely due to the enforcement of tax reforms and the improvement in agromanagerial and agricultural techniques. The increase in the capital city population can be attributed to the influx of merchants dealing in goods not subject to the tribute-tax.

After the Daedongbeop was implemented in most parts of the country the governmental need for local products in kind was met by merchants who became purchase agents for that purpose. Acquiring the privilege of monopoly, they set the pattern for the guilds which spread nationwide. The decline of government-operated workshops and manufacturing stimulated artisans and technicians to create private workshops and to go into business as dealers in their own products, often forming into guilds.

In the provincial towns, markets opened every five days, serving as channels between producers and Hanyang merchants. The licensed dealers of local products in Hanyang gradually accumulated capital with their lucrative and guaranteed transactions.

Thus a new notion of wealth came into being: that of mercantile wealth, measured no longer by the size of land and the number of bondsmen but the value of commodities trade. Commercial capital grew as trade flourished and currency circulated.



Rise of a Reformist School

With the death of King Hyojong, the yangban no longer paid the universal military service tax, and were once again virtually exempted from military service. A critical attitude developed among the out-of-power yangban. Yun Hyu and Bak Se-dang were among the prominent scholars who attacked the idolized system of Chu Hsi. Conservative yangban branded Yun and Bak as heretics, but the time was ripe for the rise of a new school of thought critical of the traditional order.

To the new generation of scholars, the living conditions of the people meant more than the problems of legitimacy and ritual so dear to the literati of the Neo-Confucian bureaucracy. "No nation can survive without the well-being of the peasant, whereas the people can flourish even without a monarch." Such was the modern thinking that underlay the reformist school's pragmatic studies.

Yu Hyeong-won in his Ban-gyesurok (Essays on Social Reform) suggested the following measures: the establishment of a land system under which benefits could be shared equitably by all; the institution of the recommendation system which would replace civil service examinations; the establishment of equal opportunities for all men; the reform of government organization; and the adoption of new learning. His proposals found no official acceptance, but his reformist school of thought became the mainstream of pragmatic studies. Emphasis was given to agriculture, since the success of the suggested reforms depended upon the solution of agricultural problems. The need for pragmatic studies was keenly felt by scholars who were removed from the bureaucracy. The latter, on the other hand, were preoccupied with internal power struggles, and factions clashed over differing interpretations of Neo-Confucian rites.

During the latter half of the 17th century, the struggle for power among the factions became fierce and more factions split off, among which the Noron faction, or the elder group, and the Soron, the younger group, were prominent. Such factional strife had nothing to do with the life of the peasant or national interests. The majority of the younger group began to show concern over the well-being of the peasants, whose condition was closer to their own, since many of the yangban engaged in farming could not even afford to hold bondsmen.

It was in this process of socioeconomic change that the reformist school went with the demands of society. Mercantile activities continued to grow with the development of government-licensed supplier guilds on a nationwide scale and their transactions accounted for 60 percent of the total government revenue. Government revenues were constantly growing during this period, and some wealthy farmers elevated their status to that of the yangban. The population growth kept pace as well, increasing by almost two million in the 48 years from 1669 to 1717.



King Yeongjo's Reforms

Realizing detrimental effects, on state administration, of factional strife during the latter half of the 17th century in Joseon Dynasty, King Yeongjo (r.1724-1776) attempted to end factional strife as soon as he ascended the throne. To reinstate the short-lived universal military service tax, he even came out of the palace gate and solicited the opinions of officials, literati, soldiers and peasants. He reduced the military service tax by half, and ordered the deficiency supplemented by taxes on fisheries, salt, vessels and an additional land tax. King Yeongjo also revamped the financial system of state revenues and expenses by adopting an accounting system. His realistic policies allowed the payment of taxes in grain in the remote Gyeongsang-do province to nearby ports, and payment in cotton or cash for grain in mountainous areas. The circulation of currency was encouraged by increased coin casting.

His concern for the improvement of peasant life was manifest in his eagerness to educate the people by distributing important books in Korean script, including books on agriculture.

The pluviometer was manufactured in quantity and distributed to local offices, and extensive public works were undertaken. King Yeongjo upgraded the status of the offspring of commoners, opening another avenue for upward social mobility. His policies were intended to reassert the Confucian monarchy and humanistic rule, but they could not stem the tide of social change.

Mercantile activities increased in volume at a rapid rate in the 18th century. There was an accumulation of capital through monopoly and wholesaling that expanded through guild organization. Many merchants were concentrated in Hanyang. The traditional divisions of government-chartered shops, the licensed tribute-goods supplier, and the small shopkeepers in the alleys and streets, were integrated into the fabric of a monopoly and wholesale system. Temporary shops originally set up on special occasions, such as civil service examinations, royal processions and other national events, remained open to supply the general populace with groceries and sundry items. Operated by poor shopkeepers in temporary huts, they were for the most part dependent on the wholesale merchants. As a result, the wholesale merchant's price policies had direct impact on the life of the citizens of Hanyang.

The artisans often became self-employed producers. Some even changed to factory owners and obtained charters of monopoly for the sale of their products. In some cases, it proved more lucrative simply to be a wholesale dealer in certain commodities than to engage in the production of goods. It became fashionable among merchants and artisans to obtain charters by creating a new commodity through minor refinement of goods already chartered. The charter ensured monopoly and the protection of the government.

The so-called estuary merchants monopolized commodities from the provinces of Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheong-do, and other wholesale merchants had nationwide networks for the sale of ginseng or insam in Korean. The merchants of Gaeseong or Songdo competed vigorously with their Hanyang counterparts in wholesale activities, conducting triangular international trade between Japan and China; they traded ginseng and other Korean products for Japanese silver and Chinese books and silk. They even accompanied the envoy missions to China and went into the business of buying up paper for trade to China from the original producers in Buddhist temples, horse hair for hats from the remote southern Jejudo island, and otter fur from hunters on the east coast.

The constant movement of trading ships between and among these remote ports is described in Yi Jung-hwan's Taengniji (Ecological Guide to Korea) and is depicted in Yi In-mun's painting, the Inexhaustible Rivers and Mountains.

The monopoly and wholesale activities created a larger demand for silver and copper, which in turn helped develop the mining industry. Under strict control of the government in prewar times, mines were turned over to private operators. In the 17th century, 68 silver mines were in operation but copper mining was not well developed, as copper was supplied by Japan. In the 18th century, however, copper mines were also developed when the Japanese stopped exporting copper and Qing's demand grew.

The constant rise in price of commodities would have threatened the livelihood of the populace of Hanyang had they not been involved one way or another in mercantile activities. Regardless of status, many yangban and commoners engaged in some kind of merchant activity.

Thus Hanyang made great strides as a commercial and industrial city in the 18th century. The popular demand for handicraft goods such as knives, horsehair hats, dining tables and brassware was ever increasing. Restrictions on the wearing of the horsehair hat, originally a symbol of yangban status, virtually disappeared.

The increase in the number of yangban had been the root cause of their impoverishment, as their land-holdings had to be divided equally among the sons at the least, and often among daughters as well, whether married or not. The yangban of declining fortunes had the choice of either engaging in agriculture as an owner-cultivator, or in lucrative enterprises indirectly. Money-lending was another field they entered as trade and currency circulation expanded.

The traditional Confucian notion that commerce and industry were marginal occupations, unworthy of pursuit by the yangban, also changed, and the necessity for hands-on learning was encouraged by officials returning from China. Bak Ji-won, Bak Je-ga and others who had traveled to Qing with the Joseon's envoy missions witnessed the rapid development of commerce and manufacturing industry there. Back in Hanyang, they proposed positive policies for the development of commerce, metallurgy, fishing, livestock farming, horticulture and mining.

Even pirating of books became commercialized, as competition developed among well-to-do yangban in the publication of collected literary works of renowned ancestors. This led to the printing of popular fiction and poetry. The people especially appreciated satire and social criticism. The Chunhyangjeon (Tale of Chunhyang), about the fidelity of an entertainer's (gisaeng) daughter, was widely read as a satire aimed to expose the greed and snobbery of government officials.



Development of Agriculture

The development of trade and manufacturing stimulated agricultural diversity. Commercial farming of ginseng, hemp, tobacco and medicinal herbs was practiced in various parts of the country. Improved agricultural techniques increased yields. For example, transplantation of rice, which had been common only in the fields of Jeolla-do, Gyeongsang-do and Gangwon-do provinces, now spread northward to the provinces of Chungcheong-do, Gyeonggi-do and Hwanghae-do. This technique not only yielded more rice, but allowed for the harvesting of two crops a year, barley and rice.

The improved labor productivity gave peasants the incentive to revolutionize agromanagerial procedures, since it was possible for them to rise to wealth through managerial expansion. The wealthy yangban and peasants gradually enlarged their farm lands by renting other land. This drove the poor peasants elsewhere for employment in cities, mining and manufacturing. But some became mountain recluses, living on patches of farm land created by burning woods.

The land-tax burden was shifted to the tenant farmers. As in other decaying societies, this sort of socioeconomic change drove the poor peasant further into poverty. The well-to-do farmers, on the other hand, were able to purchase yangban titles which increased their prestige and power in the local community.

Rules were set for sale of titles, and there was a gradual rise in such sales as the government faced a shortage of revenue. Bondsmen were emancipated and often became owners of land and other bondsmen. The increase of yangban from the 1690s to the 1850s was extraordinary. In these years, the number in some sectors increased from 9.2 to 70.2 percent of the population, whereas the commoners, mostly peasants, decreased from 53.7 to 28.2 percent, and bondsmen from 37.1 to 1.5 percent. This upward social mobility was a result of the exploitation of newly created wealth by a chronically deficit-ridden government. The forging and purchase of genealogies conferring social recognition on members of the non-yangban class was prevalent in the 18th century.

There was, however, another side to the picture. Some yangban actually descended to the status of commoner, and began to intermarry with peasants and other lower classes. Government offices, unable to afford the support of bondsmen, gradually freed them in return for tribute or a lump-sum tax payment. The number of bondsmen serving government offices decreased from 190,000 in the 17th century to 27,000 in the mid-18th century. Bondsmen privately owned by yangban numbered 400,000 in 1623, but decreased sharply in the course of social change, and many of the yangban could not afford to hold even a single bondsman. Under such conditions some private bondsmen became part-tenant and part-free cultivators. Finally, in 1801, all bondsmen registers of government offices and palaces were destroyed by the government to assure their emancipation.



Pragmatic Studies

The pragmatists' desire to learn about Qing China in the late Joseon period was propelled by their belief that the nation needed a dramatic improvement of its economy. Many scholars thus attempted to seek the solution to social problems by administrative reforms in land distribution and agricultural improvement, emphasizing limitation of landholding and application of egalitarian principles in land tenure. Yi Ik proposed the creation of an open society by abolishing class distinctions and emancipating all bondsmen. Bak Ji-won wrote stories ridiculing the idle, unproductive and pretentious way of life of the yangban. For the social advancement of Joseon, he advocated the improvement of agricultural equipment, irrigation systems and new cultivation techniques. There were scholars such as Bak Je-ga, Yi Deok-mu and Hong Dae-yong who recommended that Joseon import Western techniques and participate in international trade along with Qing China. They were the vanguard of a movement that was destined to destroy the traditional yangban attitude toward technology and commerce.

Ancient Map: Donggukpaldo (Eight Provinces of the Eastern Country).

Daedongyeojido, circa 1861.

Even while absorbing Western culture and techniques by way of China, concern for Korea's identity revived as Koreans began to study their own history, geography, language and epigraphy. Painters departed from traditional Chinese painting styles and painted the scenery and life of Joseon. An Jeong-bok asserted an independent Korean line in Korea's historiography by emphasizing Dan-gun and Gija as the first legitimate rulers. An's contribution to the historiography of Korea was his emphasis on the role of the people in expelling foreign invaders and maintaining national independence. He reprimanded the ruling classes for having mainly concerned themselves with how best to exploit the people.

His book Dongsagangmok (An Annotated Account of Korean History) made a lasting impression on such modern historians as Bak Eun-sik and Sin Chae-ho. Han Chi-yun paid great attention to the kingdoms of Goguryeo and Balhae, viewing the latter as an integral part of Korean history. In the same vein, Yu Deuk-gong, another historian, wrote a monograph on Balhae (Balhaego).

Historical geography kept pace with other branches of historical study, and wood block cartography developed. Jeong Sang-gi's ingenious scaling device stimulated Korean cartography. Kim Jeong-ho created a scale map of modern cartographic precision on the basis of his extensive travels throughout the peninsula.

Compilation of books increased in the 18th century. Donggukmunheonbigo (Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea) was supplemented; Daejeontong-pyeon (Comprehensive National Code) and the Compendium of Korean Music were compiled, as were diplomatic archives. King Jeongjo (r.1776-1800), himself a scholar, employed young scholars of mixed origin in his newly established Inner Royal Library for such projects.

For the economical publication of fine editions, movable metal types were cast, and the carving of wooden type continued. The printing of fiction developed into a business enterprise in the late 18th and 19th centuries.

Korean typographical enterprise gave stimulus to developments in Qing China. The famous Chinese encyclopedia Kuchin Tushu Chich'eng was printed for the first time with movable copper type in 1772. Ssuk'u Ch'uanshu, the great Chinese bibliography, was also printed with wooden type when a Korean immigrant, Chin Chien, suggested this economical method to the Ch'ien-lung Emperor of Qing.



Emergence of Modern Culture

The most significant change in this period was the rise of a critical spirit and a new philosophical thinking, which made deep inroads into the traditional Confucian outlook. The rise of popular novels and mass participation in cultural activities signaled the decline of traditional society.

In his popular novel, The Honggildongjeon, Heo Gyun (1569-1618) advocated popular revolt against misrule. His hero, Hong Gil-dong, like the virtuous outlaw Im Kkeok-jeong, was enraged by governmental corruption and rose up against it. Heo Gyun realized that, if provoked, the lower classes, together with the peasant class, could become a powerful tool in the struggle for social justice.

Like the Renaissance philosophers, he made a bold departure from traditional norms and values, basing his morality on the true nature of man. It was Heo Gyun's conviction, eloquently expressed in his pioneering egalitarian novel, that every man was endowed with particular talents to survive, and ought not to be exploited by others. He found the class-divided, traditional society abominable.

In the Chunhyangjeon, an unknown author exposed corrupt magistrates and the decaying yangban ethos. Giving a happy ending to a tale of interclass love, he held out the promise of a brighter society characterized by equality and justice. This popular novel was also enjoyed by common people in quasi-operatic style.

Jibong Yi Su-gwang (1563-1628), probably the earliest Korean thinker to have contact with Catholic and European culture, stressed the idea that knowledge is of no value unless it results in action, just as enforcement is an essential part of the law. His Jibongyuseol (Topical Discourses of Jibong) published in 1614, is an encyclopedic effort similar in inspiration to the work of French encyclopedists. It greatly expanded the knowledge available to Koreans about Europe and Southeast Asia, and explained the nature of Catholicism for the first time.

Bak Ji-won (1737-1805), a thinker comparable to Heo Gyun, declared that Heaven bestows unique talents on all men. His Tale of the Yangban describes a yangban who had done nothing but read while subsisting on government support. To reimburse the government, the yangban sold his status to a merchant, but the latter discarded it when he realized that the essence of yangban life was idleness, corruption and hypocrisy. The discrediting of the traditional yangban values left a void that was keenly felt, and pragmatic philosophy developed to fill the gap.

Hong Dae-yong (1731-1783), in his scientific quest, declared that "nothing is substantial without a sincere mind." He saw in natural science the essence of all spiritual activities, and refuted the traditional Confucian concept that science and technology were marginal branches of knowledge. The earth's rotation, the cause of eclipses and the nature of the rainbow were included among his scientifically valid findings, and his work in mathematics was no less noteworthy. He rated Western science and technology superior to anything Tang or Song civilization could offer, and advocated the pursuit of such learning for the advancement of society.

Remarkable scientific achievements were also made by Jeong Yak-yong (Dasan, 1762-1836), who also was known for his deep concern for the peasants and people. His construction plan for the Hwaseong Fortress as Korea's emergency capital included the use of his own applications: cranes, windlasses, pulleys and specially designed vehicles. Yi Gyu-gyeong, another revolutionary thinker, also compiled works on various branches of natural science. His collected work on astronomical and meteorological development in Korea was published in 1818.



Welfare Programs

The ideal of a Confucian welfare state during the Joseon Dynasty was conceived and implemented by King Sejong in the 15th century, but it was Yi Su-gwang who elaborated on the philosophy of welfare in the period following the Hideyoshi invasions in the late 16th century. He expounded the idea that the Way of Heaven was to be found among the people, and its noblest realization was to feed and clothe the people properly.

Bak Se-dang said he would go to the country and engage in manual labor, since Confucius endured labors more onerous than farming. Since such men espoused egalitarian principles, their concerns were more and more centered upon public welfare programs.

Yi Ik stated that learning or knowledge should not be sought unless it was of benefit to the daily life of the people in general. His sharp analysis of the causes of factionalism stemmed from a deep-seated concern for the welfare of the people.

Kim Yuk, who is known for his implementation of the Daedongbeop, recommended logistic improvement with the increased use of wheeled vehicles and ships. Hong Dae-yong and Bak Ji-won also saw increased vehicular traffic as promising great advantage for the national economy. Bak made a far-sighted statement: "The ruler will be blamed by future generations for not having learned from pragmatic studies."

Jeong Yak-yong was outstanding among scholars who analyzed the evils of society and made positive proposals for reform. He advocated a system of land distribution based on egalitarian principles, and the placement of people in professions in accordance with their abilities.

Exploitation continued, however, and distressed people sought salvation. Catholi-cism met the needs of many, since its tenets accorded with the new egalitarian principles in addition to stressing salvation. Some scholars were converted to Catholicism, and others benefitted from the scientific learning that accompanied the Western religion. The number of Catholics in Korea gradually increased.

Since Catholicism was opposed both to Confucian ancestral rituals and to rigid social stratification, Catholics were termed criminals by the state. Many Catholics, including prominent scholars such as Jeong Yak-yong and his brothers, were punished or even executed.

Catholicism prospered secretly nonetheless, especially among artisans such as pottery makers. The negation of traditional values in a quest for salvation was anathema to the Confucian-oriented yangban officials, and they resorted to various means of suppressing the alien faith. It was evident that the men in power were far behind the people in their social and intellectual consciousness.

For the welfare of the people, medical jurisprudence was emphasized in order to ensure the fair practice of medicine. Other significant studies related to the welfare of the people included work on therapeutic practices based on the physical features of mankind. Yi Je-ma (1838-1900) classified men into four different physical types and developed different therapeutic treatment for each.

Equality, human dignity, opportunity, public welfare, and the advancement of the national economy were conspicuous principles in the philosophy that emerged in this period. This development of the 17th-18th centuries is in some respects reminiscent of the Renaissance period of Western Europe.

In the literary world, love stories were popular and sold well. Since books printed from metal type were far too costly for commoners, popular demand was met by the use of the cheaper clay-carved plates, in addition to wood-type printing. Anthologies of sijo poems by two intermediary class men were noteworthy. Kim Cheon-taek assembled 580 poems, from the Goryeo period on, in his Cheonggu-yeongeon (Enduring Poetry of Korea), and Kim Su-jang (b.1690) compiled a similar anthology entitled Haedonggayo (Songs of Korea). Jeong Cheol (Songgang, 1534-1593) and Yun Seon-do (Gosan, 1587-1671) were talented yangban poets whose individual anthologies were also published.

Korea-centered painting also came into vogue. Jeong Seon (Gyeomjae, 1676-1759), unlike his predecessors, depicted the landscape of Korea, while Kim Hong-do (Danwon, b.1740) and Sin Yun-bok (Hyewon b.1758) concentrated on themes of the daily life of the masses. White porcelain with underglaze blue line-drawings was produced in quantity to meet public demand. Modern intellectual life dawned in all sectors of 18th century Korea.



Reform Attempts

In the early 19th century, the Korean economy and social conditions improved. The people in general thought that foreign ideas and European commercial enterprise in particular should be taken seriously. Some officials advocated a thorough reform of national finance. The central government examined the proposal, but its implementation was thwarted by a struggle for power. There were numerous agrarian revolts which gradually led to political upheaval.

The powerful yangban officials, through their marriage ties with the royal family, were able to ensure for themselves a firm grasp on political power; every important national policy formulated in the early 19th century was implemented in line with their interests alone. They were divided into numerous contending cliques, and paid little attention to the general welfare of the people. Such was Korea's internal situation when, at the end of the 18th century, the British, in their quest for Asian markets, made their first probings into Korean waters. In the 1840s, Russian and French vessels made their first appearances, causing great excitement among the people.

The government carried out persecutions of Catholics in 1801 and 1839. This tended to disperse the converts to outlying districts, where Catholicism spread among impoverished farmers and yangban who were drawn more to the idea of religious salvation.

In 1863, Yi Ha-eung, better known as the Daewon-gun or Prince Regent, put into effect a series of sweeping reforms encompassing national finance and government administration in order to strengthen the royal authority. He strongly opposed the increasing infiltration of foreign commercial interests into the country. In the spring of 1866, the government ordered the rigorous persecution of Catholics. In response to this measure, the French fleet sailed up the Han-gang river and hostilities broke out on Ganghwado island.

Economic and social developments drove the majority of yangban to bankruptcy, while the peasants and merchants were eager to throw off their traditional social constraints. As these trends developed, the government devised measures to suppress them. Another impetus to social dynamism was the increase in the offspring of the yangban and women of lower origin.

Although the emancipation of bondsmen resulted in an increase in the number of taxable people, the exploitation of farmers by the ruling class caused the state's tax revenues to decline.



Peasant Wars of 1812 and 1862

During this period, drought and flood alternately struck the country, causing a succession of bad harvests, which in turn generated a grim cycle of famine. Excessive tax collection and forced labor ensued. These adverse natural and social conditions ignited a series of agrarian revolts. In 1812, Hong Gyeong-rae rose up in revolt with the peasants at Gasan, in the northern part of Korea, and controlled that district for some months. Frightened government officials dispatched the army, and only after waging an intense campaign were they able to suppress the revolt. In the south, all the way to Jejudo island, as well as in the north, peasants persevered in their struggle against oppression at the hands of the government, the local nobility and wealthy landlords.

Half a century after Hong Gyeong-rae's revolt, the situation had not improved. A group of farmers in Jinju, Gyeongsang-do province, rebelled against their oppressive overlords, the provincial officials and the wealthy landowners. This uprising of 1862 is directly attributed to the exploitation of destitute farmers by Baek Nak-sin, a newly appointed military commander who had jurisdiction over the western half of Gyeongsang-do province.

Yu Gye-chun, an intellectual native to the district who was outraged by Baek Nak-sin's rapacious conduct, led the farmers to riot, denouncing corrupt minor officials and wealthy landlords. The rebels killed local government functionaries, set fire to government buildings, and wrought considerable destruction. The startled Hanyang government hurriedly sent an investigator to the scene. On the basis of its findings of fraudulent practices by the local officials concerned, the government hastily revised the land, military and grain lending systems in an effort to eliminate such abuses. From the outset, however, it was unrealistic to expect the ruling class in the central government, which was itself deeply involved in such fraud, to make radical changes. But at least a superficial attempt at reform was made.

The agrarian revolt in Jinju served as a signal for similar uprisings elsewhere. In Gyeongsang-do, Jeolla-do and Chung-cheong-do provinces, on faraway Jejudo island and in Hamgyeong-do and Pyeong-an-do provinces in the north, groups of farmers rose up, attacking offices in principal towns and routing officials.

Under such circumstances, Choe Je-u (1824-1864) formulated the ideology of Donghak (Eastern Learning) in order to rescue farmers from grinding poverty and unrest, and to restore political and social stability. His ideas rapidly gained acceptance, and he set his doctrines to music so that farmers would understand and accept them more readily. His teachings were systematized and compiled as a message of salvation to farmers in distress. The songs he wrote were a mixture of traditional elements from Confucianism, Buddhism and Seon-gyo (teachings of Silla's Hwarang), and to these he added modern humanistic ideas.