고려대학교

초록/요약

The Korean term Daedong, literally meaning uniformity, was widely used in Joseon Dynasty Korea(1392~1910), and the contemporary Koreans are still familiar with the term. The Daedong Law, which is well known as the Uniform Land Tax Law to Western scholars, was one of the most important financial reforms initiated by the central government during the Joseon dynasty. It is not clear, however, in what social situation this term first appeared, and what it meant exactly in Joseon society. Modern scholars only assume that the term might have been originated from Chinese Classics. To better understand the historical and social origins of the term Daedong, we should first examine the situation in which the term was born and used in actuality. The meaning of Daedong should thus be understood in a specific social and historical context of the seventeenth-century Joseon dynasty, rather than that of Chinese Classics. In fact, we should not ignore the sociopolitical situation in which an idea or a word took shape and spread. The word Daedong as a law derived from the way in which the tributary tax(gongnap in Korean) was collected. The meaning of Daedong used in the Daedong Law was thus somewhat different from the general meaning of Daedong. The former was used as a state policy or a system, while the latter as a social idiom. The Daedong Law was already evaluated as a so successful reform by intellectuals of Joseon Dynasty Korea. This positive outcome was possible partly because the legislative procedure of the Daedong Law assimilated the general meaning of Daedong successfully into the legal system of the Joseon dynasty. This also suggests that the desire of the people in lower statuses was reflected relatively well in the reform. In short, the general meaning of Daedong and the outcry of the ruled people for the reform of the tributary tax system were integrated well into the Daedong Law.