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South Korea Political and Social Institutions
Despite the fact that Korea would undergo numerous reforms,
palace coups, and two dynastic changes after the Silla period,
many of the political and social systems and practices instituted
during the Silla Dynasty persisted until the nineteenth century.
Their Chinese inspiration, of course, had much to do with the
durability of these systems. One lasting principle was that of
centralized rule. From the time of the Koguryo, Paekche, and
Silla states of the Three Kingdoms period, royal houses always
governed their domains directly, without granting autonomous
powers to local administrators. The effectiveness of the central
government varied from dynasty to dynasty and from period to
period, but the principle of centralization--involving a system
of provinces, districts, towns, and villages--was never modified.
Another feature that endured for centuries was the existence
of a stratified social system characterized by a clear
distinction between the rulers and the ruled. Under the Silla
Dynasty, society was rigidly organized into a hereditary caste
system. The Koryo Dynasty, which succeeded Silla, instituted a
system of social classes according to which the rest of the
population was subordinate to an elite composed of
scholar-officials. By passing the higher civil service
examination and becoming a government official a commoner could
become a member of the elite, but since examinations presupposed
both the time and wealth for education, upward mobility was not
the rule. This system continued during the Choson Dynasty. The
strength of the aristocratic tradition may have been one factor
contributing to the relative weakness of the Korean monarchy, in
which the king usually presided over a council of senior
officials as primus inter pares, rather than governing as
absolute ruler.
During the Choson Dynasty, family and lineage groups came to
occupy tremendous importance. Because one's social and political
status in society was largely determined by birth and lineage, it
was only natural that a great deal of emphasis was placed on
family. Each family maintained a genealogical table with
meticulous care. Only male offspring could prolong the family and
clan lines and theirs were the only names registered in the
genealogical tables; therefore, the birth of a son was regarded
as an occasion of great joy. The Confucian stress on the family
reinforced the importance Koreans attached to the family.
The Confucian principle of
Five Relationships (see Glossary)
governing social behavior became the norm of Korean society.
Righteousness toward the sovereign, filial piety, deference to
older and superior persons, and benevolence to the younger and
inferior became inviolable rules of conduct. Transgressors of
these rules were regarded as uncultured beings unfit to be
members of society. Whether in the family or society at large,
people in positions of authority or occupying superior status
commanded respect.
Still another enduring feature of traditional society under
the Choson Dynasty was the dominance of the yangban class.
The yangban not only held power but also controlled the
national wealth in the form of land. The court permitted the
yangban to collect revenues on the land as remuneration
for their services. Because much commercial activity was related
to tributary missions to China or to government procurements, the
wealth of the merchants often was dependent upon the discretion
of the yangban.
Finally, because under the Choson Dynasty one could enter
into the scholar-official elite by passing examinations based on
Confucian writings and penmanship, the entire society stressed
classical education. The arts of war were accorded a lesser
status, even though the founders of both the Koryo and Choson
dynasties were generals and despite the fact that the country had
suffered from numerous foreign invasions.
Data as of June 1990
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