Yangban
Encyclopedia
The yangban were part of the traditional ruling class or nobles of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty
. The yangban were either landed or unlanded aristocracy who comprised the Korean Confucian
idea of a "scholarly official." In reality, they were basically administrators and bureaucrats who oversaw ancient Korea's traditional agrarian bureaucracy until the Joseon Dynasty
ended in 1894. Also included in the yangban, especially in the later Joseon dynasty, are the immediate family members and descendents of the office holders.
(과거, 科擧) and their immediate family members. Upon passing such exams several times, which tested one's knowledge of the Confucian classics and history, a person was usually assigned to a government post. The yangban family that did not succeed to produce a government official for more than three generations could lose its yangban status and become a commoner.
However, yangban status was de facto hereditary for it was the norm to include all descendents of the office holders in the hyangan (향안, 鄕案), papers which documented the names and lineages of yangban in the locality, unless they had lower matrilineal relations or married into one. Those listed in the hyangan were socially recognized as yangban and had the right to participate in the hyangso (향소, 鄕所), from which they could officially influence local politics and administration. Therefore the yangban status could be passed down perpetually with or without having to do with the central bureaucracy or gwageo. In conclusion yangban had dual features: legally it denoted government officials and their immediate family members; conventionally it included all descendents of yangban of the former sense unless there had been the mixture of "tainted" blood.
In theory any member of any social class except indentured servants, baekjeong
s, and children of concubines could take the exams and become a yangban with appointment to a government post. In reality, only the upper classes, i.e., the children of yangban, possessed the financial resources and the wherewithal to pass the exams as years of studying were required to support successful candidates. These barriers and financial constraints effectively excluded most non-yangban families and the lower classes from competing for yangban status. A tiny group of highly regulated mid-level functionaries existed in dynastic Korea called the Chungin
. The Chungin were essentially petite bourgeoisie
, whose appointment as lower-level functionaries, skilled tradesmen and clerks entitled them to better treatment and a higher status than servants, but ultimately destined them to a life of servitude to the yangban. Legions of scribes, poets, musicians, artists, dancers, singers, cooks, etc. were drawn from this class as well as the yangban. Class solidarity was maintained through generations of intermarriage, which enabled the formation of distinctive social classes that existed throughout Korean pre-modern history.
Throughout Joseon history, the monarchy and the yangban existed on the slave labor of the lower classes—particularly the sangmin
-- whose bondage to the land as indentured servants enabled the upper classes to enjoy a perpetual life of leisure, i.e., the life of a "scholarly" gentleman. These practices, in toto, effectively ended in 1894 during the Korean empire
of Gwangmu Reform. In modern Korea today, the yangban or sajok legacy of patronage based on common educational experiences, teachers, family backgrounds and hometowns, continues in some forms, both officially and unofficially. While the practice exists in the South among Korea's upper class and power elite, where patronage among the conglomerates tends to predictably follow blood, school and hometown ties, in the North, a de facto yangban class exists that is based mostly on military and party alliances.
dynasty, but only gained wider usage during the Joseon
dynasty. From sixteenth century onward yangban came to include family members and descendents of the government officials, thus begetting a semantic change of the word from simply designating certain branches of officials to a ruling class or order of society. As more and more part of the population aspired to become yangban and gradually succeeded in doing so during the late Joseon period the privileges and splendor the term had inspired slowly vanished and it even gained a diminunitive connotation.
equivalent of the former Goryeo
nobles who had been educated in both Buddhist and Confucian studies. With the succession of the Yi generals within the Joseon dynasty, prior feuds and factions were quelled through a decisive attempt to instill administrative organization throughout Korea, and create a new class of agrarian bureaucrats. The individual yangban included members of this new class of bureaucrats and former Goryeo nobility.
While ostensibly open to all, the "civil service exams" ("과거") catered to the lifestyle and habits of the yangban, which created a semi-hereditary meritocracy, as yangban families overwhelmingly possessed the minimum education, uninterrupted study time and immense financial resources to pass such exams. The yangban, like the Mandarins before them, dominated the Royal Court and military of pre-Modern Korea and often were exempt from various laws including those relating to taxes.
Sadly, the fact that there were at most only 100 positions open with thousands of candidates taking the exams, competition which was originally supposed to bring out the best in each candidate gave way to the importance of familial relationships. Luckily because the Joseon Court was constantly divided between the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western faction members,--the eccentric geographical naming derived from the location of each leader's house in Seoul—which they themselves were divided into subsections, resulted in a weird divided system of where corruption was very difficult. With each faction constantly probing for an excuse to kill off the other faction, if one faction was proven to be corrupt then the other factions would immediately jump on the chance to purge them. The attempt to receive or give bribes on a massive scale was suicide. It wasn't until the reign of King Sunjo that the Kim clan of Andong in cooperation with few other blood related clans finally obtained full control over the court after purging not only their rival factions but other rival clans within their own political faction that the Joseon bureaucracy degenerated into corruption.
The yangban was dispersed when South Korea began its new government after the Korean War. However President Singman Rhee "rehired" the yangban to hold positions in the new government. He made this decision to bring them back in order to start the government off on a good footing, by using those who were already familiar with lawmaking and such.
In modern-day Korea, the yangban, as a social class with legal status, no longer exists, in the north or the south. Nevertheless, those who are well-connected in Korean society are sometimes said to have "yangban" connections, and though these claims may have some merit, such references are not usually intended to suggest any real yangban lineage or ancestry (though given the fact that many descendants of those in the yangban class live today, and that the changing fortunes of those in that class rendered so many individuals of "former" yangban status, it is not a stretch to assume that many, if not most, Koreans today have at least some connection to the yangban class, if not any direct descent; in addition, the acquisition/outright theft of clan lineage records or jokbo
during tumultuous times in Korea's history has thrown some doubt on to the veracity of some claims of yangban descent). Today, the yangban have been replaced by the Korean ruling class
, i.e., an elite class of business and governmental elites, who dominate the country through their wealth, power and influence channeled through their familial and social networks (this applies to both North and South Korea, though the North's elite class is largely military-based). The word itself is also used, at least in South Korea, as a common reference (sometimes with distinctly negative connotations, reflecting the negative impression the class system and its unintentional but nonetheless heinous abuses left on Koreans as a whole) to an older, sometimes cantankerous/stubborn man.
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
. The yangban were either landed or unlanded aristocracy who comprised the Korean Confucian
Korean Confucianism
Korean Confucianism is the form of Confucianism developed in Korea. One of the most substantial influences in Korean intellectual history was the introduction of Confucian thought as part of the cultural influence from China...
idea of a "scholarly official." In reality, they were basically administrators and bureaucrats who oversaw ancient Korea's traditional agrarian bureaucracy until the Joseon Dynasty
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
ended in 1894. Also included in the yangban, especially in the later Joseon dynasty, are the immediate family members and descendents of the office holders.
Overview
Unlike the European and Japanese aristocracy where noble titles were conferred on a hereditary basis, the yangban title was de jure conferred to those individuals who passed state-sponsored civil service exams called gwageoGwageo
The gwageo were the national civil service examinations under the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties of Korea. Typically quite demanding, these tests measured candidates' knowledge of the Chinese classics, and sometimes also of technical subjects...
(과거, 科擧) and their immediate family members. Upon passing such exams several times, which tested one's knowledge of the Confucian classics and history, a person was usually assigned to a government post. The yangban family that did not succeed to produce a government official for more than three generations could lose its yangban status and become a commoner.
In theory any member of any social class except indentured servants, baekjeong
Baekjeong
The baekjeong were an “untouchable” outcaste group of Korea, often compared with the burakumin of Japan and the dalits of India and Nepal.-Social history:...
s, and children of concubines could take the exams and become a yangban with appointment to a government post. In reality, only the upper classes, i.e., the children of yangban, possessed the financial resources and the wherewithal to pass the exams as years of studying were required to support successful candidates. These barriers and financial constraints effectively excluded most non-yangban families and the lower classes from competing for yangban status. A tiny group of highly regulated mid-level functionaries existed in dynastic Korea called the Chungin
Chungin
The chungin also jungin, were the petite bourgeoisie of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. The name "chungin" literally means "middle people". This privileged class of commoners consisted of a small group of petty bureaucrats and other skilled workers whose technical and administrative skills enabled the...
. The Chungin were essentially petite bourgeoisie
Petite bourgeoisie
Petit-bourgeois or petty bourgeois is a term that originally referred to the members of the lower middle social classes in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
, whose appointment as lower-level functionaries, skilled tradesmen and clerks entitled them to better treatment and a higher status than servants, but ultimately destined them to a life of servitude to the yangban. Legions of scribes, poets, musicians, artists, dancers, singers, cooks, etc. were drawn from this class as well as the yangban. Class solidarity was maintained through generations of intermarriage, which enabled the formation of distinctive social classes that existed throughout Korean pre-modern history.
Sangmin
The sangmin were the common people of Joseon Korea. About 75% of all Koreans at that time were sangmin. The sangmin consisted of peasants, laborers, fishermen, some craftsmen and merchants. The sangmin were considered "clean workers" but had little social status. Generally they were poor. They...
-- whose bondage to the land as indentured servants enabled the upper classes to enjoy a perpetual life of leisure, i.e., the life of a "scholarly" gentleman. These practices, in toto, effectively ended in 1894 during the Korean empire
Korean Empire
The Greater Korean Empire was an empire of Korea that succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries...
of Gwangmu Reform. In modern Korea today, the yangban or sajok legacy of patronage based on common educational experiences, teachers, family backgrounds and hometowns, continues in some forms, both officially and unofficially. While the practice exists in the South among Korea's upper class and power elite, where patronage among the conglomerates tends to predictably follow blood, school and hometown ties, in the North, a de facto yangban class exists that is based mostly on military and party alliances.
Etymology
Yangban literally means "two branches" of administration; one is the munban (문반, 文班) which comprises of civil administrators, and the other is muban (무반, 武班) that comprises of martial office holders. The term yangban first appeared sometime during the late GoryeoGoryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
dynasty, but only gained wider usage during the Joseon
Joseon
Joseon, Chosŏn, Choseon or Chosun are English spellings of the Korean *word for "Korea". It may refer to:*Korea*Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, from 2333 BC to 108 BC.*Joseon Dynasty of Korea, from AD 1392 to 1910....
dynasty. From sixteenth century onward yangban came to include family members and descendents of the government officials, thus begetting a semantic change of the word from simply designating certain branches of officials to a ruling class or order of society. As more and more part of the population aspired to become yangban and gradually succeeded in doing so during the late Joseon period the privileges and splendor the term had inspired slowly vanished and it even gained a diminunitive connotation.
History
Yangban were the Joseon DynastyJoseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
equivalent of the former Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
nobles who had been educated in both Buddhist and Confucian studies. With the succession of the Yi generals within the Joseon dynasty, prior feuds and factions were quelled through a decisive attempt to instill administrative organization throughout Korea, and create a new class of agrarian bureaucrats. The individual yangban included members of this new class of bureaucrats and former Goryeo nobility.
While ostensibly open to all, the "civil service exams" ("과거") catered to the lifestyle and habits of the yangban, which created a semi-hereditary meritocracy, as yangban families overwhelmingly possessed the minimum education, uninterrupted study time and immense financial resources to pass such exams. The yangban, like the Mandarins before them, dominated the Royal Court and military of pre-Modern Korea and often were exempt from various laws including those relating to taxes.
The yangban was dispersed when South Korea began its new government after the Korean War. However President Singman Rhee "rehired" the yangban to hold positions in the new government. He made this decision to bring them back in order to start the government off on a good footing, by using those who were already familiar with lawmaking and such.
In modern-day Korea, the yangban, as a social class with legal status, no longer exists, in the north or the south. Nevertheless, those who are well-connected in Korean society are sometimes said to have "yangban" connections, and though these claims may have some merit, such references are not usually intended to suggest any real yangban lineage or ancestry (though given the fact that many descendants of those in the yangban class live today, and that the changing fortunes of those in that class rendered so many individuals of "former" yangban status, it is not a stretch to assume that many, if not most, Koreans today have at least some connection to the yangban class, if not any direct descent; in addition, the acquisition/outright theft of clan lineage records or jokbo
Jokbo
The jokbo or chokbo is a Korean genealogical record equivalent to the family tree. Each family has one jokbo which has been passed down through numerous generations, though copies are often printed and distributed among family members as necessary...
during tumultuous times in Korea's history has thrown some doubt on to the veracity of some claims of yangban descent). Today, the yangban have been replaced by the Korean ruling class
Korean ruling class
The Korean ruling class, or Korean power elite, represent those Koreans, who as a result of their upbringing, access to elite educational institutions—particularly overseas studies—as well as extensive family resources, especially access to chaebol wealth and influential social connections, are...
, i.e., an elite class of business and governmental elites, who dominate the country through their wealth, power and influence channeled through their familial and social networks (this applies to both North and South Korea, though the North's elite class is largely military-based). The word itself is also used, at least in South Korea, as a common reference (sometimes with distinctly negative connotations, reflecting the negative impression the class system and its unintentional but nonetheless heinous abuses left on Koreans as a whole) to an older, sometimes cantankerous/stubborn man.
State Council of Joseon
- YeonguijeongYeonguijeongYeonguijeong was a title created in 1400, during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea and given to the Chief State Councillor as the highest government position of "Uijeongbu" . Existing for over 500 years, its function can be compared to that of a present day "Prime Minister of South Korea"...
, Chief State Councillor - JwauijeongJwauijeongJwauijeong was the Second State Councillor of "Uijeongbu" which position was right below to Yeonguijeong during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea...
, Second State Councillor - Uuijeong, Third State Councillor
See also
- CheonminCheonminCheonmin, or "vulgar commoners," were the lowest caste of commoners in dynastical Korea. They abounded during the Goryeo and Joseon periods of Korea's agrarian bureaucracy. Like the caste system in India, this social class was largely hereditary and based on certain professions considered...
- ChunginChunginThe chungin also jungin, were the petite bourgeoisie of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. The name "chungin" literally means "middle people". This privileged class of commoners consisted of a small group of petty bureaucrats and other skilled workers whose technical and administrative skills enabled the...
- Gat (hat)
- History of KoreaHistory of KoreaThe Korean Peninsula was inhabited from the Lower Paleolithic about 400,000-500,000 years ago. Archeological evidence indicates that the presence of modern humans in northeast Asia dates to 39,000 years ago. The earliest known Korean pottery dates to around 8000 BC, and the Neolithic period began...
- Korean ConfucianismKorean ConfucianismKorean Confucianism is the form of Confucianism developed in Korea. One of the most substantial influences in Korean intellectual history was the introduction of Confucian thought as part of the cultural influence from China...
- Korean culture
- Korean ruling classKorean ruling classThe Korean ruling class, or Korean power elite, represent those Koreans, who as a result of their upbringing, access to elite educational institutions—particularly overseas studies—as well as extensive family resources, especially access to chaebol wealth and influential social connections, are...
- SangminSangminThe sangmin were the common people of Joseon Korea. About 75% of all Koreans at that time were sangmin. The sangmin consisted of peasants, laborers, fishermen, some craftsmen and merchants. The sangmin were considered "clean workers" but had little social status. Generally they were poor. They...