Transformation of Farming and Socio-Economic Role of Women in Choson Korea

Preface - here I am as a professional writer who is the representetor of the site, more about which you can read here wanna describe the transformations that were made in Choson society after the invasions of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, focusing on aspects of society and how the changes that came about caused transformation in various areas.

Choson period in the history of Korea is marked by numerous invasions and a significant transformation of the society and economy of the country. Since the Imjin War took place solely on the Korean soil, the country had to deal with the terrible devastation, decay of society, and economic problems. In addition, after Japanese invasions in the late 16th century, Korea was hit again by the invasion of the Manchu people in the early 17th century. The invasions affected farming, one of the pillars of the economic growth of the country. Thus, the primary aim of the Choson dynasty was to restore agriculture and encourage peasants to cultivate new crops and invent new methods of agriculture. In addition, despite the devastating effect of the invasions, the war encouraged Choson scholars and policymakers to pay more attention to the Korean culture. On such background, there was a significant shift in the socio-economic role of women. Women started to participate in farming and agriculture, which were essential for the economy of Choson. Thus, the invasions of the late 16th and early 17th centuries significantly transformed farming, which was a crucial factor of Choson economy, and caused the shift in the Confucian view of a woman, providing her with an important socio-economic role.

After the Imjin War, the primary goal of the government was to restore the prosperity and economy of Choson. With the outbreak of war, peasants lost their confidence in government. Thus, to convince peasants that the government has the best intentions, the Yomin hyusik policy was implemented. The policy was characterized by the minimal governmental intervention into the private sector. In addition, prior to the invasion, the peasants were burdened by the heavy tax system. Thus, to facilitate the burden of taxes after the war, the government of Choson implemented Uniform Land Tax, which eliminated tribute tax system and established tax rate in the amount of one percent from the harvest. It had significant positive effects on peasants and encouraged them to develop farming cultivating new crops.

In addition to the devastating effects of invasion, the farming industry of Choson was affected by the cold age. The low temperatures negatively influenced the amount of harvest and did not allow to cultivate crops, which resulted in the famine and reducing in the number of population of peasants that were engaged in the farming and cultivation. In addition, the Manchu invasion destroyed 70% of farms soil; thus, the land was not suitable for cultivation and weeding. Thus, there was a need to invent new methods of cultivation of crops. In the 17th century, the practice of rice transplantation became widespread in Choson. Such method involved putting the seeds of rice in the seedbeds and moving them to paddy fields. Due to the environmental conditions, rice transplantation technique was beneficial and replaced the direct seeding. The peculiarity of this technique was that transplanted rice was cultivated in the wet fields. Moreover, observing the amount of harvest gathered using wet-field farming, the government encouraged peasants to wet-field cultivation instead of dry-field farming. However, the wet-field cultivation required more labor and forced peasants to work during the whole year. The benefit of rice transplantation technique was that it increased the productivity and relieved peasants from plowing fields in summer. In addition, the technique required less labor in comparison to direct seeding. The widespread of this technique became the basis for the creation of ture, a communal labor organizations, which emphasized the great role of active farming. In result of the implementation of rice transplantation techniques, Choson society was able to fight famine and become economically stronger.

The rice transplantation technique had a positive impact on soil, which greatly transformed farming and led to the invention of practices which helped to restore the fertility of the land. First technique was called gaekto and involved adding the new soil to the fields during winter and spring. The second one was chubi, which included adding the additional fertilizers to soil. The third practice was gibi and involved coating the seeds with fertilizers before putting them into paddy fields. Since the farmers had free time while the seeds were growing in the seedbeds, they were making compost from the grass and fertilizing the fields before sowing rice. Thus, these fertilizing techniques not only helped to restore the fertility of soil, but also made farming more efficient.

The transplanting methods of farming allowed peasants to conduct double-cropping and cultivate specialized crops. Double-cropping allowed to increase crop yields, and peasants were able to exchange the crops for money or other commodities. Such situation positively affected the economic condition of post-invasion Choson since the people and households became richer and did not work just to survive. The farmers of Choson were convinced that their success was based on the implementation of the new techniques of transplantation and fertilization. By the 18th century, the practice of double-cropping became highly popular in Choson. It enabled farmers to harvest barley before planting rice. In addition, double-cropping allowed the cultivation of new specialized crops, which significantly improved the wealth of farmers and the economic condition of Choson. The farmers were planting ginseng, cotton, and tobacco. The remarkable harvest of these crops allowed exporting them to Japan and China. Also, the cloth made of cotton became a form of currency in Choson. Thus, the practice of double-cropping not only transformed the farming process but also significantly improved the economic condition of Choson.

During Japanese and Manchu invasions, the women of Choson were rapped, kidnapped, and humiliated. According to the Confucian values, which comprised the image of a virtuous woman of that time, these women were no longer treated as the worthy ones. Thus, the government realized that there was a need to change the image of a virtuous woman and make it more practical. Thus, numerous didactic works and texts were issued by the Choson government to teach women how to behave in public, run household, and outlined the place of women in the patriarchal society. The work Kyuhap ch'ongso written by Yi PinghOgak outlines the practical advice for women as well as provides instructions how to raise crops and plant seeds. Thus, it is evident that women were expected to conduct a large amount of work in the gardens and farms. Such expectations were implemented to all classes of women including yangban, women of higher social groups. In addition, weaving was treated as a solely female work. Considering the fact that cloth was treated in Choson as a commodity and money, it could be stated that women were active participants in the economic improvement of Choson. Thus, the after-invasion period can be characterized as a significant shift in the treatment of women, which not only transformed their social status, by implementing education and didactic texts but also made women active participants of the economic activities.

The exploration of historic and literary sources, which describe Choson, shows that women were engaged in a wide range of labor activities. In the poem written by Sin Kwangsu, one could find the lines, which describe young women working in the cotton field. Nongga wollyong ka depicts that women were engaged in activities of the seventh lunar month. The presented accounts contain idyllic portrayals of women who were able to visit their natal homes after the end of the harvest. In the later literary accounts of Choson, there are portrayals of the women who plow the land, cut wood, weed soil, etc. These sources signify that the work of women in the farms was exhausting and challenging. On the other hand, it demonstrates that work of men and women was equally difficult and demanding. Thus, taking into account that farming was the pillar of Choson economy, it can be stated that women actively participated in the economic life of the country.

Another fact that proves that women obtained socio-economic values in Choson is their participation in turu, a communal labor organization. Women and men often shared the work of processing the grains and cotton even though, as claimed by Kim T'aekkyu, turus of men and women differ. Moreover, the paintings from Choson period show that men and women were equally involved in farming and cloth industries. Women were forced to work because of the economic decline of their families. Many fallen yangban had to compete with merchants and chung'in, people of middle class who managed to accumulate wealth. In addition, the Choson society of the late 17th century was based on the ideology of pursuing wealth. Thus, women of all social classes were engaged in different activities. Naturally, not all of them were plowing and weeding fields, some actively participated in improving the economy of households by running chores and supervising slaves during work. Thus, the fact that many women were forced to participate in turu proves that they were valued as the beneficial economic assets in Choson.

In addition, there exists evidence that women of Choson were engaged in merchant activities. In yadam, there is a depiction of a woman (wise daughter-in-law) who was selling kamch'o every morning. The presented example shows how Confucian view of a good woman did not contradict with the economic activities. However, in some literary accounts, there are mentions about women who assisted their husbands in the political career. These sources convey that for some yangban women the economic wealth was more important than following the Confucian rules of a good woman. Thus, the literature and art of Choson show that the image of the woman has been significantly transformed after the Imjin War and Manchu invasions. Women obtained a strong socio-economic role in the society.

To conclude, the literary accounts convey that the invasions of the late 16th and early 17th centuries remarkably improved farming and significantly changed the women’s role by allowing them to participate in the economic and social activities. The Imjin War and Manchu invasion devastated the land and society of Choson. Farming, which was one of the pillars of Choson economy, was in decline. Thus, the government implemented Yomin hyusik and Uniform Land Tax to facilitate the burden of taxes and return the confidence of peasants in the government. As a result, the farmers invented rice transplantation technique and several practices of fertilization of the soil. Moreover, the transplantation techniques and wet-field cultivation allowed conducting double-cropping, which improved the living conditions and economy of the households. The cultivation of tobacco and cotton allowed exporting these crops to China and Japan, which significantly improved the broken economy of Choson. The war and invasion forced the government of Choson to reconsider the role of woman in the society. In numerous literary accounts of Choson, there are mentions about women who worked in farms and fields and were members of turu. Women were actively engaged in weaving. Since cotton cloth was treated as money in Choson, it becomes obvious that women participated in the economic activities of the country. In addition, there are mentions about women who assisted their husbands in the political career and were involved in merchant activities.