Good Article Review About A Review Of A Seventeenth-Century Perspective On Korean Slavery

The article “A Seventeenth-Century Perspective on Korean Slavery” presents Yu Hyŏngwŏn’s perspective on slavery. Hyŏngwŏn first encountered the use of the word slave in reference to the confinement of individuals for committing crimes, as was the norm in ancient times. No law permitted the confinement of an innocent person as a slave. In the ancient times, an individual’s penalty could not be passed on to descendants. Hence, the guilt of committing an offence is determined by the deeds of family members in the past.
According to Hyŏngwŏn, slavery makes it possible for the ignorant persons to control the life and death of other people. The slavery concept was introduced gradually over several years from the Koryŏ period and was operational by the Chisŏn dynasty. The concept of slavery in Korea is perpetual and is without provision for exoneration. Therefore, the population of slaves increased as time progressed to a point that slaves represented 80 to 90 % of the overall population.
The matrilineal law of succession is observed in Korea with the exception that if the father is a slave the children will also be slaves. Hence, the intermarriage between commoners and slaves leads to the children being slaves. Hyŏngwŏn supports matrilineal succession, but he emphasizes that implementation should be equitable. Hyŏngwŏn also points out that true moral leadership would rectify all the ills that exist in the government including slavery.
Hyŏngwŏn recommends that the best method of uprooting slavery is in a gradual fashion so that the relationship between higher and lower classes of society is gradually enhanced, as well as the gradual introduction of the concept of hiring workers. Lastly, the process of ending slavery should abolish the notion of inheriting slavery status.