Abstract

This paper examines the role and function of hyangyak (鄕約) in reform proposals concerning hyangjeong (鄕政) during the late Joseon period. The legal code system (法典體制) of the time failed to reflect ongoing social and institutional changes. In response to overcome the contradictions between reality and the rigid institutional framework, literati of the sadaebu class devised various proposals for reforming hyangjeong. In this process, they paid particular attention to the organization and norms of hyangyak, a Neo-Confucian regulatory framework for local selfgovernance. In applying hyangyak to reforms of hyangjeong, reformers first needed to determine the unit of implementation and its relationship to existing self-governing organizations. Accordingly, dong (洞) was reorganized as the basic unit of hyangyak, centered on farmland (田畓) and the number of households (戶數) or on natural village communities (村落). The relationship between hyangyak and existing selfgoverning organizations was conceived in two principal ways: either hyangyak was linked to the yuhyangso (留鄕所) or it encompassed autonomous organizations such as donggye (洞契) and dongyak (洞約) as subordinate units. An examination of how the organizational structure and regulations of hyangyak were incorporated into concrete reform proposals for hyangjeong reveals three major patterns. First, within the practice of gongdongnap (共同納), responsibilities for the administration, supervision, and management of taxation (賦稅) were entrusted to hyangyak organizations. Second, the sachangje (社倉制) was integrated with hyangyak as a mechanism for local relief and resource management. Third, hyangyak was utilized in the selection and evaluation of talented individuals, thereby extending its function into the domain of personnel evaluation and recruitment.