Abstract

This paper clarifies the operating logic of the late Joseon land tax system through parcel-level analysis of historical land registers. Since the 1960s, Korean historiography has relied on quantitative, ledger-level analysis of these materials to explain socio-economic change in late Joseon society. Yet most such studies were conducted without identifying the physical location of the parcels recorded in the registers. Land was therefore treated as an abstract unit of calculation rather than a spatially situated entity, largely because no cadastral maps accompanied the textual records. To overcome this limitation, the study employs JigsawMap, a digital tool for reconstructing cadastral space from textual land records and enabling parcel-level comparison across periods. By spatially aligning parcels across documentary layers, JigsawMap makes it possible to trace how recorded areas and assessment values were adjusted in response to land category, topography, landholder residency, and regional transport burdens. These patterns reflect not administrative disorder or technical imprecision but a fiscal logic that prioritized calibrated balance over exact measurement. By redirecting analysis from text back into space, this study demonstrates how digital reconstruction can refine empirical inquiry while illuminating the rationality embedded in Joseon administrative practice.