preface

Part 1: From the Goryeo aristocratic society to the Joseon aristocratic society

Chapter 1: The Structure and Contradictions of Goryeo's Aristocratic Society
Section 1: The nature and characteristics of Goryeo society
Section 2: Goryeo's status and class structure and its contradictions
Section 3: Goryeo's ideological structure and its contradictions
Section 4: Goryeo's political structure and its contradictions
Section 5: Goryeo's economic structure and its contradictions

Chapter 2: The Formation of the Noble Class
Section 1: Background of the Vanguard Group's Birth and Social Innovation Plan
Section 2: Results of the Premise Reform
Section 3: Class Struggle and the Formation of the Aristocrat Class

Chapter 3: The Establishment of the Early Joseon Dynasty's Aristocrat Society
Section 1: Reorganization of the caste system and changes in the class structure
Section 2: Structure of Consciousness - Changes in the Content of Ideology and State Administration
Section 3: Reorganization of the national system and restructuring of the power structure
Section 4: Restructuring the Economic System

Chapter 4 Summary and Outlook
Summary of Section 1
Section 2: Overview - The Intrinsic Development of Korean History

Part 2: Basic Work for Comparing the Structure of the Two Societies of Goryeo and Joseon

Chapter 1 The Reality of 'Ho' and 'Gu' in the Early Joseon Dynasty and the Household Registration System in the Goryeo Dynasty and Early Joseon Dynasty
1.
The subject of the problem
2.
Early Joseon Dynasty 'Ho', 'Gu', and the Hogu System
3.
Origin of the selective household registration system
4.
The operation and changes of the household registration system in the early Joseon Dynasty
5.
Changes in the household registration system from the Goryeo Dynasty to the early Joseon Dynasty

Chapter 2: Changes in the Taxation System from the Goryeo Dynasty to the Early Joseon Dynasty - Subjects and Standards of Taxation 1.
Raising the issue
2.
Goryeo Dynasty
3.
Early Joseon Dynasty - Establishment of a universal taxation system

Chapter 3: The Achievements and Impact of the Classical Reform
1.
Reform of the despotism and the military history
2.
The reform of the Jeonse system and the Jeonse tribute system
3.
The origins of the term "byeongjak" (竝作) in the early Joseon Dynasty

【Search】

The historical achievements of the class struggle that unfolded after the Wihado Retreat

The replacement of the old and new ruling classes and the social transformation brought about by the class struggle that followed the Wihwado Rebellion are unprecedented in pre-modern world history.
One of the important purposes of this book is to restore at least some of the historical achievements of the class struggle period that have been buried until now.


In fact, among the social reform measures proposed during the class struggle, there were quite a few that were immediately implemented and achieved great results.
In particular, the reform of the presbytery was a representative example.
The reform of the presupposition was the core of the class struggle and the class struggle itself.
However, the direction and method of innovation that could not be implemented during the period of class struggle were inherited during the Joseon Dynasty, leading to the establishment of the literati society system.

Unfortunately, the achievements of the class struggle have not been faithfully evaluated so far due largely to the lack of relevant data.
The lack of data is due to the intentional concealment or minimization of many achievements made by the vanguard group, including the reform of the presidency.
It is often said that history is written by the victors, but the vanguard of the aristocratic class was not the ultimate victor.
This is because the main players in the revolution, such as Jeong Do-jeon, Jo Jun, and Yi Seong-gye, were purged or became powerful, and Yi Bang-won, Ha Ryun, and others came to power after driving out the main players through the 'Prince's Rebellion'.
They faithfully inherited the innovative policies of the later revolutionary leaders, led the reforms of King Taejong's reign, and achieved great feats.
Perhaps because of this, it is believed that it was difficult to shake off the temptation to conceal or downplay related records from the period before and after the founding of the nation, which could tarnish their achievements.

Goryeo aristocratic society and Joseon aristocratic society

In order to differentiate between the structures of the two societies of Goryeo and Joseon, Part 1 selected key topics for each section, similar to the Social History of the Social Department Era (2020).
In the social sector, it deals with the caste system and class composition, in the ideological sector, it deals with the ruling class's logic for justifying its rule, in the political sector, it deals with the centralized bureaucracy and separation of powers, and in the economic sector, it deals with land policy and taxation.
Chapter 1, “The Structure and Contradictions of Goryeo’s Aristocratic Society,” first introduces the nature and characteristics of Goryeo society as an aristocratic society, and then points out the structure and contradictions of each sector.
The early Goryeo period was the main subject of analysis, as the aristocratic social system was established during that period.
Chapter 2, “The Formation of the Noble Class,” focuses on the background and triggers of social change.
We examined the process leading up to the emergence of the vanguard group of the aristocratic class and the specific achievements it was able to achieve during the class struggle.
Chapter 3, “Establishment of the Early Joseon Dynasty’s Noble Society System,” covers the process by which the nobility system was established in each sector of society.
This book focuses on the process by which the direction and plan for social innovation presented during the class struggle period were implemented in each sector after the founding of Joseon.

Part 2 is a collection of articles that support the arguments of Part 1.
Among these, the two previous articles on the 'Hoguje' and 'Busaeje' are quite lengthy theses, but they are not only important topics in themselves, but they also had to be investigated in order to compare the structures of the two societies of Goryeo and Joseon.
In the last article of Part 2, “The Achievements and Impact of the Systematic Reform,”
It briefly explains the background and circumstances of the establishment of the Jeonse Gongmul Jeon (田稅貢物田), which is one of the greatest financial reform achievements of the Jeonjeon Reform, and how the term “byeongjak” (竝作) came to refer to a tenant farming relationship.


To understand the overall structure of Goryeo and Joseon societies

Since liberation, research on Korean history has achieved remarkable results.
However, we have not yet reached a level where we can clearly present the entire social structure of the Goryeo or Joseon dynasties.
Against this backdrop, it may be a somewhat reckless attempt for this book to attempt a comprehensive comparison of social structures across two eras.
However, it is difficult to grasp the entire structure of Goryeo and Joseon societies by merely gathering or accumulating partial facts about them as we do now.


A common method is to infer the structure of the whole through its parts.
However, conversely, it may be a method to try to understand the position or meaning of each part from the whole.
The part-to-whole and whole-to-part approaches are complementary and can help advance research.
This book offers a bird's-eye view of the social changes in Goryeo and Joseon societies from a new perspective, even if only briefly, and departs from existing perspectives. This will help us identify challenges that need to be addressed and topics that require further attention.