Fall of the hierarchy system During the late Joseon dynasty, a wave of industrialization swept through Korea. As the Korean population grew and the use of coinage spread, an expansive
market economy developed. In the agricultural industry, cultivation of
cash crops became widespread, and new farming techniques were invented to increase productivity. State-funded handicraft manufacturing gradually declined around the mid-17th century, as private workshops became abundant. In aquaculture, the creation of newer, efficient nets and fishing techniques innovated fisheries. Diplomatic relationships with
Japan and
China became normalized after the 17th century, which boosted international trade. Additionally, starting from the 18th century, the number of slaves(
nobis) had substantially decreased as more members of the
cheonmin caste became practically free from their former status. In 1801, during the reign of
Sunjo, the Joseon government burned down all remaining lists of its remaining 66,067 public
nobis, promoting all former public nobis into the
yang-in(non-
cheonmin) class. Although private
nobis were still in existence, even they were decreasing in number. These disruptions in the old system led to the dispersion of new, rebellious ideas and social unrest as it became evident that the caste system, which formally dominated Korean society, was deteriorating. In Korean history, this corruption in the
Samjeong system is succinctly referred to as the ().
Jeonjeong Jeonjeong() was an aggregational term for a series of acts and administrations that managed land-based taxation. After the end of the Imjin War,
Gwanghaegun of Joseon enacted the , which replaced levies of local goods and
mandatory civil labor services with a land tax. During the mid-18th century, king
Yeongjo enacted the , which halved the amount of
gun-pos and imposed more taxes based on the size of farmland. Although these acts were meant to mitigate the burdens of conscription, they also resulted in increased taxation. Consequently, the
Jeonjeong system rose in significance as farmland-based rice taxes became the predominant source of government revenue. Peasants were often forced to pay unauthorized taxes which were sometimes several times higher than what was lawfully levied. Barren, nonarable land was sometimes taxed. Occasionally, peasants were taxed for land they didn't own.
Hwangok Hwangok() was originally a
welfare system where the government loaned crop during the spring lean season from April to May, when old crops were consumed and new crops were not yet ripe, and retrieved additional crops in the fall harvest season. Starting from
Sejong's reign, 10% of all crop loans were levied as
interest to replenish crops that were naturally lost during storage, and 10% of this interest crop was used for various government expenses. This collection of interest eventually transformed the
Hwangok system into a taxation system of its own, and an essential means of restoring Joseon's administrative budget. The Joseon government later became so reliant on the
Hwangok system that
Chŏng Yagyong criticized that "half of the national budget is reliant on taxes, and the other half is relying on
Hwanja". Government expenses were often taken from crops that were stored for loans and not from interest, which depleted storages. During the mid-18th century, loans were handed out in coins to replace depleted crops. However, as crop prices were
significantly higher in the annual spring lean season, peasants received depreciated loans that were significantly less than the crops they paid during the fall harvest season by actual value. Furthermore, regional magistrates(
suryeongs) sometimes collected interest crops as
compound interest, which further financially burdened the peasantry.
Corruption Furthermore, as royal in-law members monopolized vital government positions through its "Sedo Politics", the Joseon government became increasingly plagued with corruption and began losing the trust of the Korean peasantry.
Opposition to the government Opposition first appeared as passive forms of protest. Posters criticizing the government were posted on the walls and doors of palaces and fortresses(
gwe-seo, 괘서). Several texts that prophesied the fall of the Joseon dynasty and the
House of Yi, most notably the
Jeonggamrok, became publicly widespread. Starting from 1810, sporadic forms of active protests began evolving into bigger peasant revolts. The
peasant rebellion of 1811 led by Hong Gyeong-rae became the first significant peasant uprising of a massive scale. == Pyongan Province ==