Unlike noble titles in the European and Japanese aristocracies, which were conferred on a hereditary basis, the bureaucratic position of yangban was granted by law to yangban who meritoriously passed state-sponsored civil service exams called
gwageo (). These exams were modeled on the imperial examinations first started during the
Goryeo dynasty of Korea. Upon passing these exams—which tested knowledge of the
Confucian classics and history with poetry—several times, yangban was usually assigned to a government post. It was theoretically decided that a yangban family that did not produce a government official for more than three generations could lose its status and become commoners. This theoretical rule was never actually applied, but motivated yangban to study harder. In theory, a member of any social class except
nobi,
baekjeong (Korean untouchables), and children of
concubines could take the government exams and become a yangban. In reality, only the upper classes—i.e., the children of yangban—possessed the financial resources and the wherewithal to pass the exams, for which years of studying were required. These barriers and financial constraints effectively excluded most non-yangban families and the lower classes from competing for yangban status, just like
scholar-officials in
China. Yangban status on a
provincial level was
de facto hereditary. In the early Joseon Dynasty, if no one from a noble family had held a government position for four generations, they were deprived of that position. However, due to budgetary shortages from the wars of the 16th century and the disasters caused by the Little Ice Age, the government issued a tool called Gongmyeongcheop, a means of purchasing and selling government positions, and the existing caste system collapsed. As a result, genealogy rather than official position became a means of proving one's status as a nobleman, and the status of Yangban changed to a hereditary form. It was customary to include all descendants of the office holders in the
hyangan (), a document that listed the names and lineages of local yangban families. The
hyangan was maintained on blood basis, and one could be cut off from it if members of the family married social inferiors, such as tradesmen. Although the
hyangan was not legally supported by government acts or statutes, the families listed in it were socially respected as yangban. Their householders had the customary right to participate in the
hyangso (), a local council from which they could exercise influence on local politics and administration. By reserving and demanding socio-political power through local instruments such as
hyangan and
hyangso, yangban automatically passed down their status to posterity in local magnate families, with or without holding central offices. These provincial families of gentility were often termed
jaejisajok (), meaning "the country families". while legally yangban meant high-ranking officials, in reality it included almost all descendants of the former and increasingly lost its legal exactitude. , early 19th century. Throughout Joseon history, the monarchy and the yangban existed on the slave labor of the lower classes, particularly the
sangmin, whose bondage to the land as indentured servants enabled the upper classes to enjoy a perpetual life of leisure—i.e., the life of "scholarly" gentlemen. These practices effectively ended in 1894 during the
Korean Empire of
Gwangmu Reform. In today's Korea, the yangban legacy of patronage based on common educational experiences, teachers, family backgrounds, and hometowns continues in some forms officially and unofficially. In South Korea, the practice exists among the upper class and power elite, where patronage among the conglomerates tends to predictably follow blood, school, and hometown ties. In North Korea, a
de facto yangban class exists that is based mostly on military and party alliances. == History ==