학술논문

조선시대와 일제시대 여성의 법적 지위 비교
Document Type
Academic Journal
Source
역사와 담론. 2003-12 36:201-234
Subject
Language
Korean
ISSN
1226-8089
Abstract
Patriarchy has been in existence throughout almost every society since the primitive society. But there has been a remarkable discrepancy in the degree of authority that a patriarch can exercise. The Choseon Dynasty was patriarchal but less patriarchal than Japanese society at that time. Women in the Choseon society enjoyed and exercised a greater degree of legal status than during the era of Japanese occupation. Census Registers(Hojeok:戶籍) during the conventional phase of Korea referred to resident registration which was based on the institution that a family, as the unit of imposing tax, should live under the same roof. The Census Register of Choseon period differed from that of colonial period and of these days, which all of the family members were reponed under the Householder(Hoju: 戶主). The core of the Census Register system during the colonial era was seen in the 'Householder system'(戶主制) and the essence of the Householder system could be considered as patriarchy, by which the Householder called Hoju practiced absolute control, having the 'right of superintending the family'(Gadoggueon: 家督權) Until the middle of Choseon era, not only in the law but also in practice, women were allowed to own property in accordance with the terms of equalized inheritance in the same manner as men. The custom of equalized inheritance became weakened in the late Choseon period. From then, women could not inherit exactly as they pleased. Nevertheless, the principle of equalized inheritance and its practice persisted. In the period of Japanese Occupation, they established the system of the single-handed succession of the eldest sons and the right of inheritance was given in accordance with whether they were recorded in the same Census Registers(同一家籍) or not. Hence, women were excluded from succession apart from in exceptional circumstances. According to Japanese investigation of Korean customs prior to the Japanese occupation, many of Japanese conventions were regarded Korean. Typical example is 'Incapacity of wives'. But disagreeing with the Japanese researchers, I argue that the legal status of women as legal subjects was guaranteed in the law during the Choseon Dynasty and that was realized in their practical lives. From the time when Korea was dominated by Japan, women lost their legal status. Hence, the legal lives of married women were entirely denied. Compared to other nations, women in rhe Choseon Dynasty occupied relatively prominent legal status. With the decline of the Late Choseon era, gender discrimination, in reality, became more intense than before. Srill, there was no distinct change concerning legal status. However, because an excessively discriminative law was enacted, women's lawful rank under Japanese rule during the colonial era crashed to the ground.

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