Introduction

Part 1. Introduction to Kaesŏng City Translated text: Sinjŭng tongguk yŏji sŭngnam (新增東國輿地勝覽開城府上.下) (Newly Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea: Kaesŏng sections) and selected ŭpchi (邑志)

The local history of Korea in European languages is still woefully inadequate. This is regrettable, because not only does local history bring us closer to the texture of ordinary life, it is the antidote to the presumptions of national history. The Sinjŭng tongguk yŏji sŭngnam (新增東國輿地勝覽) was produced by central elites in their capital at Hanyang in 1530 and was compiled to aid a central gaze, but it contains a wealth of information on particular places and the people who inhabited them. An indication of the relative importance of Kaesŏng as the former capital is clear from the space it receives. The first three fascicles are concerned with Hanyang and its surrounding region. The fourth and fifth fascicles describe Kaesŏng, and the remainder of the book contains information organised by province. The capital of the Koryŏ kingdom was able to claim primacy in religion, commerce, and politics and was, in many ways, far more of a complete centre than Hanyang. From 919, two counties were amalgamated and called Kaeju (開州). The city was first called Kaesŏngbu (開城府) from 995 and acquired the name Songdo (松都) from Yejong’s reign (1105-1122). Kaesŏngbu survived as a name until the end of the Chosŏn, appearing in the titles of documents examined herein. There were other names, but these are the most common. When the Koryŏ court moved to Hanyang with the establishment of Chosŏn, the political elites left behind religion and commerce, the only possible rivals. The power of the Buddhist orders was systematically attacked and marginalised, even scattered to the mountains in the provinces, but the commercial acumen of Kaesŏng merchants remained. Kaesŏng survived throughout the Chosŏn period as the most important commercial city of the kingdom, although Hanyang, as the seat of government, controlled larger absolute volumes of goods and finance. Kim T’ae-ung金泰雄 explains its business acumen in two ways. He states that the people of Kaesŏng felt abandoned and turned their backs on officialdom to specialize in commerce and accumulate capital. At the same time, from 1438, Kaesŏng was designated a yusubu (留守) or strategic defensible site for the capital in Hanyang, which meant that the tax burden was considerably lessened. The result was to cultivate originality in financial management. In particular, rich merchants appeared who were active in cultivating ginseng and shipping it abroad. Although a good starting point of any consideration of Kaesŏng in the Chosŏn period is with the Sinjŭng tongguk yŏji sŭngnam (新增東國輿地勝覽), the yangban dispatched as magistrates were quite active in compiling gazetteers. Kim T’ae-ung金泰雄 lists 13 gazetteers of which 8 survive and 6 of these predate the twentieth century.