조선시대 제주유배인 실태분석과 특징

Abstract

An Analysis on Realities and Characteristics of the Exiles in Jeju Island during Joseon Dynasty

In its 500 year history from its beginning in 1392 until its transfer of judicial power to Japan in 1909, the rulers of Joseon dynasty had kept exiling a total of 261 persons to Jeju island. Those who were exiled to the island consisted of people from a variety of statuses - royal family members including Gwanghaegoon who was a deposed king, royal maternal relatives, government officials, and women. They were placed in different spots in and near the island - Jejumok, Daejunghyun, Jeongeuhyun, or Choojado. Over the 500 years, exile punishments to Jeju by the royal court can be classified into six periods: the first era from Taejo, the first king of the dynasty, to Yaejong; the second from Seongjong to Seonjo; the third from Gwanghaegoon to Gyeongjong; the forth from Yeongjo to Jeongjo, the fifth from Soonjo to the 17th year of Gojong; the sixth from the 18th year of Gojong to 1909. This classification is based on the types of crimes for which people were expelled to the island, which means that the changing political situations of the dynasty were reflected in different reasons for sending people to the island. In most cases of the royal family member exile, the reason was for their involvement in rebellions. While those nominated as kings by rebel groups were, without exception, poisoned to death, other royal members could live more comfortably than other non-royal exiles, thanks to supports from the king or the chief administrator of the island. Most of government officials exiled in the island were high-ranking or those belonging to the Samsa, who were privileged to meet the king in person. As persons from the influential group of the dynasty were frequently banished to it, Jeju got the image as the worst place of exile. There were various reasons for being exiled, such as involvement in rebellion, being guilty by family and other association with criminals, refusal to king's order, dishonesty in the Gwageo examination, mis-administration, and corruption, etc. But, in most cases, they were victimized for political reason. Unlike other types of punishment, there were no fixed terms for exiles. Everything depended upon later decisions of the court. An exile was forgiven a month after his arriving at the island, and another died in the island after living more than thirty years under exile. The reason for differences in exile terms derived from the fact that many of the cases were retried and sentenced again in the court. Among the forty eight exiles who died in the island, twenty are found to have been forced to drink poison to death within two years of their arrival at the island, proving that they were subsequently resentenced to death. Given that there had never been a case of anyone banished to Jeju being subsequently relocated to another worse place by additional punishment of the court, which were frequent in those days, we can figure out that Jeju was the place where severe felons were expelled, and that being exiling to Jeju was the severest punishment short of death sentence. Those sentenced to be exiled, on the way to the island, usually passed Haenam, Youngam, or Gangjin and landed the island by ship through ports like Byeoldopo, Hwabookpo, or Jocheongwan, all of which were near Jejumok, capital of the island. After reporting their arrival to Moksa, chief administrator of the island, they went on to the designated spot of exile. Since exiles would spend time writing books or teaching students, there still remain some of the manuscripts of their books in the island, which serve as good sources to look into the social characteristics of the island in those days. It is interesting that, since the seventeenth century when sentencing to be exiled to the island became routinized, the number of passers from Jeju of Moongwa, one of the Gwageo examinations, increased. Contemporary theories on neo-confucianism spread the island through exiles and the island confucianism could be connected with that of Seoul, thanks to them. Out of all the exiles over the years, ten persons settled permanently in the island, in some cases with their families, in other cases getting married with Jeju women, starting to root new family lines in the island. The existence of the exiles imposed considerable economic burden on island residents. Though, in principle, required to be self-reliant financially, they were supported actually by the island authorities and residents. It was not a big problem in normal times. However, in years of bad harvest, or when too many felons were sent to the island at a time, the island authorities felt burdened and asked the central government to move some of them to other inland places. Since Jeju is located farthest from Seoul, it was the island where the largest number of criminals were exiled. Characteristically, most of those exiled to the island belonged to the ruling group of the dynasty. Dismal descriptions of Jeju in their letters and books contributed to formation of a negative image of the island among people over the peninsula in those days. The facts that not a few exiles died in the island under their exile, and that there had never been a case of anyone being relocated to another worse place of exile by additional punishment lead us to believe that Jeju must have been the farthest and worst place of exile in Joseon era.