MILITARY SERVICE SYSTEM 543
tion of a stricter measure adopted back in 1626 but ignored in the interim. The
regulations explained that up to the present time students of this type had been
acting in collusion with school authorities to keep their name on the school reg-
isters as extra-quota students to evade military service or support taxes. Past pro-
posals to enroll school dropouts for yangyok military service and tax obligations
had never been adopted because the yang ban relatives of the drop-outs could
not stand the stigma attached to military service. When some actually were
enrolled for service, they went to the greatest expense to evade it, or would feign
illness or unfitness, sign up illicitly for low-rate service taxes, or even run away.
These practices that "'damaged customs and mores" had to be reformed, but for
fear of the anger and resentment that would result from too thorough a house-
cleaning of all student service evaders, the Reform Bureau adopted some
lenient modifications in the new law.
Quota students as well as extra-quota students were now to be examined for
their scholarly performance, but those who failed would he kept on the school
registers and only required to pay a fine. Paying a fine would presumably not
stigmatize them because they would not be required to serve either as duty sol-
diers or support taxpayers, and it was already an accepted practice for regular
officials to pay fines in expiation of wrongdoing or for any revelation of igno-
rance at Royal Lecture sessions or other court audiences.
The inspiration for these methods was attributed to Chang Yu, who at the time
of the Manchu invasions suggested that school dropouts be given the special
title of military student (muhak) so that they could have a second chance if they
failed a qualification examination. Only if they failed the second one were they
to be enrolled for military service. The regulations also cited Kim Yuk's state-
ment that even though enrolling school dropouts for service was the law of the
founders of the dynasty, some modification was called for in the early seven-
teenth century. Both quota and extra-quota students had to be subdivided into
the scholar-official families (sajak) and "those of somewhat lower status." If the
less prestigious students failed their examinations, they would immediately be
enrolled for service, hut the scions of scholar-official families would only be
assessed a fine. The reason for the modifications proposed by Chang Yu and Kim
Yuk were motivated by their consideration of "the situation at the time and their
desire to make plans in accordance with the people's feelings."
The Sillak historian, writing of these events in the 1720~. pointed out that even
though the regulations of 1704 called for biannual testing, the examinations to
qualify school students were later reduced to once a year. Otherwise, students
who failed the examination were placed on a special list and assessed a fine of
two p'iT, the same as the standard cloth tax rate on support taxpayers. Failure to
take the test, hiring substitutes to do it, refusal to pay the line, or collusion with
school clerks to evade it would result in immediate enrollment for military ser-
vice. The new regulations were also extended to students in private academies
and shrines, and thc annual qualifying tests were to be given to all men from
the age of fifteen to lifty. In the northern and northwestern coastal provinces and