778 FINANCIAL REFORM AND THE ECONOMY
Yonsan'gun at the tum of the sixteenth century. Although Yulgok's reform rec-
ommendation of the previous spring (1576?), had not been accepted, King Sonjo
at least had to prohibit magistrates from excessive tribute collections and order
a return to original tribute quotas because the king's previous exhortations to
reduce taxes and consumption had not provided any benefit to the people.'3
Later in 1590, Chong Ch'ol (a leader of the Westerner faction) complained
bitterly that the obstruction of tribute payments and illicit tribute contracting by
clerks and runners of the capital bureaus and the district tribute clerks who con-
spired with them had led to overcharging peasants by ten or a hundred times the
value of the original tribute. Although the magistrates could have put a stop to
this subterfuge, most were driven by graft to tolerate contracting, and poor peas-
ants who lacked the power and money to prosecute a case against dishonest offi-
cials had no choice but to sell their property and flee their homes. Chong urged
that the government set the values of tribute items and collect a grain tax at the
low rate of a few toe (. I mal) of rice per ky61, and if there were any surplus, it
would be used to pay the expenses of the district tribute clerks. He claimed that
King Chungjong had established a precedent for substituting a land tax for trib-
ute when he ordered the substitution of a grain tax for oil, honey, and other trib-
ute goods in 15 I 5, but unfortunately the measure was regarded only as a
temporary means to capitalize on a bumper crop and a surplus of grain, or to
alleviate the tax burden in a time of famine or disease; in no case was it deemed
appropriate to eliminate tribute levies permanently. 14
THE TAEDONG REFORM
The Origin of Taedong Reform in 1594
Although the criticism of the Korean tribute system and proposals for replac-
ing it by a grain tax on land had been voiced by Yulgok in 1569 and 1574, Cho
Hon in 1577, and Chong Ch'ol in 1590, there was still not enough political sup-
port to move King Sonjo to action. After Hideyoshi's invasion in 1592. how-
ever, the situation changed drastically. The throne cut back tribute demands to
20 to 30 percent of normal years and authorized payment of rice in place of trib-
ute as well as military and labor service. Relief from tribute and tax reductions
were offset by the destruction of land, the severe famine that swept across the
south in 1594, and the imposition of cruel levies by district magistrates, many
of whom were recently appointed military officials, war heroes, or rich yang-
ban who purchased office. The government had been using the 158 I revision of
the 1502 kong an tribute registers, but most of its volumes were destroyed or
lost during the invasion. and the government was probably relying on the 1473
version. In short. wartime destruction proved an indispensable catalyst to
reform. lei
Yu Hyongwon stated that the essence ofYulgok's ideas were adopted by Chief
State Councilor Yu Songnyong (a member of the Southerners, a splinter group