860 FINANCIAL REFORM AND THE ECONOMY
vate minting of cash in Haeju and Suwon, a violation of the original terms of
the law in 1633. Yi So had even suggested this in 1623 when Injo came to the
throne, but this was the first time it was allowed.^8
Although minting was suspended at the beginning of 16379 because of the
second Manchu invasion, cash continued to circulate in Kaesong and Hwang-
hae Province, stimulated by the active production and trade of brassware and
private minting. An ex-magistrate of Kaesong had reported in 1634 that most
of the residents there had approved the use of cash, but it had been opposed by
the yangban. 10
Kim Yuk's Promotion oj Cash, 1637-50
In 1644 Kim Yuk returned from an official embassy to the Ming capital full of
progressive ideas he had picked up from China. He wanted the king to adopt
the Chinese system of carts for transporting goods, and he wanted every mag-
istrate along the route traversed by envoys to China to establish shops to stim-
ulate the circulation of copper cash. In that event, envoys and their retinue of
doctors, interpreters, and guards would be able to pay cash for food and lodg-
ing instead of having to drag their food and horse fodder with them. Local peas-
ants would supply rice, cloth, firewood to the magistrate, travelers could
purchase it for cash, and the local peasants would benefit from the demonstra-
tion effect of cash transactions by learning how to buy things at stores for cash
themselves.
Kim believed that Korea had never succeeded in promoting the circulation of
cash throughout the country because cash was used only in the capital, and the
rural population had no idea of its utility. He believed that it should be possible
to circulate cash in Hwanghae and P'yong'an because the roads were busy with
traffic there, and he suggested that cash held by the Ministry of Taxation be sent
to those provinces. Furthermore, government silver should be used to purchase
cash in Beijing to obtain a supply of tens of millions of strings for Hwanghae
and P'yong'an provinces. He also noted that cash was as popular in Kaesong
then as it was in China, and it could provide a model for Hwanghae and p'yong'an.
Official travelers would be overjoyed at not having to carry excess baggage,
shopowners would be happy to receive so much cash from travelers, and the
local peasants would be relieved because they would no longer be forced to pay
rice to travelers as part of their local tax obligation.
He also testified that many officials in the north had indicated their agreement
with the use of cash there, including the governor of P'yong'an and a few mag-
istrates. He proposed a change in government strategy for promoting the circu-
lation of cash by purchasing Chinese cash with Korean silver to increase the
supply of currency. The Border Defense Command then recommended that the
governors and magistrates of the two provinces be canvassed about their views
on cash and the other reforms, especially since Kim Yuk had already discussed
the issues with them on his trip, but Injo took no action. II