TRIBUTE AND THE TAEDONG REFORM 791at court during the debate that he left court altogether and retired to his home
in the country, and his disciple, Song Siyol, then a second inspector (Chib'ui)
in the Office of the Inspector-General, resigned as well. Kim Yuk, in turn, felt
that Kim Chip's withdrawal from court impugned his own integrity, and he
defended his honor by submitting his own resignation. Hyojong accepted Kim's
resignation and reappointed him to a sinecure in the ceremonial Military Affairs
Commission (Chungch'ubu). After that, discussion over the taedong reform was
suspended for half a year.^34
In 1650 the tide of official opinion turned in favor of the taedong reform. The
Office of Censor-General and the Border Defense Command both recom-
mended that the time had come to try out the taedong system in the coastal areas
of Ch'ungch'ong because tribute taxes there were particularly egregious. Chief
State Councilor Yi Kyongyo, Third State Councilor Cho Ik, Ministers of Pun-
ishments and War Yi Sibang and Yi Sibaek, and Censor-General Min Unghyong
supported the adoption of the taedong refonn for lowland Ch'ungch'ong, but
King Hyojong put off a decision because other high officials were still firmly
opposed to it, and he shifted his attention to the problem of Manchu objections
to Korean military preparations.
After this issue had been settled, in 165 I Hyojong appointed Kim Yuk to the
post of chief state councilor and a number of other reformers to high office, and
in July he supported Min Unghyong's recommendation for a low three mallkyi5!
land surtax in Ch'ungch'ong and ChOlia provinces just to replace tribute alone.
Hyojong liked the idea of a tax less than a fifth of the rate in Kyonggi Province
because the people should have welcomed it, but Won Tup'yo and Ho ChOk
scotched his hopes by objecting that the people would regard it simply as an
additional tax. Ho argued that since tribute taxes were heavier in Ch'ungch'ong
than Cholla, the logical way to create an equitable distribution of provincial tax
burdens would be to reduce taxes in Ch'ungch'ong and raise them in Cholla. Unfor-
tunately, the desirable but light three mal/kyi5! surtax in Ch'ungch'ong would not
be sufficient to replace tribute in kind, and the people of Cholla Province would
resist any attempt to raise their rate.
Hyojong must have taken Ho Chok's advice to heart because he later aban-
doned any intention of adopting a taedong plan for all three southern provinces
at once and decided to focus on Ch'ungch'ong Province alone. He still favored
a three mal tax for Ch'ungch'ong, but only if its revenue would cover the cost
of tribute and he could promise not to raise the rate further. Won Tup'yo, who
wanted to block any taedong replacement for tribute altogether, immediately
reminded him that it certainly would not be sufficient to cover the costs of yamen
expenses and the kiin service costs, and it might lead to greater loss of grain
ships at sea. Later that month the Border Defense Command continned Won's
argument that the tax rate would be too low, but it still suggested that the tae-
dong tax be adopted for Ch'ungch'ong alone.^3 )
Hyojong by now had decided to favor some kind of reform. When in August
Second State Councilor Han Hung'il proposed adoption of the taedong reform