Management of Namhansanseong in late Joseon

Abstract

Namhansanseong is the place where king Injo moved the royal court and stood against the Qing army as it invaded in December 1636(Injo 14th) until when he surrendered in January of the next year. It was assumed that there would rise conflicts because Joseon vowed vengeance for the loss to Qing. Moreover, it was thought that Qing couldn't last long since they consisted of barbarians and that there was a high chance to occur a war again when they should try to return to their home. Whether it was triggered by Joseon or Qing, the concern that it was possible to occur another clash between the two didn't fade in late Joseon. This thought made Namhansanseong seem to be an important defense base of the capital area in case of emergencies. In late Joseon, Namhansanseong meant the memories of war that both royals and people underwent together, the devotion of whom gave their lives for their country and king and the worries of the king and his subjects. Therefore, the royal court was much interested in the maintenance and extension of Namhansanseong. They kept track of how to fix and maintain the place, military recruitment and arrangement for protection and the storage and management of rations. For Namhansanseong was supposed to be the main base for the potential war, the repair of walls and the development of the defense system were constantly performed. Also, the system of gathering and managing people from nearby towns including Gwangju and the residing monks in the fortress was regularly organized. Additionally, storing rations was another important role of Namhansanseong. Its system was emphasized to be the general law for construction and personnel management of Bukhansanseong and Suwon Hwaseong. After mid-18th century, as Qing's policies settled down and the probabilities of war decreased, the role of Namhansanseong changed. With the increasing interest of the operation of stored rations, Namhansanseong was counted as a supplement of the national finance instead of a military base. The rations in Namhansanseong were distributed to and collected from Gwangju and nearby regions as Hwangok. But, due to poor harvest and corruption, it was difficult to maintain the standard quantity. Nevertheless, the actual amount wasn't low, so that the court members personally used it as a spare resource when needed. In the end, such uses increased so much to fabricate its existence in 19th century. During Sedojeongchi period, it was impossible to properly keep the rations in the fortress because of the three administrations' disorders. In the study, the contents of articles related to Namhansanseong from the official records in late Joseon are briefly categorized. Written in chronological order, it is possible to refer the records to understand how the status of Namhansanseong and its policy changed as time passed. The theme and the articles in the study are expected to be a basis for another full-scale research for the management of Namhansanseong and its status.