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KoreanSubsistenceandProductivityinMid-20thCentury
KoreaModernKoreanSociety
October2,2018ClarkW.Sorensen
Sŏkp’o-ril RemotefishingvillageinwesternCh’ungch’ŏngPukto
l “Ittakestwohourstogettothenearestmiddleschool,soonlyahandfulofboyscanpursuetheireducationbeyondthesixthgrade.ThisyeartherewillbenogirlsfromSŏkp’oinmiddleschool.Themarketisstillfartheraway.”
l Tenyearslatermiddleschoolingwasbecomingalmostuniversaleveninruralareasasmiddleschoolswerebuiltinthecountryside
l Noticethehousepicturesl Thatchroof,tworoomwithkitchenandfrontverandahtypicalofthethreesouthernprovinces—I-shapedhouse(ㅣ-형)
l Kyonggi,Kangwon,andHwanghaehadL-shapedhouses(ㄴ-형)
FullyElaboratedWesternKangwon-doFarmhouse
IslandWorkers’Cottage(I-shaped)
l II
l madang
l 'D Cf
l I 0
l ! I!
l '6
HouseTypeAreas
Sŏkp’o-riMixedFarmingandFishingl Yangbanhamlet—quietandorderlyfarmers
l Fishinghamlet—noisyandchaotic—fishermencannotbeyangban,onlyfarmersoraristocratscanbeyangban
l BythetimeBrandtgottherethelandhadbeenequalizedthroughlandreform(1950)l SomestrifeduringtheKoreanWarduringNorthKoreanoccupationsummerof1950
l Bythe1960sreallyrichweregone—landreform,movedtotown
AttitudeofNostalgia—subjectiveviewl Diaryentrypage24:
l “Thenightbeforelasttherewasamoderategale,andthedyingremainsofyesterday’sbigswellsmakegentlenoisesontherocksbelow.Whataplacetosavorsolitude!Withnoappointments,noplacetogo,nodemands,IdoasIplease.I’vetalkedtoaleastfifteenpeopletoday.I’mpleasantlytired,andit’snicetobealone.”
l Nostalgia—“achetoreturnhome”l Awistfulorexcessivelysentimentalyearningforreturntoorofsomepastperiodor
irrecoverablecondition
l SowhatisitthatmakesBrandtnostalgic?Towhatextentishisnostalgiabasedonreality—i.e.whatqualitiesdidhefindinSokp’o-riintheearly1960sthathewouldliketoreturnto?
Objectiveview--“peasant”asatechnicalterml AnthropologicaltheoristssuchasRobertRedfield(PeasantSocietyandCulture)havehypothesizedthat“peasants”areaworld-wideanthropologicaltype
l Redfieldsee“agricultureasalivelihoodandawayoflife”[N.B.thatRaymondFirthincludesfishermen,butsomedonot]
l A.L.Kroebersees“partsocietiesandpartcultures”l Alwaysexistinrelationshiptocities,thusdistinguishedfromtribalagriculturalistsl Mostlyself-sufficientfortheirownneedswitha“safetyfirst”conservatism,thusnotfarmers(whosellalloftheircropformoneytobuywhattheyneed)
Marxandthepeasantsl EighthBrumaireofNapoleonBonaparte(chapter7)
l Thesmallholdingpeasants[ofFrance]formavastmass,themembershipofwhichliveinsimilarconditionsbutwithoutenteringintomanifoldrelationswithoneanother.Theirmodeofproductionisolatesthemfromoneanotherinsteadofbringingthemintomutualintercourse...Eachindividualpeasantfamilyisalmostself-sufficient;ititselfdirectlyproducesthemajorpartofitsconsumptionandthusacquiresitsmeansoflifemorethroughexchangewithnaturethaninintercoursewithsociety.Asmallholding,apeasantandhisfamily,alongsidethemanothersmallholding,anotherpeasantandanotherfamily.Afewscoreofthesemakeupavillage,andafewscoreofvillagesmakeupaDepartment.Inthisway,thegreatmassoftheFrenchnationisformedbysimpleadditionofhomologousmagnitudes,muchaspotatoesinasackformasackofpotatoes.
HowthepeasantcategoryappliedtoKoreal Peasanthouseholdsstilllargelyself-sufficientinthe1970s
l 98%ofthericeand85%ofthevegetablestheyconsumedwereself-produced(p93)l 50%oftheirhouseholdconsumptionoverallwasself-produced
l ButallhouseholdswerenotalikeasMarxwouldhaveitl Landlords,tenants,andowner-cultivators(ofvarioussizes)—i.e.villagesclass
differentiatedl Allhadstrongrelationstomarketsthatinfluencedtheirsocialspherel Villageswereknittedtogetherbykinship,lineages,administrativeties,andfolk
religiousactivity—unitsoffamily,lineage,village,townshipl Familieshavefamilygods,villagehastutelarygods,fishermenhavegods,too
l Veryrapidrural-to-urbanmigrationlinkedruralfamilieswithcities,androbbedthevillageofpeoplebetweentheagesof15and35
What’sspecificaboutacoastalvillage?l Landownershipislessimportantthaninpurelyagriculturalvillages
l Womencangatherseaweedandshellfishalongtheshore
l Althoughpeoplewerepoor,theirnutritionalstatuswasusuallybetterthaninlandpeoplewhodidnothavesomuchaccesstomarineresources
l Culturaldistinctionbetweenfishermenandfarmersl Farmingisrespectable--nomatterhowpooryouareyoucanliveanorderlylifel Fishingisiffy—sometimesyoumakeakilling,sometimesyougetnothing
l Boatownershireshiftingworkerstobecrews
l Gamblingpersonality,noisydisorderlylife,verysuperstitious(i.e.useshamansalot)
l Lessdevelopedmarketingnetwork,andfewhighvaluecropsbecauseoftransportationproblems
l Coastalvillagesarelargerandmorediversethanmostinlandvillagel Sokp’ori—harborareawherefishermenlivedhadlotsofdrinkingestablishmentsandnoisy,boisterousbehaviorwheremenandwomenwere
relativelyfamiliarwitheachother
l Sokp’ori—yangbanareadevotedonlytofarmingwithoneortwoeducated,high-classfamilies,andwherewomenstayedclosedtohomeanddidn’tsocializedmuchwithunrelatedmen
Agriculture—selfsufficientfamiliesneedsomeofeachtypeoffieldl Threekindsoffields
l Non(논)—irrigatedfieldsalwaysplantedinrice(becausetwiceasproductiveasothercrops)—strawusedtothatchroofsandfeedcattle
l Pat(밭)—rainfallfieldl Someplantedinfieldcropswithacomplexcroprotation—barley,wheat,kaoliang,soybeans,
adzukibeans,maizel Kitchengarden—Chinesecabbage,chilipepper,garlic,daikonradish,lettuce,balloonflower
(toraji),potatoes,sweetpotatoes,zucchini,squashl Houselot(집터)l Forest(수풀)—woodcutting,graves
l Firefieldfarms(hwajŏn)intheolddays(endedin1970s)l Inremotevillagesorchardcropswererarebecausetransportationoffruittoodifficult
l Chestnuts,taech’u,persimmon,plum,peach,apples
Fishingl Incoastalvillages
l Menworkedforwagesonboats,andentrepreneurialfishermenownedboatsandhiredhands
l Fishingamatterofluckandskilll Workepisodic,dangerous,andunpredictablel Getcrewsthroughnetworks,solineageshardlyimportantl Superstitious,heavydrinkers,giventogambling—thusnotyangban
l Divisionoflaborbygenderl Whilemenwentoutinboats,orhaulednetsfromtheshore,womengatheredonthe
seashorel Clamsandkelpwerethemainthingsl Greenkelp(kim),brownkelp(miyŏk)
Animalhusbandryl Cattle
l Needatleastonecowtoplowwithl Onnon,onecowisenoughtoplowwithl Onpat,needayokeoftwooxen(getthroughsokkyŏri 솟결이)l Feedstrawtocattle
l Chickensl Chickenseatgrainandthuscompetewithhumanswhensubsistenceisdifficult
l Dogsl Fed“kaebap”whichisleftoverhumanfood
l Pigs(notkeptinSan’gongni,butagainhavetobeenprovidedwithfeed)
Silkworms—fastcashforthosewithenoughhouseholdlaborl Twoseasonsofonemonth—oneinthespring(natural),andoneifthefallifmulberrytrees
properlypruned
l GetsilkwormeggsfromtheCoop,andhatchtheml Ravenousyoungsilkwormseatonlyfreshlysproutedmulberryleavesl Full-timetasktopicktheleafsandfeedthesilkworms(usuallyforwomen)
l Whensilkwormsarereadytospinafteramonthl Peoplemovedoutoftheirhouse,putframesinforthesilkwormstoclimbonto,andthenletthemspin
l Havetokillthesilkwormsbeforetheychewtheirwayoutoftheircocoonstobecomemoths
l Selltosilkfactoriesthatunwindthecocoonstomakesilkthread
Seasonalityl Porikogae(barleypass)—whenlastyearsricestoreshavebeenusedupbutbeforethewinterbarleycanbe
harvestedl Mighteatunripebarley 풋보리 orrice풋벼,ormountainherbs(산나물)
l riceseedlingsputoutinApril,andtransplantedinMay/June
l Transplantingshouldbecompletedbeforebeginningofchangma(orelsethericewon’thavetimetoripen)
l MonsooninlateJuneearlyJuly
l TwoweedingsJuly/August
l HarvestSeptember/October
l November/Decemberritualactivity
Laborsupplyl Peaklaborseasontransplantationofrice
l Laborexchange(품앗이),laborpiecework(품팔이/도급),ture 두레l Cowexchangeforoxen
l Laborcomplementationl Bycultivatingagreatvarietyofcropswithdifferentlaborrequirementsandseasonsonecanspace
one’slaboroverthegrowingseason
l Mechanization?l Justbeginningin1976withhand-heldtractors,andby1983cowswerebeingphasedout(because
laborgettingshorter—i.e.withoutmigrationtothecitiesforfactoryjobs,savinglaboronthefarmwouldn’thavemadeeconomicsense)
l Today(aftertheperiodofthebook)—ricelandhasbeenconsolidatedintorectangularplotswithtractors,transplantingmachines,andcombineharvesters
Howmuchlanddidafamilyneed/couldfarm?l 1977productivitylevelstosupportafamilyof5.5people?
l 1000p’yŏng(1/3hectare)ofricelandl 2000p’yŏng(2/3hectare)ofrainfallfield
l Howmuchlandcouldahusbandandwifecultivate?l About1.6hectaresbythemselvesl Butwithlaborexchangeandalittlebitofhiredlabor2hectares
l Conclusionl Notmuchroombetweentheminimumforsubsistenceandthemaximumabletofarm
withfamilylabor—meaningwithexistingtechnologyitwasalmostimpossibletoraisethestandardoflivingverymuch
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