Marginality and Subversion in Korea: The Hong Kyongnae Rebellion of 1812

2. Regional Discrimination and the Hong Kyŏngnae Rebellion

35 2   Regional Discrimination and the Hong KyQngnae Rebellion L ocal politics partly explains divided allegiances between the rebel sympathizers and the militia organizers at the time of the Hong KyQngnae Rebellion. Both groups, however, resented the exclusionary political culture of the center and resultant social and political discrimination against them. The issue of regional discrimination was the most critical tool for the rebels in provoking regional sentiment and promoting a degree of regional solidarity, although it also became a crucial weakness, for the rebels’ appeal was inherently confined to a region whose ideological positions were not unified. Examining the nature of regional discrimination and the discourse of that region’s identity therefore opens an avenue to understanding the rebels’ ideology and strategy as well as their limitations. p’yQngan residents in the civil service examinations In the first half of the ChosQn dynasty, there were very few historically prominent personalities from the northern provinces (as discussed in chapter 1), and northerners did not perform well on the state examinations either. As table 2 shows, of about 1,814 munkwa graduates from 1392 to 1550 whose residences are known, only 22 are identified as residents of P’yQngan Province. Particularly surprising is that no one from the Ch’Qngbuk area was able to earn the degree in this period, largely because the area was militarily and territorially a frontier. ta bl e 2 . Munkwa Degree-Holders from P’yQngan Province by Half-Century Periods 1392– 1451– 1501– 1551– 1601– 1651– 1701– 1751– 1801– 1851– % of % of 1450 1500 1550 1600 1650 1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 Total 12,889 14,607 Ch’Qngbuk 2 3 26 57 160 147 202 597 4.63 4.09 Ch’Qngnam 5 9 8 14 26 47 63 78 85 151 486 3.77 3.33 P’yQngan Province Total 5 9 8 16 29 73 120 238 232 353 1083 8.40 7.41 Total a 376 568 870 982 1265 1424 1679 1987 1544 2194 12,889 % with known residents in P’yQngan 1.33% 1.58% 0.92% 1.63% 2.29% 5.13% 7.15% 11.98% 15.03% 16.09% 8.40% Total b 862 1051 1160 1242 1447 1438 1679 1987 1544 2197 14,607 % from P’yQngan 0.58% 0.86% 0.69% 1.29% 2.01% 5.08% 7.15% 11.98% 15.03% 16.07% 7.41% a Number of munkwa passers with known residences in ChosQn. b Total number of munkwa passers. Regional Discrimination   37 The political standing of northern residents in terms of passing the munkwa improved dramatically in the latter part of ChosQn dynasty, as revealed in table 2 and in Edward Wagner’s analysis of the local place of residence of successful candidates for the higher civil service examination degree. Indeed, northern candidates came to outperform their southern counterparts, especially considering the fact that residents of the capital city and its immediate environs accounted for about half the total number of successful candidates.1 A close analysis of the distribution of successful candidates among the northern provinces reveals that P’yQngan Province produced almost 70 percent of the north’s successful candidates from about 50 percent of the total population of the north.2 More interestingly, a few places within each northern province show a heavy concentration of successful passers. For example, Haeju and P’yQngsan in Hwanghae Province, Hamh]ng and AnbyQn in HamgyQng Province, and P’yQngyang and ChQngju in P’yQngan Province boasted a remarkable concentration of successful candidates. The success of candidates from the town of ChQngju, just north of the Ch’Qngch’Qn River, was most striking. ChQngju, whose population was less than 4 percent of P’yQngan and less than 2 percent of the total population of the northern provinces, produced 282 successful candidates—27 percent of the P’yQngan total and 18.7 percent of the overall northern total. Corresponding to the national trend, relatively few descent groups supplied a major portion of degree-holders in the northern provinces.3 Among more than 300 descent group designations that identify northern candidates in the examination rosters, 182 descent groups (60 percent) produced one or two candidates, providing 14.5 percent of the degree-holders, while 19 percent, made up of the most successful descent groups, provided over 70 percent of the degree-holders. It is worth noting that most descent groups that accomplished...