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Kim, Jinsung

University of British Columbia

This dissertation, entitled “Between the Pillar of State and Social Stigma: Military Reform and Military Exile in Chosŏn Korea, 1863–1894,” examines military reform policies and the concurrent enforcement of military exile from 1863 to 1894 during King Kojong’s reign. While the Chosŏn government undertook military reforms to bolster its defenses against escalating foreign threats and emphasized the military’s importance, it paradoxically employed military service as punitive measures for offenders, adhering to traditional legal norms. This study argues that, contrary to the prevailing perception of military reform as a process of “modernization,” the Chosŏn government’s policies remained deeply entrenched in traditional values, prioritizing civil over military ideals and lacking any objective to fundamentally transform the military system. Furthermore, the sustained implementation of military exile underscored King Kojong and the ruling class’s perception of military service as a form of social disgrace. This dissertation is organized into three chronological chapters. Chapter One reexamines the characteristics of military policies, the changing status of military officials within the government, and the development of military exile during Taewŏn’gun’s regency from 1863 to 1873. Chapter Two explores King Kojong’s military reform policies, which reversed Taewŏn’gun’s major military agenda, including military exchanges with foreign states, efforts to strengthen royal guards, and the expansion of military exile to enforce national policies during the king’s first decade of direct rule between 1873 and 1884. Chapter Three examines King Kojong’s military policies and the enforcement of military exile during his second period of direct rule (1884–1894), highlighting Chosŏn’s continued reliance on Qing China’s military forces—grounded in traditional international relations—and the persistent implementation of military exile until the Kabo Reform of 1894. Through the analysis of military reform policies and the military exile practice, this study illuminates the characteristics of military affairs in Late Chosŏn during the late 19th century. It examines the contradictory nature of these reforms and the enduring influence of tradition, offering deeper insights into King Kojong and the ruling class’s stance on military reform while shedding light on the broader nature of the regime’s reform policies during this pivotal period.

Text

2025-04-25

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/90825

Asian Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/