The background and Meaning of the Reformed Jeonsigwa in the Period of King Munjong Reign of Goryeo

After 30 years of reign, King Munjong re-enacted Jeonsigwa(田柴科). The establishment of this system was based on the implementation of Yangjeon(量田) throughout the reign of King Munjong. For Yangjeon, Mun Jong also reorganized the systems related to Yangjeon. One of the characteristics of Jeonsigwa System in the 30th year of King Munjong’s reign was the establishment of Munsangye Jeonsigwa. In Goryeo, Musangye was given to Hyangri(鄕吏), Jurchen chiefs, Tamra(耽羅) Wongja, and Akgonh(樂工). The reign of King Munjong was the period when the Jurchen‘s surrender and incorporation began in earnest.In particular, after the 27th year of King Munjong’s reign, the Jurchen people scrambled to surrender and request to be incorporated into Goryeo. It was necessary to provide land to the newly incorporated Jurchen chiefs, and this was one of the main reasons for establishing the Munsangye Jeonsigwa. One of the most important features of King Munjong’s re-enacted Jeonsigwa is that the land is provided only to the unemployed. In this case, retirees and those who first entered public service and received a Dongjungjik(同正職) excluded from land payments and face economic difficulties. A noteworthy measure in this regard is the establishment of the Yangban Gongeum Jeonsi in the 3rd year of King Munjong’s reign. There are various discussions about the features of Yangban Gongeum Jeonsi, but it is understood to be a system in which the subjects of Muneum(門蔭) and Gongeum(功蔭) were classified into five classes and land was provided to them.In this case, land would have been provided to those who held Dongjungjik before receiving the first official post. Meanwhile, those who had not yet received their first job by passing the civil service examination in the civil service examination, were able to continue their livelihood by receiving the newly established system of Deunggwajeon(登科田).After the 30th year of King Munjong’s reign, Goryeo officials received two types of land from the government. One was the so-called the ‘jeonche land(傳遞土地)’ like Gongeumjeon and Deunggwajeon, which were inherited by descendant who maintained the position, and the other was the ‘nabgong land(納公土地)’ that had to be returned to the state depending on whether one was unemployed or not.