Nobi

''Nobi'' were members of the slave class during the Korean dynasties of Goryeo and Joseon. Legally, they held the lowest rank in medieval Korean society. Like the slaves, serfs, and indentured servants of the Western Hemisphere, ''nobi'' were considered property or chattel, and could be bought, sold, or gifted.

Classification

The ''nobi'' were socially indistinct from freemen other than the ruling ''yangban'' class, and some possessed property rights, legal entities and civil rights. Hence, some scholars argue that it is inappropriate to call them "slaves", while some scholars describe them as serfs. Furthermore, the Korean word for an actual slave, in the European and American meaning, is ''noye'', not ''nobi''. Some ''nobi'' owned their own ''nobi''.

History

Some people became ''nobi'' as legal punishment for committing a crime or failing to pay a debt. However, some people voluntarily became ''nobi'' in order to escape crushing poverty during poor harvests and famines.

Household ''nobi'' served as personal retainers and domestic servants, and most received a monthly salary that could be supplemented by earnings gained outside regular working hours. Non-resident nobi resided at a distance and were little different than tenant farmers or commoners. They were registered officially as independent family units and possessed their own houses, families, land, and fortunes. Non-resident nobi were far more numerous than household nobi.

The hierarchical relationship between yangban master and ''nobi'' was believed to be equivalent to the Confucian hierarchical relationship between ruler and subject, or father and son. Nobi were considered an extension of the master's own body, and an ideology based on patronage and mutual obligation developed. The ''Annals of King Taejong'' stated: "The ''nobi'' is also a human being like us; therefore, it is reasonable to treat him generously" and "In our country, we love our ''nobis'' like a part of our body."

In the ''chakkae'' system, ''nobi'' were assigned two pieces of agricultural land, with the resulting produce from the first land paid to the master, and the produce from the second land kept by the ''nobi'' to consume or sell. In order to gain freedom, ''nobi'' could purchase it, earn it through military service, or receive it as a favor from the government.

In 1426, Sejong the Great enacted a law that granted government ''nobi'' women 100 days of maternity leave after childbirth, which, in 1430, was lengthened by one month before childbirth. In 1434, Sejong also granted the husbands 30 days of paternity leave.

See also

*Yangban
*Chungin
* Sangmin
* Cheonmin

References

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* {{cite journal , url=http://www.dbpia.co.kr/Journal/ArticleDetail/428465 , script-title=ko:한국 고대사회에서 노비와 노비노동의 역할 , language=Korean , trans-title=Slave and the Role of Slave Labor in the Ancient Korea , author=Lee In-Cheol , journal=The Journal of Korean Ancient History , volume=29 , publisher=Society for Korean Ancient History , date=March 2003

External links

Slavery in Traditional Korea (James B. Palais, University of Washington; Theodore Kornweibel, San Diego University)
at the Abstracts of the 2000 AAS Annual Meeting (via archive.org)

Changing Aspects in the Livelihood of Korean Slaves (nobi) in Late Choson Korea (Kuen Tae Kim et al.)
at the Abstracts of the 2006 AAS Annual Meeting

Korean caste system
Slavery in Korea
Korean slaves