Hyangyak

Type of local government in Korea and Vietnam The hyangyak (Korean: 향약; Vietnamese: Hương ước (鄉約)) was a contractual arrangement that allowed for a degree of local government in the history of Korea and Vietnam. In Korea HyangyakHangul향약Hanja鄕約RRhyangyakMRhyangyak During the rule of Jungjong (1506–1544), the contract was enforced by local-level officials. Specific details were circulated in text and operated as an informal common law. The hyangyak became the core of Korea's social law and the vehicle of a degree of local autonomy for its villages. It was a stepping stone for the Joseon Dynasty for implementing government at the local level. Local yangban, or Korean scholar-officials, were lifted in importance because of the role that they played. The implementation of the hyangyak opened the way for schools and shrines and tied the yangban to the community as instrumental in strengthening the government at all levels. In Vietnam Rural conventionVietnamese alphabetHương ước / Hương lệ / Lệ làngHán-Nôm鄉約 / 鄉例 / 例廊 Throughout Vietnam, thousands of villages had their own independent legal codes known as the Hương ước (鄉約) that