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영어

Entangled Knowledge about ‘Patriarchal Power of Chosǒn Period’ : Critical Review on the Legacy of Colonialism Jung, Ji Young The patriarchal power of family head has been considered as one of the quintessential aspect of pre-modern Chosŏn society in modern Korea. Critical to my argument is a deeper understanding of the ways in which colonial/postcolonial knowledge constitute specific idea about patriarchal power of Chosŏn period. While Korean contemporary scholars have criticized the colonial view of history, their anti-colonial theories used the similar basis of the colonial knowledge on the patriarchy in Chosŏn period. Ironically, the more they attempted to counter the colonial view on the Korea’s history, the more they ended up reinforcing the frame of the knowledge. The postcolonial knowledge was shaped by the intersection of adhesion and antipathy to colonial artifact. So far, the ‘family head’ in Chosǒn has been regarded as the representative of a clan with strong patriarchal authority according rather to the customary than legal code. This study mainly analyzes the existing academic discussions on the power of “family head” in Chosǒn. Then, it attempts to clarify how the state of Chosǒn defined the right and responsibility of the family head/household head by examining Chosǒn's law books, administrational guidelines, and household register. This study aims to de-construct the framework in which the Chosǒn period has been understood by the modern Korean society after the colonial period.